Martini
Thanks to Bond, the martini has become an icon of popular culture. Mike Froud explores the history of this most elegant of cocktails.
'A dry martini,' [Bond] said. 'One. In a deep Champagne goblet.'
'Oui, monsieur.'
'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'
'Certainly monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.
Bond laughed. 'When I'm...er...concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I think of a good name.'
— Casino Royale, Chapter 7: Rouge et Noir
Sweet, dry or extra dry, gin or vodka based, garnished with an olive, a twist of lemon peel or a cherry, shaken or stirred – not forgetting the vermouth. And it’s gotta be served cold, very cold, yet “straight up” – ice in the making but not in the glass. Who said that the martini is straightforward?
Nobody knows for sure who made the first martini, or where it originated, though legend has it that we have the Americans to thank for the most famous cocktail in the world. And today, more than ever, it’s about style, about good living.
Tall story or not, there’s a certain romance in the tale of how it all came about during the time of the Californian goldrush. Imagine a miner passing through a dusty little town, stepping into a dimly lit saloon, asking the barman to shake up something special and paying for it with a pouch of gold.
Some have it that the martini was invented in the Californian town of Martinez, sometime during the 1800s, or that the drink derived from the Martinez, a sweeter cocktail made from sweet vermouth, sweetened gin, maraschino liqueur and bitters, served with a slice of lemon.
Some claim the drink was named after the Martini and Henry rifle used by British soldiers in the 19th century – both the weapon and the cocktail have a strong kick. Others suggest that the term martini stems from the Italian vermouth brand of the same name – or was it the other way round? Anyway, certainly by the late 1800s the call for a martini cocktail had taken off.
As one of the quintessential mixed drinks of the modern world, the martini has become synonymous with cocktails and nightlife generally. Think about power dressing and it’s not a big leap to power drinking, with a martini one of the power drinks of the rich and famous. Numerous American presidents and British prime ministers were partial to it. Franklin Roosevelt apparently liked his “dirty” (with olive brine), Richard Nixon wanted an “in-and-out” (very, very little vermouth), and Winston Churchill preferred it “naked” (no more vermouth than a glance at the bottle).
Back to the present
These days models, sporting heroes and entertainers are more likely to dictate the fashion trends – Clark Gable, Ernest Hemingway and Frank Sinatra were among the martini-flashing stars of yesteryear, whereas Daniel Craig is the jock currently on screen as novelist Ian Fleming’s creation, James Bond, a character renowned for specific drinking wants and the best known member of the “shaken not stirred” martini fraternity.
Actors George Clooney and Charlize Theron recently got behind a few sexy TV commercials punting Martini vermouth that grabbed a lot of attention in Europe, and, although the ads (carried on YouTube) involve straight vermouth served in a tumbler with blocks of ice, they must have done much for the image of the cocktail too.
The classic gin-based martini cocktail recipe has been acknowledged since at least the early 1900s. By the middle of the last century, vodka was introduced as an alternative ingredient to gin, and by the turn of the century it had become the most common martini component in many parts of the globe. A lot of purists insist on differentiating between the genuine thing (using gin) versus the vodka martini, or vodkatini. For the fun and fashionable it often comes down to the battle of the brands, with the nature of the product sometimes of secondary concern.
Whereas vodka is a fairly neutral spirit, gin is flavoured with juniper berries. The most common style of gin (and the one preferred for martinis) is London dry gin, to which lemon and/or bitter orange peel is added before a second distillation – also used sometimes are anise, angelica, orris, liquorice, cinnamon, coriander and cassia.
Vermouth on the other hand is a fortified wine flavoured with herbs and spices, barks and flowers. The term vermouth stems from “Wermut”, the German word for wormwood, one of the ingredients for making vermouth. At one point in history one talked about the sweet vermouths from Italy, and later the dry vermouths from France. These days, while the Italian and French brands are most renowned, vermouth production is more widespread, the types ranging from sweet to dry and from white to pink to red.
And about the garnishing… The original martini was almost certainly crowned with a cherry. By 1900 the lemon twist was commonplace and the green olive came to the fore from the ’20s. Today, while the olive (with or without toothpick skewer) might come to mind quickest for many, it’s up against a growing number of options being recommended by adventurous barmen.
THE THIRD DEGREE
Shaken or Stirred?
Believe it or not, some reckon that shaking rather than stirring the spirit mix tends to dull the vermouth and sharpen the gin (or vodka).
Using a shaker breaks up the ice and increases the water component of the recipe – as with whisky and brandy, adding water lifts the nose and palate to show more delicate characteristics of the spirits. Also, shaking can create air bubbles that make for a cloudy rather than a clear drink, and some people like cloudy.
Most martini purists, though, insist on gentle stirring for less dilution and better clarity: “Martinis should always be stirred, not shaken, so that the molecules lie sensuously one on top of the other” – English writer W Somerset Maugham.
Olive or Lemon?
Lemon rind (including pith) is said to add a milder, more delicate flavour component than that of an olive (unstuffed, from a brine or vinegar solution). Conversely, the olive and brine can do more to ease the “stiff” nature of the drink (and some use olives stuffed with pimentos).
If you go the lemon route, you might choose to squeeze or twist the rind above the glass before slipping it into the drink – even the “mist” from the fruit can change the character.
Some folk use both, squeezing the lemon over the glass but then putting it aside in favour of the olive garnishing.
MARTINI COCKTAILS
Classic Martini
3 to 5 parts dry gin to 1 part dry vermouth
1 green olive (or a twist of lemon)
Chill the spirits (to ice-cold) and mix*. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the olive (or lemon rind). Serve and drink without delay.
* Put ice cubes into a jug or cocktail mixing glass (or into a cocktail shaker), add the spirits and stir (or shake), then strain into a frosted cocktail glass and garnish. The idea is to drink it very cold – if you’re going to make a lot of martinis, a time-saver would be to keep the spirit bottles in the freezer, but beware the change in taste if you leave out the water from the ice.
Dry Martini: 5 to 10 parts dry gin to 1 part dry vermouth. Otherwise as per standard martini – the more the gin or less the vermouth, the drier the cocktail.
Montgomery: extra dry martini, with 15 parts dry gin to 1 part dry vermouth – apparently British Field Marshal Monty of World War II fame rather liked these odds before going into battle.
Medium Martini: 1 part dry gin, 1 part dry vermouth, 1 part sweet vermouth. Otherwise made as per classic martini.
50:50 Martini: equal parts dry gin and dry vermouth. Optional: add a dash of bitters. Otherwise made as per classic martini.
Sweet Martini: 2 parts dry gin to 1 part sweet red vermouth; maraschino cherry instead of olive or lemon. Otherwise made as per classic martini.
Dirty Martini: made as per drier martinis but with olive brine instead of or together with the vermouth. Example: ½ part dry vermouth, ½ part brine, 3 or more parts dry gin.
Vodka Martini: as per the drier martini cocktails but with vodka instead of gin – also known as a vodkatini.
Smoky Martini: gin and a splash of whisky instead of vermouth. Otherwise made as per drier martinis.
Flavoured Martini: classic or dry martini but with alternatives to lemon and olive garnishes, such as anchovies, fresh herbs, marinated capers, sun-dried tomatoes... The Gibson martini recipe includes a pickled onion as the garnish.
