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I confess: I know next-to-nothing about fine liquor. I mean, I can tell if the liquor was the $5 variety that comes in a plastic bottle from the bottom shelf at the grocery store or if it’s Grey Goose, but beyond that, I don’t have much of a preference. The people in this post, however, definitely have a preference. I might have to try some of their versions of the martini and see if any of them do it for me (probably not… I really hate gin).
1. James Bond. In Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, Bond orders the drink like this: “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.” Since the 1953 novel, though, Kina Lillet is no longer available… however, that doesn’t stop Daniel Craig from ordering it that way in the 2006 movie. Today, if you order a Vesper (the offical name of the James Bond martini), Lillet Blanc is typically substituted. Also, the “shaken, not stirred” method will really spark an argument among martini purists – many believe that shaking it bruises the gin and maims the integrity of the cocktail.
2. Winston Churchill. If you order a Churchill Martini, you’ll end up with a glassful of gin. Churchhill famously said the only way to make a martini was with ice-cold gin, and a bow in the direction of France.
3. Ernest Hemingway favored the Montgomery – 15 parts gin to 1 part vermouth. 15:1 is said to be the ratio Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery preferred when going into battle.
4. Lyndon B. Johnson liked the in-and-out martini – a glass filled with vermouth, then dumped out and filled with gin.
5. Alfred Hitchcock and Winston Churchill had the same idea – Hitch said the closest he wanted to get to a bottle of vermouth was looking at it from across the room. That quote is often attributed to Churchill, actually, but the Washington Post says otherwise… Churchill is misquoted all of the time, so I’m inclined to believe them.
6. Clark Gable’s character in the 1958 movie Teacher’s Pet likes to take the bottle of vermouth, tip it upside down so the liquid wets the cork, and then run the damp cork around the lip of the martini glass.
7. FDR absolutely loved martinis and is rumored to have carried a “martini kit” with him wherever he went. His recipe was two parts gin, one part vermouth, some olive brine, a lemon twist and an olive. He insisted on mixing his concoction for Stalin at the Teheran conference. Stalin found it “cold on the stomach” but tasty.
8. Julia Child preferred reverse martinis: a glass full of vermouth on the rocks (she liked Noilly Prat) with a topper of gin. She said she could easily down two of those.
9. Queen Elizabeth II likes Gordon’s gin with three slices of lemon. She may have gotten her taste for gin from her mom – the Queen Mother once requested that two bottles of Dubonnet and gin be packed for an outing, “in case it is needed.” The note she wrote to an aide requesting the booze sold at an auction for $32,000 in July.
10. W.C. Fields reportedly liked to start his day with a couple of double martinis in the morning – one before breakfast and one after.
And here’s a bonus: Richard Nixon liked his martinis, but several sources say he couldn’t handle them very well. He liked the ratio to be about seven parts gin to one part vermouth.
Comments (19)
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I always like knowing the rich and powerful can hold their liquer.
Hey, Stacy, why not go the vodka martini route? Purists may sneer, but I’ll still take it over gin any day.
posted by Chelsea on 11-10-2008 at 3:49 pm
I admit it, I have lowbrow tastes. My favorite is the chocolate martini, although, according to Anthony Bourdain, this makes me an asshole (see the link in my name).
posted by Jaclyn McKewan on 11-10-2008 at 4:01 pm
Dirty vodka martini – on the rocks when in a crowd!
posted by anonymous on 11-10-2008 at 4:14 pm
can you tell the difference between grey goose and bottom shelf vodka without looking at grey goose’s fancy bottle? most vodka drinkers can’t. there was a story in the NYT about this a year ago.
posted by bill on 11-10-2008 at 4:21 pm
my friend’s family plays a liqour tasting game at family parties. they get 4 or 5 bottles of the same liquor ranging from poor to top shelf in quality. the guests must then take turns sampling and rating the liquors… i want to attend more of his family parties.
ps. im definitely a vodka martini kinda gal.
posted by tiffany on 11-10-2008 at 4:46 pm
I like it Dirty! (A martini, that is)
A Vodka Martini, in & out, slightly dirty, with extra olives.
And even the in & out is unnecessary- just fill a glass with vodka, some olive juice, and olives. yum.
And the only vodka that I can tell is premium by taste alone is Ketel One.
posted by QT314159265 on 11-10-2008 at 4:55 pm
Stacy, I suggest you stay away from vodka martinis initially since vodka is neutral–you’re basically making “Absolut Vermouth”. If you like vermouth, that’s great, but the combination of gin’s juniper flavor with dry or sweet vermouth is the main point of the martini cocktail.
If you’re going to make a 15-to-1 ratio (or less) martini, just call it gin or vodka. How do you determine it’s 15-to-1 ratio of anything unless you’re mixing a pitcher? I like gin, but a Churchill or Montgomery or Gable or Hitchcock is pretty much straight gin which you’ve admitted you hate.
Therefore, my suggestion is to mix sweet martinis made with Italian vermouth. I’d start with a 4-to-1 ratio of gin to sweet vermouth. That’s pretty sweet but should be different enough from straight gin to give you an idea. Then reduce the vermouth ratio to something you prefer. Or try the dry (French) vermouth for a more traditional martini flavor. Or try garnishing with lemon or orange peel or cocktail onions, etc. etc.
Note that vermouth can spoil like wine (keep it in the refrigerator). So be wary of those five-year-old bottles of opened vermouth that have been sitting at room temperature. I suspect that might be the reason so many people are turned off by vermouth–it’s gone bad.
posted by Jerry on 11-10-2008 at 5:02 pm
Umm- just to show my complete ignorance- how can one ‘bruise gin’ and ‘maim the integrity of the cocktail’?
posted by karen on 11-10-2008 at 5:10 pm
Don’t forget the famous Dorthy Parker quote:
“I like to have a martini,
two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host.”
posted by DennisP on 11-10-2008 at 5:27 pm
I don’t know anything about liquor at all! Wouldl iove to see a post about the different types and what they are made from (gin, vermouth, etc).
posted by Dawn on 11-10-2008 at 6:17 pm
The argument against shaking has nothing to do with “bruising the gin.”
It has to do with the consistency and texture of the final drink. If you stir, you get a silky smooth, clear drink.
If you shake, you aerate the drink, so the result is cloudy. Especially if you use a reasonable amount of vermouth.
Which I do. My favorite currently is the Astoria, which is 2 : 1 gin : dry vermouth, plus two dashes of orange bitters. And try it with Martini and Rossi Bianco, which is halfway between a dry and sweet vermouth. Delicious. And I always stir mine and garnish with a lemon twist. Stirring takes longer to get good and cold (shaking does get your drink colder quicker), but I far prefer my clear drinks to be clear.
And DennisP, I like that Dorothy Parker quote so much, I named my cocktail blog after it!
posted by Stevi Deter on 11-10-2008 at 9:46 pm
To anyone interested in learning more about alcohol and cocktails, I highly recommend “Alcoholica Esoterica” by Ian Lendler…not only educational, but really entertaining!
posted by Lesley on 11-11-2008 at 9:36 am
I thought a Churchill martini was made by pouring gin into a glass and waving a bottle of vermouth over the glass :)
Yes, it’s still just a glass of gin but I like the image of waving a bottle of vermouth over my glass more than blowing towards France. Just my preference.
posted by Lilly on 11-11-2008 at 9:50 am
“Jaclyn McKewan”
haha my boyfriend loves chocolate martinis. i just sent him that link with the title “Anthony Bourdain thinks you’re an asshole” lol.
I guess I’m an asshole too though , I like chocolate martinis.
posted by Natasha on 11-11-2008 at 10:44 am
Juniper flavor? Drinking gin is like putting your mouth over a Christmas tree. Nasty. :P
Vodka all the way. In fact, just go with vodka rocks and you’ll be much happier than with any martini.
posted by airship on 11-11-2008 at 11:25 am
I’ve read that Bond prefers his martinis “shaken, not stirred,” because he drinks vodka martinis, and it makes perfect sense to shake a vodka martini.
posted by Jim on 11-11-2008 at 1:16 pm
Not a martini drinker at all these days myself, but I laughed out loud at the image in Lilly’s comment of Churchill “blowing towards France.” Priceless.
posted by Betsy on 11-11-2008 at 2:09 pm
I adore the Queen, but someone needs to explain the Martini. Gin with lemon is not a martini. It is gin. In a glass. With lemon. And neither are the chocolate versions, fruity whatsits or anything other than vermouth, gin or vodka, and big ol’ honkin’ olive. THe others are good, yes, but they are other yummy voddy-based drinks in the swanky glass. I have after all been served both mashed potatoes and ice cream parfaits in a martini glass and weren’t called “tatertinis” or “brrrrrrtinis”
posted by alli on 11-11-2008 at 10:07 pm
On a pure-randomness blog I wrote a couple years ago about the Redneck Martini, involving standard ingredients and the following directions:
Drink a bottle of gin whilst staring at a bottle of vermouth.
Simple and tasty.
posted by Evil Timmy on 11-12-2008 at 1:44 am