In writing the first “Martini Monday” post, I was thinking, Wow! MLK Day. Maybe we should do a special MLK martini - then I thought, well, he was a Baptist Minister - perhaps this might not go well.

So, I thought that maybe the best martini to start with, is to pay homage to the Classic Martini - where it all began.

It has been called the “the elixir of quietude” by author E. B. White, and the “three - martini lunch” of executives was the mainstay of the early power lunch in the world of the company chief, but the martini is a simple, delightful, albeit killer concoction of…well..mostly…alcohol.

My earliest memories was of the smell of alcohol from the glass thinking. “Good God - how can this actually taste good?”

Decades later, I find myself a convert. A wannabe. But, I am not a huge gin drinker, nor am I a very good classic martini drinker. I will admit - I am a Fruitini connoisseur. I need my fruit- or chocolate- in my glass. With my vodka. No vermouth. No gin. No olives. I’m a flavor junkie. So does that make me any less of a martini maven due to my fruitiness? (at several levels…)

Mais Non. The martini should be enjoyed in whatever form possible, with whatever ingredients one would love to concoct and the purists can laugh at my inability to chug the (let’s be honest here) harsh partnership of gin and vermouth. It’s okay. It hearkens me back to other fads I was never good at.

HulaHoop
Frisbee - unless I am throwing to my dogs - they can catch anything thrown - even an errant pass in the bushes…
Lite Brite
Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots
Operation
Tiddly Winks
Checkers
Hungry Hungry Hippos
and I am sure there are lots more…

Much like the Classic Martini, I just didn’t understand the strategy. I enjoyed playing physical sports when I was a child - playing outside. Growing up in New England, there was nothing like the smell of fresh ice on the pond in back of the woods and everyone meeting up for some pickup hockey. But, I digress…

My point here, if there is one, is that the martinis are ubiquitous and enjoyed in any form, and so be it if one is not a purist - I’m not, but I certainly appreciate those who do. Like James Bond, Ernest Hemingway, Cary Grant, Winston Churchill and Brian the Dog on Family Guy.

Drink up, dear readers. And send me some of your favorite martini recipes for all of us to enjoy!
Email me here: feedback@atbar.com

The Classic Martini Recipe

1 oz Gin
1/4 oz Dry Vermouth White
Stir gently with ice in a steel cocktail shaker - so as not to bruise the gin - and strain into a Martini Glass. Garnish with an olive or a lemon peel twist