The Martini: A Somewhat Factual History
Round 1: A Hazy Beginning
Article By: Mike Hamer
Unlike the straightforward, clear-cut question of a gin and tonic or, say, a rum and coke, the martini pretty much exists as an idea, an interpretation, a mere matter of taste. Should it be made with gin or vodka? Should it be shaken or stirred? Fruity? Dry? Garnished with olives or a twist? To each of these, the answer is an unequivocal yes and also a resounding no.
Everything about the martini, it seems, is up for debate -- its history, its ingredients, its preparation, even its folklore. So hazily and loosely defined is the drink nowadays that saying you like martinis is like saying you like music or food. Really, the martini is less a drink than it is a class of drinks.
Has it always been this way? Well, yes and no. Purists, if there can be such a thing, will claim that in order for a martini to be considered a martini it must contain gin and vermouth, and they do have some quasi-historical data to back this claim.
The first martini – or martini-like drink – was poured sometime between 1862 and 1871 and was called a Martinez, a name to honor the humble town of Martinez, California, where it was purportedly first dreamed up by bartender Julio Richelieu, proprietor of the eponymous Julio Richelieu Saloon.
However (and with the martini there’s always a however), this tale of origin runs counter to another popular and far more glamorous claim that the first martini was actually created in New York in 1911 when Knickerbocker Hotel head bartender Martini di Arma di Taggia allegedly served his original “martini” creation to none other than John D. Rockefeller who, in a nod to its creator, suggested it be called a Martini.
Of the two stories, the Martinez, California, tale is the most reliable, as there exists persuasive evidence that the name “martini” was in full circulation well before Rockefeller started hammering them. Earliest credit goes to the British Army who, in the 1870s, is said to have morphed the Martinez into the martini by likening the drink to its powerful Martini and Henry rifle – both delivered a strong kick. More damning to the Knickerbocker tale is that the word martini shows up in an 1888 drink-mixing tome titled, "New and Improved Illustrated Bartending Manual," and, that the Oxford English Dictionary states that the earliest use of the word martini was in 1894 and that it derives from Martini and Rossi Vermouth.
For all the idle Cliff Claven discrepancies and contradictions surrounding the birth of the martini there does exist at least one common denominator: each of the “original” martini recipes include the presence of gin and vermouth, a fact that should allow the purists to drink in peace. Furthermore, when drinking went underground during Prohibition, it was gin’s ability to be distilled quickly and surreptitiously that, by default, made it the alcohol of choice for speakeasies and moon shiners. It was likely a gin martini or no martini at all. Score two for the purists.
However (there’s that word again), consult the early martini drink manuals and recipes and you’ll find that no two are alike. None agree upon the correct ratio of gin to vermouth, whether the vermouth should be sweet or dry, whether bitters should be included, whether to shake or stir, whether to serve over ice or neat, or if garnishing requires olives, a twist, an onion or a Maraschino cherry, for crying out loud. Again with the discrepancies. But such is the subjective nature of the drink that even among the purists there are no purists.
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