The perfect Martini

So many people cannot be wrong.

There is something delightful in a perfectly blended Martini.

Environmental factors may further enhance the moment, but a Martini –when prepared right–, is a delightful experience in itself.

In my case, the word ‘martini’ inmediately brings memories from family gatherings, great moments with my wife as well as some memorable M*A*S*H dialogues/quotes.

There seem to be many theories as to where and when the Martini saw its first light.

Both the great Wikipedia and the wonderful ITotD sites have remarkable pages about it.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

(…) “The origin of the martini is uncertain. By one widely disseminated account, the martini is a descendant of the Martinez, an older, sweeter cocktail consisting of two ounces of sweet vermouth, one ounce Old Tom gin (a sweetened variant), two dashes maraschino cherry liquid, and one dash bitters, shaken with ice, strained, and served with a twist of lemon. The Martinez was most likely invented in Martinez, California, where a plaque commemorating the birth of the martini can be found on the north-east corner of the intersection of Alahambra and Masonic streets. The earliest known reference to the Martinez is found in “The Bon Vivants Companion: Or How to Mix Drinks,” first publishied in 1862 and authored by “Professor” Jerry Thomas, the “Principal Barman” at many famous watering holes including the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco.”

There is no shortage of information and opinions on-line on how to fix the perfect Martini.

Needless to say, everyone treasures his or her own ‘true’ recipe… as well as his or her very own understanding on how a ‘perfect’ Martini tastes like.

Please find two interesting ones here and here.

BTW, the comments at the Kuro5hin site will show you how picky and obsesive people can get about this. Obviously, this is not a matter to be taken lightly.

I thought I’ll leave for posterity my two pennyworth…

Regardless on how trendy vodka martinis might seem, ‘Gin’ was the original and I think is still the way to go… and without further ado, I hereby weigh in for the so-called ‘dirty Martini‘ as the true perfect one… with a slice of lemon peel in it… but of course.

From the recipe site above: (…) “Strain contents of the mixer into the cocktail glass, include one of the olives, and serve with a mysterious smile.” Nice.

Please allow me to say goodbye with a quote from a really bright guy:

“He was white and shaken, like a dry martini.”
P. G. Wodehouse