The martini is a fairly universal cocktail. It has three basic ingredients (Gin/Vodka, vermouth, garnish), but the way it is made seems to differ throughout the world. Given that there are only two base liquors, and dry vermouth, the primary differentiator is the garnish. A few years ago I was sitting in the Barcelona Restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut, and the bartender used olives with a slightly smokey taste, made in-house. In turn, I’ve been in bars where bleu cheese- or garlic-stuffed olives were the standard. In other places you'll find the common unstuffed and even pimento-stuffed olives -- it really depends upon the lead bartender and how they want to approach the drink. And that's just the olives. The difference in garnishes may be subtle (the above mentioned ranged of olives), or they may be profound such as using a lemon twist versus an olive, or rosemary sprig versus a lemon twist. To me it's whether you're drinking a regular martini with gin, or a vodka ...
My wife sometimes teases me when we go out for a nice dinner or meet friends at a local restaurant or bar. She can sense when my attention shifts a bit towards what’s going on at the bar, and she’s even caught me counting shakes of a cocktail tin when a bartender is mixing a drink. (My personal rule for something like a martini is no more than four-six shakes, maybe four, five seconds. And not a vigorous shake either, the shake should be solid and not too violent. If the drink is more of a tiki style or something that you want aerated then knock yourself out. An aerated martini is an offense to nature.) So it’s a pleasure for me when I run into a kindred soul and we, as I put it, go all geeky with wine and spirits. The conversation is animated and frequently focused on sharing cool stuff. My second night on a recent business trip I encountered just such a person. A perfect vodka martini Before COVID I traveled with a fair amount of frequency. Business and pleasu...