MARTINIS, IN PLACES

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 martini. Olives for vodka, lemon and/or rosemary for a gin martini. And, of course, the seldom seen anymore Gibson, which used a cocktail onion to differentiate itself from a "Martini." 

(Don't kid yourself World, the Gibson is a Martini with a superiority complex.)

But in each bar lies a variation unique to that locale and to the bartender making the drink.

Some of the best martinis come from places - and this should be no surprise - where the lead bartender has some affinity for the drink. Instead of being one of dozens of cocktails the bartenders are trained to service, the lead bartender may have four or five standard cocktails that are their go-to specialities.

Specialities

I’m not talking about the ubiquitous “bar specialities” as listed on a separate part of the menu. Those are typically designed to automatically upgrade the cost of the drink by emphasizing a particular upscale brand of the base liquor versus a well brand to be able to charge a little more. An example would be a (and I'm making this up) Julio's Margarita, which features Don Julio tequila (a premium brand), versus a "regular" margarita made with a less expensive tequila. Or even a Cadillac Margarita, made with a dollop of Grand Marnier in addition to the tequila.

That's precisely why the wait staff will ask you if you prefer a brand name when you order a cocktail. It ups the cost and hence the profit for the bar (and a slightly higher tip for the staff).

And sometimes you'll be asked about a specific brand to get rid of a particular bottles of something. A specialty drink that gets rid of specific inventory.

I had an experience in Reno in which when I sat down at a casino's bar I noticed a display of some sort of flavored vodka - it could have been strawberry or berry. It was a bright pink color is all I recall. Bright. Pink. The display had arranged maybe fifty bottles of the stuff on a riser at the back of the bar.

I had never heard of the brand and asked the waitress about the display.

Whoa, that's bright!

“It's bubble gum vodka. Would you like one? A bubblegum martini?”

It sounded disgusting. “No, just curious.”

“No. I mean would you like one? On the house.”

“Wha-“ suspicion suddenly raised its head. “Why?”

“They came in three weeks ago to premiere the brand and we can’t give it away. In fact, that’s what I’ve been told to do: give it away.”

“Wow. Okay.” I shrugged. Free booze. “I’ll try it.”

It wasn’t that it was bad. I’m not a fan of most flavored vodkas, though the occasional lemon vodka and the seasonal peppermint vodkas are favorites. It just wasn’t anything special, but not as bad as I'd initially feared. 

(I’ll admit, however, that the “free” nature of the drink required me to test two more bubblegum martinis before moving on. And yes, I tipped based on three full price martinis. No sense in biting the hand that feeds you free martinis.)

Evolution of the Martini glass

I’ve found you can identify whether or not the bar regards the martini as something special by the glass it’s served
in. The standard, of course, is the cocktail glass, commonly referred to as a “martini glass.” It’s the convex inverted cone shape we’re all familiar with. But that is a fairly recent creation. True martini glasses traditionally resembled what used to be called a “champagne glass” before that term started to refer to narrow flutes instead of wide-mouthed wine glasses. It’s like a martini glass if you stepped on it while it was still molten, flattening out the base instead of a cone.

I’ve personally been served martinis - the true gin/vodka variety with a hint of vermouth - in everything from plastic cups to tumblers to rocks glasses, and a couple even served in Margarita glasses - to which I applaud the creativity when the simple martini glass isn’t available.

Confused yet? For me it’s the content and not the vessel, though as a purist the glass can certainly affect the taste.

But each bar is different. A special glass indicates the bartender and owner appreciate that this is a special drink. And the wait staff appreciate  glasses other than the usual one because those lacking a sloped edge - and having a slightly higher lip - can be less prone than the traditional glass to  a gin-soaked wait staff, or a vodka-soaked customer. In the pictures attached you can see the variety of glasses used in bars that I believe think of their martinis as a cut above, and my own personal experiences reinforce.

Every city is different. Every bar is different. 

It’s finding the places that know what they’re doing that makes the search so rewarding.