Are You Prepared for National Martini Day? (June 19th)
Today we’re taking stock of our bar supplies in preparation to toast an iconic, but often divisive, cocktail. Yes, folks, dust off your favorite shaker and polish the garnish picks – tomorrow is National Martini Day.
The first question is: Vodka or Gin? You know our answer, so we’ll just leave it at that…
Perfect, dry, dirty, extra dirty are all addendums to this seemingly simple concoction, each with its own specific set of instructions, and the ratio of vermouth to measure is a hotly debated question all its own. Some people prefer olives – sometimes stuffed with blue cheese, jalapenos, or garlic – but be sure to skewer and garnish with one or three, as two brings bad luck according to bar lore. Others take it with a twist. Tito takes his shaken, on ice, with blue cheese stuffed olives (or a twist of lemon rind).
Variations of this colorless drink with countless iterations have been ordered, sipped and romanced by the genre-spanning historical and fictitious likes of James Bond, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mae West, Ernest Hemingway, James Thurber, Jack London, Humphrey Bogart, FDR… and maybe even your dad. Definitely our dads.
No matter how you take yours (we recommend vodka, Tito’s Handmade Vodka), chill those glasses ‘cause come tomorrow, it’s martini time!
If you’re new to the martini game, here’s a straightforward recipe to get you started. Over time you’ll hone in on your preferences, and can confidently add descriptors.
Tito’s Martini
- 3 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
- ½ oz (or less) of dry vermouth
- 3 olives or a lemon rind twist to garnish
Combine Tito’s Handmade Vodka, dry vermouth and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake, or stir, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with three olives on a pick, or a twist of lemon rind.