The Ultimate Martini

History of Martini.

... As the Martini matured in popularity, its paternity was contested, giving rise to a second theory. Call this The Martinez Story. Citizens of Martinez, California, claimed that around 1870 a miner from San Francisco stopped his horse at Julio Richelieu's saloon on Ferry Street in Martinez for a bottle of whiskey. Richelieu was a young Frenchman who had come up from to Contra Costa County from New Orleans. The miner plunked a tobacco sack of gold nuggets on the bar near the weigh-scales and handed Richelieu a bottle. The bartender filled the container with whiskey from a large barrel, but the traveler said he wasn't quite satisfied. To make up the difference, Richelieu picked up a glass, mixed him a small drink, and dropped an olive in it. "What is it?" asked the miner. "That," replied Richelieu, "is a Martinez cocktail."

Richelieu left Martinez to operate barrooms in San Francisco, his last saloon being Lotta's Fountain on the corner of Kearny and Market. Richelieu served a Free Lunch and a number of gourmet cocktails, but the Martinez was his specialty in the 1880s. Although Richelieu didn't stake his claim with a bar manual, the town of Martinez still insists that it is the Birthplace of the Martini; in 1992, a zealous group installed a brass plaque on the corner of Alhambra and Masonic to declare this "fact."

Recipe:
Two ounces of premium brand Vokda / Gin.
Splash of Dry Vermouth.

Preparation:
Do not pour the vermouth over ice.
Chill the Martini glass by submerging glass into crushed ice.
Chill vodka over ice in mixing glass.
Pour chilled water / ice from Martini glass and quickly dry inside of glass.
Pour vermouth into Martini glass, swirl, pour out, shake remainer of vermouth from glass.
Strain vokda into stemmed Martini glass.

Presentation:
Spear three small stuffed olives and drop in glass to marinate.

When drinking a Martini, take a bit out of olive and a sip of Martini, chew, swirl, swallow.

Variations:
Dry Martini - delete verymouth and rub lemon twist, skin side out, around rim of glass.
Dirty Martini - add olive juice into chilling mixture, garnish blue Bleu Cheese stuffed olives.
Tequini - delete Vodka / Gin and substitute premium Gold Tequila, garnish with lime wheel.
Gibson - delete cocktail olives and substitute a spear of three cocktail onions.

Shaken or Stirred?
It's your decision, I like mine very cold, so shake it!

Update: The Dirty Martini will heretofore be known as The Venomous Martini.

Cheers!