In Praise of the Martini
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
The day doesn’t exist that can’t be improved by a martini.
A martini is a celebration or a solace. It’s an indulgence or a home bartender’s best friend. But above all, a martini is the quintessential beverage of adulthood.
No other cocktail has so firm a grip on society and culture, showing up as a signifier of sophistication in everything from James Bond to The Queen’s Gambit. When Samantha threw a drink in her ex-lover’s face on Sex and the City, it wasn’t a Cosmo. It was a dirty martini. The martini even usurped the original purpose of its iconic glass, which was initially designed as an Art Deco riff on the champagne coupe.
The drink itself feels almost Deco. The quintessential recipe for a martini is two thirds spirits (vodka or gin—although it should be gin), one third vermouth, a dash of orange bitters, and a lemon twist. Served so cold you could skate across it. That’s it.
But a martini is never just a martini. There’s something about its simplicity that makes it a palimpsest for the drinker. A martini stops being just gin and vermouth the moment you pick it up.
In your hand a martini becomes an icy blank slate. You can be whatever glamorized version of yourself you need to be. Dorothy Parker laughing off a broken heart? Patsy Stone rising serenely above reality? A martini can do that. At least for the amount of time it takes to drink it.
We aren’t unaware that the martini is having a moment. Suddenly hotel bars are swarming with TikTokers in their best old money looks sipping for their followers. But when the hordes move on to the next tippling trend, we’ll still be in the corner booth. Cocktail fads come and go, but the martini is potent enough to last forever.
That resilience may stem in part from the enthusiasm of bartenders. Because the recipe is so matter-of-fact, a martini is ripe for reinterpretation. At the Polo Bar in Manhattan, a new martini menu allows diners and drinkers to imbibe their takes on martini variations, from a classic Martinez (the precursor to the martini) to a Tuxedo (gin, vermouth, Lillet Blanc, Luxardo, fig bitters, absinthe rinse).
The recipe is only the outline of the story, though. To punctuate even the best day with an exclamation point, go to the chicest bar you can find, sink into an armchair, and take your time scanning the room. Order a martini however you care to enjoy one (a bone-dry Hendrick’s with olives is an excellent starter for those who are gin-shy), and all the time you’re feeling the coldness seeping out of the glass, and the warmth of the drink spreading through your body, you can reinvent yourself as whatever it is you want to be.
This story appears in the March 2023 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
You Might Also Like
