Typing the word “Martini” into a web search engine immediately brings up, along with the name of the cocktail, a list of famous names: James Bond, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway and Winston Churchill They are just a small sample of the notables that parade on the screen.
From Bond, the literary (and later cinematic) character created by Ian Fleming, we know that he preferred his Martini shaken rather than chilled. Roosevelt was such a fanatic that he carried a kit with him on all his trips to prepare it; He even bought Soviet leader Joseph Stalin a Dry Martini at the 1945 Yalta Conference, apologizing for not having lemons on hand for the final garnish.
Hemingway created his own version, the Montgomery Martini, with an exorbitant proportion of gin (15 parts) to just one part of dry vermouth. And the same style was preferred by Churchill, who said (a little jokingly, a little seriously) that to prepare an ideal Martini you had to replace dry vermouth simply with “a bow to France.”
“To become a classic, a cocktail has to be obviously delicious and easy to prepare. And I think it would add, as in many cases, a nice story behind it,” he emphasizes. Ramiro Ferreri, Brand Ambassador of Bulldog Dry Gin. And from now on, it is more than clear that the Martini is a cocktail that will always continue to be a classic for all those people who want to stand out.”
Argentine consumers and the Dry Martini
But that weight is not the only one the Martini carries. On the one hand, of course, it is a popular cocktail around the world: in the 2024 edition of Drinks International’s Cocktail Report, it was in the ranking of the 10 most ordered cocktails in 41% of establishments.
¨Argentine consumers consider it a symbol of both status and cocktail knowledge. In a study by the consulting firm Kantar Worldpanel prepared in May 2023 especially for Campari Group Argentina, consumers associate the Martini with a cocktail that is chosen based on the recognition of its quality and its power to impress. They consider that drinking Martini allows them to feel connoisseurs of the cocktail world and point out that choosing it is a demonstration of expertise¨, he explains Estefanía Jacobs, Bulldog Marketing Manager in Argentina.
His origins
Like many great creations in human history, the Martini does not have a single inventor. There are traces of recipes dating back to the mid-19th century in different parts of the world, and it is most likely that several bartenders began experimenting at the same time with different gin and vermouth mixtures.
In early versions, the Martini was made almost exclusively with Italian sweet vermouth. We had to wait until the beginning of the 19th century for the appearance of the Dry Martini, hand in hand with the growing popularity of London Dry Gin.
Gin as the base of the 17 best-selling cocktails
¨It is also worth noting that of the 50 most drunk cocktails in the world collected by the Drinks International Cocktail Report, 17 are made with gin as a base. At the same time, 96% said it was among the top 5 best-selling spirits, says Jacobs.
In Argentina, gin is the third most consumed spirit drink in our country, after aperitifs and vodka. Its consumption occurs mainly in bars and restaurants: 60% vs. 40% home consumption.
Although the proportions of gin and dry vermouth in a Dry Martini may vary depending on the hands that prepare it, generally about four parts of gin and one of vermouth are used. The cocktail is then cooled in a mixing glass, seeking a pure and transparent result, without ice chips.
In this way, the Dry Martini also notes another of the characteristics of a classic: simplicity. “You need it to appeal to both the bartender at a bar and the cocktail maker at home,” explains Sam Ross, bartender at Attaboy (New York) in the 2024 Cocktail Report by Drinks International. “Any ingredient that uses super complicated preparations, although it may be delicious, will not have replicability.” And what’s better than a cocktail that is associated with expertise while being, at the same time, easy to prepare?
The Martini and its variants
Then, of course, many bartenders choose to add a personal touch. “In particular, I like to add a few pebbles of sea salt to the classic Dry Martini because I like to accentuate the saline note,” says Ferreri. “And, when we refresh the liquid, I prefer a touch of dilution. “I like the cocktail to be a little lighter because it opens up the flavors better.”
It is precisely the creativity of the bartenders that gave the Martini a long life through the different variations that it gave birth to. It is known: a classic is also such when it inspires others to make it their own.
“At the end of the ’90s and beginning of the 2000s, Argentina had a super nice time where there were Martinis of different styles, which could be refreshing or stimulating from the spiciness, or a slightly more saline, or more fruity flavor. The truth is that, when it comes to talking about the popularity of the Martini, like other great classics, it has a lot of versatility,” says Ferreri.
Many versions after the birth of the Dry Martini already have a life of their own, such as the Espresso Martini, leading the International Cocktail Report 2024 in 4th place, the Dirty Martini in seventh, Pornstar Martini in 31st, the Vodka Martini in position 42 and the Perfect Martini, with equal parts of dry and sweet vermouths.
Even author Ian Fleming, through his character James Bond, inspired a new recipe: the Vesper Martini, which combines gin and vodka as a base and the currently discontinued Kina Lillet aperitif.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
