Dry martini

Martini, saepe plenius dry martini, est potio fortis mixta generis cocktail, saeculo XIX exeunte inventa. Consensu universali martini originem suam in Civitatibus Foederatis habet: philologus ergo Americanus huiusque potionis amator H. L. Mencken haud infeliciter the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet ("solam inventionum Americanarum quae adeo perfecta sit ut sonetum") nuncupavisse refertur.Alistair Cooke, Six Men (Novi Eboraci: Knopf, 1977) p. 94;  p. xix Lyman Phillips anno 1906  his verbis iudicavit: The cocktail is the national apéritif of America — Manhattan or Martini being most in favor ("cocktail est propoma Americanorum nationale: in hoc genere Manhattan aut Martini maxime probatur").A. Lyman Phillips, A bachelor's cupboard (Bostoniae: Luce, 1906) p. 162 Annis insequentibus (quo aevo cocktail hour,Citationes ab anno 1893:  ita nuncupata, apud Americanos non paucos ante cenam celebrabatur) a pluribus scriptoribus, viris politicis, mercatoribus Civitatum Foederatarum martini paene loco potionis nationalis habebatur, ut qui non tantum de eius confectione sed etiam de essentialitate aut levius aut profundius loqui solebant. His non omnino dissentiens, Nicetas Chruščëv princeps Sovieticus, "arma Civitatum Foederatarum letalissima" annis 1960 agnominavit. p. 134, fonte primario citato;  p. xix

 De nomine et historia 
Nomen dry martini hoc sensu primum fortasse anno 1903 legitur,It was an actual mystery to him that any one could dally with a Dry Martini while there was a hydrant on every corner: G. Ade, People You Know p. 20 vocabulum simplex martini anno 1896,As he sipped his martini and inhaled its seductive bouquet, a far-away look came into his baby-blue eyes: The Crescent [Novi Eboraci] (1 Augusti 1896) p. 11 col. 2 paulo anterius locutio martini cocktail anno 1884 in Modern Bartender's Guide ab O. H. Byron edito, sed eodem anno Martinez cocktail in The Bar-tender's Guide a Jerry Thomas scripto. Si haec appellatio pristina sit (id quod incertum est), nonnulli, fontibus haud fidei dignis, e nomine urbis Martinez Californiae derivare suadeant.P. Tamony in Western Folklore vol. 26 (1967) p. 124 ff.

Byron breviter "eadem quae Manhattan nisi quod iuniperatum loco vischii recipias" praecepit. Ita partes aequales iuniperati vinique absinthitae dulcis, instillationes elixirum curaçao et Angostura aequales recipere solebat.Martinez cocktail: same as Manhattan, only you substitute gin for whisky:  p. 21 Nostro tempore potio martini e spiritu iuniperato multo, vino absinthita sicco pauco conficitur,  fere semper omissis, glacie sedulius refrigerata, aut oliva aut lumiae cortice ornata.

Inter placita Americanorum leviora retinere oportet mandatum sample the bewildering depths of the "Martini cocktail" ("degustate perplexantes profunditates potionis martini") cuiusdam diarii Neo-Eboracensis anni 1887;Brooklyn Daily Eagle (30 Iunii 1887) p. 2 col. 2 Robertique Lowell poëtae illius fere nationalis domum ope potionum martini reditum, We made it on ... martinis;Robert Lowell, "Homecoming" in Day By Day (Novi Eboraci: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1977) p. 11 consensumque constrictissimum cui Arthurus Schlesinger se cum Roberto Bork (de quo vide infra) anno 1989 convenisse confessus est, But he is likeable, and we agreed at least on the indispensability of the dry martini ("nihilominus amabilis est, atque ad minimum de natura indispensabili potionis dry martini una mente locuti sumus").Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr, Journals 1952-2000 (Novi Eboraci: Penguin Press, 2008) sub anno 1989

Scriptorum omnium Ernestus Hemingway maxime hanc potionem cupiebat, etiamsi Lutetiae annis 1920 propter paupertatem rarius consumpsisset. Protagonistas mythistoriarum, tamquam pro se agentes, martini libentissime bibentes monstrat. In A Farewell to Arms Fridericum Henry heroem, ab exercitu Italico clam discedentem, Strixiam ad amicam rursus inveniendam petiisse, sed illa non iam reperta statim in deversorio duas martini bibisse, olivas, amygdala sale condita, segmina patatarum comedisse, pastilla sandwich iterumque duas martini postulavisse: I had never tasted anything so cool and clean. They made me feel civilized. I had had too much red wine, bread, cheese, bad coffee and grappa ("Nullam aliam rem adeo nitidam refrigeratoriamque gustaveram. Me cultum sentire fecerunt. Vinum rubrum, panem, caseum, coffeum acerbum, spiritum vini nimis sumpseram").Ernesti Hemingway A Farewell to Arms (1929) cap. 34

 De rebus politicis 
Herbertus Hoover praeses ab annos 1930 martini ritualiter bibisse, potionem a sinistra ad rectam incitans, atque iam senem ab eo tempore quo medicus unam tantam praescripsisset, cyathum maiorem postulavisse, secundum biographum Davidem Burner; maxime diligisse horam cocktail, quam "moram" nuncupavisset "inter errores probationesque diei et spes noctis".From the 1930's onward, he drank martinis ritualistically, "stirring them to the right", insisting on a larger glass late in life when his doctor limited him to one. The cocktail hour was his favourite time, "the pause," he called it, "between the errors and trials of the day and the hopes of the night": David Burner, Herbert Hoover: a public life (Novi Eboraci: Knopf, 1979) pp. 218-219;  p. xxviii

Theodorus Roosevelt praeses, sicut Americani multi, potiones ipse misceri solebat hospesque generosus convivas fere quotidie convocabat, sed, secundum nonnullos, martini pessimas omnium conficiebat.Many people — and this is recorded — say "the president made the worst martinis I’ve ever tasted": Curtis Roosevelt (nepos praesidis) apud History Channel (2005); Brian Abrams, "5 Presidents Who Fought For Their Right To Party" (4 Februarii 2015) Nonnumquam impensarum quantitatis dum etiam miscebat oblitus est; ipsum e cyatho subbibit, ac, si perite gustu suo miscuisset, "Yummy, nonne bonum!" dixit.Grace G. Tully, F.D.R., My Boss (Novi Eboraci: Scribner, 1949) Ricardus Nixon praeses, secundum aulicum quendam, si de ulla re, de martini sicut cognoscens iudicabat; de confectore spiritus iuniperati et de mixtura curiosissime inquirebat.If he is a connoisseur of anything ... it is martinis. He is very particular about the brand of gin -- he prefers Beefeater -- and the way it's mixed: apud David Butwin, "Nixon in Rebozoland" in Saturday Review (8 Martii 1969) p. 109 Ultima potio, quam nocte demissionis suae sumpsit, martini esse refertur. et alibi, fonte non citato

Ille Bork, iudex conservativus, quondam advocatus generalis Civitatum Foederatarum, solus fortasse inter politicos saeculi XX de potione a se amata commentationem longiorem conscripsit: quam composuerit eo fere die, conservativis nefasto, quo Gulielmus Clinton (olim discipulus suus apud Yalenses) praeses iterum electus est. Ibi de rebus factionalibus' "una tantum potio" scripsit "correctitudinem conservativam convehit, videlicet dry martini, quam Bernardus DeVoto 'supremum donum ad culturam mundanam ab Americanis datum' nuncupavit,Bernard DeVoto, The Hour (Boston: Riverside, 1951) p. 22;  p. xix quam autem mundus iste haud appetenter accepit: recentius in tabernis Angliae bonam martini non habueris nisi mixturam tumet ipse fecisses. Martini electionibus anno 1994 habitis apud nos restituta est: nos devictionis nostrae anno 1996 oblivisci adiuvet."There is only one drink that conveys conservative correctness ... the dry martini ... which Bernard DeVoto called the “supreme American gift to world culture.” Not that the world accepted the gift very eagerly: until recently the only sure way to get a decent martini in England was to go behind the bar and make it yourself ... The martini was brought back by Republicans with the '94 elections; it will help us forget '96.

 De horis 
W. C. Fields histrio mane surgens duas martini duplices, Geraldus Ford legatus futurusque praeses martini singulam ante alium cibum sumere solebat; quam potionem caupona "ientaculum victorum" (breakfast of champions) in mythistoria eiusdem tituli Curtii Vonnegut nuncupare fingitur.Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions (Novi Eboraci: Dell, 1995) pp. 194, 210 Duas martini cum prandio sumptas Georgius McGovern candidatus ad praesidatum anno 1972 vituperavit; cui post sex annos respondens Geraldus Ford tres martini medio die bibitas levius defendit.There is something fundamentally wrong with the tax system ... when it allows a corporate executive to deduct his $20 martini lunch while a working man cannot deduct the price of his bologna sandwich; The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency. Where else can you get an earful, a bellyful, and a snootful at the same time? Jerry Della Femina, "The Hey-Day of the Three-Martini Lunch" in New York Times Magazine (28 Octobris 1989) p. 22

Rectius autem crebriusque de potionibus martini ante cenam sumptis, eadem hora quae cocktail hour nominatur, scribuntur historici recentiores (ita anecdotice Barbara Holland: "illis diebus operario domum redeunte ad portam a muliere salutato martini optime refrigerata oblata est; cuius ope animus restitutus, nervi nodosi relaxati erunt")In the olden days, the returning breadwinner was greeted by his wife at the door with a perfectly chilled martini ... It restored his soul, loosened his tightly coiled nerves: Barbara Holland, Endangered Pleasures: in defense of naps, bacon, martinis, profanity, and other indulgences (Bostoniae: Little, Brown, 1995) p. 41 antiquioribus non dissentientibus. P. G. Wodehouse enim breviter per heroëm Bertie Wooster "cenam bene temperatam" laudat "praecedentibus dry Martini duabus, dimidiata vini lagena perluente"."A nicely-balanced meal, preceded by a couple of dry Martinis, washed down with half a bot": P. G. Wodehouse, Very Good, Jeeves (1930) cap. 2 p. 57 Ad hanc habitudinem roborandam apud societatem cenatoriam Century Club Neo-Eboracensem potiones martini et Manhattan nostro tempore libenter dantur, aliis potionibus (aqua non excepta) venditatis. p. 127, fonte fortasse seipso

 De confectione 
Qui de martini praesertim de confectione potionis colloquuntur, sicut in convivio praeceptorum a mythistorico Randall Jarrell fingitur: "Potiones nobis datae sunt. Potavimus. Dum potabamus locuti sumus, sed loqui in euphemismum hic scribitur: dialogum istum de modo confectionis martini egimus ... Americani Inferni incolae de martini commiscendis inter se disputant."We were given drinks, and drank them, and talked while we drank them. But talked, here, is a euphemism: we had that conversation about how you make a Martini ... Americans in Hell tell each other how to make Martinis. Randall Jarrell, Pictures from an Institution: a comedy (1954) p. 40

De ornatu iam centum fere annos disputatum est, an cortice limoniorum seu lumiarum, an potius olivis, sed quot olivis (usque ad quattuor, vide imaginem) et qualibus (an capsico dulci farctis?) An modicum muriae, quo olivae conditae erant, addere oportet (vide imaginem)? De baculo, quo olivae infixantur, haud unquam disputatur, tamquam periculosum sit: baculo incaute hausto, diverticulo coli mox transpuncto, scriptor Sherwood Anderson peritonitide mortuus est.B. H. Kean, M.D.: One Doctor's Adventures among the Famous and Infamous (1990);  p. xi

De siccitate aut dulcitudine disputationem cognoscentium fingitur: sweet martini in libris praeceptorum exstetit, sed scriptis plurimis dry martini et martini eundem sensum habent. Potiones huius generis nihilominus annis 1880 et 1890, fortasse etiam tardius, e vino absinthita dulci confieri solebant; ergo eo aevo omnes martini dulces, sed ab annis 1940 omnes "siccae" vel amarae fiunt.It is generally held that the 1940s was the decade in which the Martini became truly dry:  p. 131 Eodem fere rythmo martini fortiores factae sunt, vino absinthita gradatim deminuta, aqua vitae aucta. Eo aevo M. F. K. Fisher gastronoma quattuor potiones martini definivit, quarum ultimam, e quattuor partes iuniperati ampullulamque absinthitae mixtam, se sibi ipso reservavisse praetendit, omnibus aliis absentibus.Given the silly fillip of a scant driblet of vermouth, icy-cold gin can make a private and soul-satisfying drink indeed, and one not to be indulged in lightly, too long, or oftener than the stars dictate ... Palliative or poem, it is good:  Eisdem annis Natalis Coward scriptor scaenicus praecepisse dicitur filling a glass with gin, then waving it in the general direction of Italy ("cyathus iuniperato repletus Italiam versus gesticuletur", Italiam scilicet unde vina absinthita plura proveniunt.Citatio saepissime reperta sed fonte primario carente

Multi recentius loco iuniperati vodcam recipiunt, ita vodka martini bibentes. Sunt qui post ioannem Fleming vel potius Iacobum Bond "Vesper" sumunt, vodca retenta, vino cinchonato adhibito loco absinthitae. Sed Bork, nomen martini talibus variationibus abnegans, olivis reiectis, de mixtura verae potionis verbis iudicialibus "mixturam iuniperati et absinthitae" scripsit "proportionibus ab 4:1 usque ad 8:1 permittendam," iuniperatos Bombay, Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, absinthita Boissière a se praelatis: glacie e cyatho excluderetur sed ipse columniacus cyathus gelaretur adeo ut frigidissimus esset.In the first place, a drink made with vodka is not a martini. A martini means gin. Second, olives are to be eschewed, except by people who think a martini is a type of salad. Finally, the martini must be straight up ... The proportion of gin to vermouth may range from 4:1 to 8:1. The upper end of that range is preferable ... The three best gins, in my view, are Bombay, Bombay Sapphire, and Tanqueray, but it is possible to make a fine martini with lesser gins ... My favorite French vermouth is Boissiere ... The martini should be served in a stemmed glass that has been chilled until it is as cold as possible. 

 De rebus sensualibus 
Fisher autem, de sensualitate martini loquens, se concipisse confessa est the real pleasure of a definite alcoholic wallop. There is no less vulgar way of describing what a dry Martini gives me. It is as warming as a hearthfire in December, as stimulating as a good review by my favorite critic ... as exciting as a thorough buss I have yearned for from a man I didn't even suspect suspected me ("libidinem veram colaphi alcoholici distincti; non potest verbis urbanioribus describi id quod dry martini mihi dat. Adeo calefacit quam flammae foci Decembres, adeo excitat quam laudatio a recensore mi cariore edita, adeo accendit quam basia illius admirati quem aestimatum meum percepisse non iam perceperam").

His anno fere 1930 a femina libera satisque potente fassis, Ernestus Hemingway mox in mythistoria Across the River and Into the Trees nolens potestatem tradit, qua vir admiratus, mixturae alcoholicae dominus, in puellam agere possit: Colonellum Cantwell heroëm, Renatam multo iuniorem excipiens, martini fortissimae Montgomery confectionis sibi illaeque afferri iussisse, praebibere cyathorum contactu "si volumus" docuisse: cui illam "volo" respondisse: "gelatissimae potiones veraeque Montgomery erant, quas, marginibus contactis, per superiores corporum partes iucunde ardere sentiebant.""Waiter," the Colonel called; then asked, "Do you want a dry Martini, too?" "Yes," she said. "I'd love one." "Two very dry Martinis," the Colonel said. "Montgomerys. Fifteen to one ... We just raise the glasses to each other, and, if we wish, we can touch the edges." "I wish," she said. The Martinis were icy cold and true Montgomerys, and, after touching the edges, they felt them glow happily all through their upper bodies. ... "Waiter, ancora due Martini." He did not like to call for Montgomerys in a tone that could be overheard because there were two obvious Britishers at the next table: Ernestus Hemingway, Across the River and Into the Trees (1950) cap. 14

 Notae 

 Bibliographia 
 Historica





 David Leigh, The Complete Guide to the Drinks of James Bond (2012) pp. 56-59, 74-80 
 Anistatia R. Miller, Jared M. Brown, Shaken Not Stirred: a celebration of the martini. Novi Eboraci: Harper, 1997
 Max Rudin, "There is something about a martini" in American Heritage vol. 48 no. 4 (1997) pp. 32-51
  (editio 1a: 2007)


 Praecepta
 1884 : 
 1887 : 
 1888 : Theodore Proulx, Bartender's manual (Chicago: Chapin & Gore) p. 25 "editionis recensae" ("Martini cocktail")
 1891 : William T. Boothby, Cocktail Boothby's American bar-tender. Franciscopoli no. 27 ("Martini cocktail")
 1895 : George J. Kappeler, Modern American Drinks: How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks (Novi Eboraci: Merriam, 1895) p. 38 ("Martini cocktail")
 1896 : Louis Fouquet, Bariana: Recueil de toutes boissons americains et anglaises (Lutetiae) p. 25 no. 18 ("Martini cocktail")
 1896 : Frederick Davies, Seymour Davies, Drinks of all kinds for all seasons. Londinii: Foulsham p. 27 ("Martini")
 1903 : Tim Daly, Daly's Bartenders' encyclopedia (Worcester Massachusettae) p. 69 ("Martini cocktail ... put in an olive")
 1904 : John Applegreen, Applegreen's bar book. Chicagi: Hotel Monthly p. 2 ("Martini cocktail; Martini cocktail, dry")
 1906 : George L. Spaulding, How to mix drinks. p. 14 ("Martini ... add cherry or olive; twist lemon peel on top")
 1906 : Louis Muckensturm, Louis' Mixed drinks, with hints for the care & serving of wines. Novi Eboraci: Caldwell pp. 44-45 ("Martini cocktail; Dry martini cocktail")
 1908 :  ("Dry martini cocktail; Martini cocktail")
 1911 : George R. Washburne, Stanley Bronner, Beverages de luxe. Louisville: Wine & Spirit Bulletin "Manhattan cocktail"
 1928 : 
 1930 : Gerardo Corrales, Club de cantiñeros de la República de Cuba: Manual oficial (Havanae, 1930) p. 51 ("Martini cocktail ... fórmula original creación de la case Martini & Rossi")
 1933 : 
 post 1937 : [William J. Tarling], Approved Cocktails: United Kingdom Bartenders Guild. Londinii: Pall Mall ("Martini, Dry ... Medium ... Sweet")

 Nexus externi 


 "The origins of the martini aren’t particularly interesting, but they’re very sweet"; "The proper martini: the most symbolically freighted cocktail in the world"; "An introduction to the dirty martini, with a tip of the hat to FDR"; "Exploring and explaining the extra-dry dry martini with your guide, Robert Bork"; "Promotional gimmicks, conceptual stunts, regional twists, and other martini variations"; "Considering the Gibson: the martini’s urbane, elite, oniony relative"
 Keith Allison, "Martini & myth" 1, 2, 3, 4

Categoria:Potiones mixtae
Categoria:Verba Anglica