A martini, shaken not stirred” said James Bond in Sean Connery’s third appearance as Bond in the 1964 film Goldfinger, and single-handedly made it one of the most fashionable drinks in popular culture. But did Bond get it wrong? Should a martini be stirred and not shaken. “A shaken martini is way colder for the first few moments after it’s poured but soon after it creeps up to room temperature. And no one likes a room temperature martini. A stirred martini will have less dilution and stay colder longer. So if you prefer your martinis sipped in a couple of sips, nice and snappy, like Bond, have it shaken. Me, I like to savour mine so I’ll have it stirred,” says Joe McCanta, Global Brand Ambassador, Grey Goose. However, he adds: “The truth is the martini is the only drink that you can completely make your own. So I would say, the perfect recipe is however you like it! I like mine with a 5:1 ratio (five parts vodka, one part vermouth) with a dash of orange bitters—stirred, not shaken (sorry James!) and garnished with a lemon twist.”
Traditionally, a martini is a gin-based cocktail but over the years it has become equally popular as a vodka cocktail. There are several stories related to the origin of the martini. A favourite theory goes that Italian bartender Martini di Arma made the first martini in 1911 for John D. Rockefeller who was a frequent guest at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City. He loved the drink and dubbed it ‘the martini’ after the bartender. The Knickerbocker continues to use the original recipe which had gin and not vodka. As per them, it is two ounces of gin, three-fourths ounce of dry vermouth, half ounce of sweet vermouth, a dash of orange bitters, a dash of citrus bitters, and lemon peel, for garnish.
The martini that Bond prefers is actually a Vesper, named after Vesper Lynd, the original Bond girl, and probably the only woman he loved. It is a combination of gin and vodka. The cocktail featured in Ian Fleming’s very first Bond novel—Casino Royale. In the book, Bond himself tells the exact recipe to the bartender. “A dry martini. One. In a deep champagne goblet. . . . Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?” Kina Lillet is a fortified wine.
Many of today’s most popular cocktails have histories that span the globe and have interesting back stories. Take the negroni, for example. Named after Florentine Count Camillo Negroni, the drink was invented in 1919. In the book Negroni Cocktail: An Italian Legend, author Luca Picchi says that Count Negroni spent a lot of time in New York City where he frequented cocktail bars. On his return to Florence he noticed that the only famous concoction in Italian high society was a simple mixture made with red vermouth, a splash of bitter Campari and soda. It was called Americano as it was popular with American tourists. Negroni suggested the bartender use less soda and add gin, and the Negroni cocktail was born.
“Unlike other cocktails that are sweet and sour, a negroni is a bitter and sweet cocktail. It is the simplest to make as the ratio is 1: 1: 1 between the gin, the vermouth and the Campari,” says Yangdup Lama, Co-founder of Delhi-based Sidecar, the only Indian bar to make it to the World’s 50 Best Bars 2022 list.
Lama mentions the mojito as another popular cocktail enjoyed by a large number of people. This minty, refreshing drink—a combination of white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda and mint—started life as a cure for scurvy. “Due to different cocktail cultures all around, there are different romanticised versions of how the mojito, or any cocktail for that matter, came to be,” says Jonas Ax, Advocacy Lead, Bacardi. “The consensus on the mojito and its history that most bartenders choose to believe, is that the drink came about when the Europeans reached the area around Cuba and Puerto Rico. They began suffering from tropical illnesses. While they were ashore they gathered ingredients that would aid them in tackling tropical illnesses, according to local South American Indians. What they brought with them was something called aguardiente—which translates to fire water or burning water—and is a very early precursor to rum. Made of sugarcane, the spirit tasted incredibly rough. Along with this, they also had local ingredients like lime, sugarcane and mint. Due to the medicinal qualities of the ingredients, they started mixing the aguardiente along with the herbs to ease its flavour while also reaping the benefits of the herbs simultaneously. And thus the origin of the mojito cocktail came about,” explains Ax. In 1862, Don Facundo Bacardi, started producing rum where he derived the style and technique of making aguardiente in Cuba. However, he wanted to ensure it was more palatable and accessible. So, he used a two-method distilling process, creating the first Bacardi variant, explains Ax.
The mojito is one of the most popular cocktails globally and its simplistic nature gives it so much room for variation and interpretations, says Tarun Sibal, chef and entrepreneur of Goa-based culinary bar Titlie where he serves a Dragonball mojito with Bacardi Ocho, pink dragonfruit, lime and lychee. “Mojito is the quintessential Cuban rum cocktail, but more than a cocktail it’s a vibe. Mojito emotes the sea, the sun, the joy of life and a vacation,” says Sibal.
In Miami’s Little Havana area, the mojito is the most popular drink among the local population of Cuban descent, as well as visitors. What makes the mojitos here different are the sugarcane sticks used to muddle the drink and also used as a garnish. A representative of Ball and Chain, one of the oldest bars in the area, explains, “Sugarcane is very close to our Cuban heritage. It is also perfect to bite when soaked in mojitos. So it is a combination of paying tribute to our Cuban history, adding a fun element to your drink and that delicious sugary taste that people with Cuban heritage love and know.”
Lama says that the dominant flavour in the mojito that one should be looking for is mint. “A mojito should be led by mint, followed by the balance of the lime and sugar.”
Another popular day drink is the Bloody Mary, which according to cocktail lore is named after British Queen Mary who was popularly known as ‘Bloody Mary’ because of her brutal and violent acts. The drink was, however, invented in a bar in Paris in the 1920s. A combination of vodka, tomato juice, Tabasco/ Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and lemon, it is also considered a good hangover cure. Lama suggests that it should not be over-spiced and not overpowering with tomato juice.
Another cocktail with an interesting back story is the Moscow Mule. Next time you order it or see someone sipping a cocktail in a copper mug, think of the three people, each figuring out a way to sell his/her excess stock. The cocktail was born in a Hollywood bar in 1941 when a Russian immigrant walked in with her stock of copper mugs looking for a buyer. At the Cock ‘n’ Bull bar she met Smirnoff owner John Martin, who was struggling to sell his vodka, and bar owner Jack Morgan, who couldn’t sell his new brand of ginger beer. The Moscow Mule which is one part vodka, two parts ginger beer, served in a copper mug full of ice was the perfect result of a collaboration between the three to sell their respective products, or so the story goes.
The beauty of cocktails is that they are open to interpretations and at the end of the day based on the skill of the bartender. Singapore-based rooftop cocktail bar Smoke & Mirrors has a cocktail menu inspired by art. Sixteen paintings from the National Gallery Singapore are the inspiration behind each of the cocktails. For instance, you have a rum-based cocktail called Moves Like Jigger inspired by Ho Ho Ying’s painting Rhythm of Dance, another cognac-based cocktail called Breaking Storm is inspired by the 1839 painting Shipwreck in Storm.
Similarly, Angelina’s at the Sofitel Metropole Hotel in Hanoi has a cocktail menu inspired by people’s personalities. So you can order a drink called Charismatic which is a bourbon and red wine cocktail or Optimist which is a champagne and vodka cocktail.
The next time you’re sipping one of your favourite cocktails or a new one, say cheers to its back story.
@smitabw