The Mercer 
 
                                                                                                  
There is more to a martini than meets the eye  
MartiniDating back all the way to the 1849 the martini has evolved from a poor gold miner’s celebration drink into the epitome of sophistication and class. We value the history of this classic drink and our cocktail list covers all the famous variations of it so you can find your personal favourite.

The American myth for the creation of the martini goes that during the days of the California Gold Rush a miner who struck it big in a city called Martinez wanted to celebrate with champagne. It being unavailable due to the limited selection the bartender offered him a drink called ‘Martinez Special’, which is a mix of gin and sweet vermouth complimented with a little maraschino liqueur.

The silver bullet never misses its mark

Since its early days the classic martini, a simple mix of gin and vermouth, has undergone a series of growing pains and there are several competing versions of it.  Western culture has created a virtual mythology around the martini, in part because of the many legendary figures who favoured it, among them Winston Churchill, Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, and of course the fictional James Bond. The dry martini is also sometimes called a "silver bullet" because it is "clear, potent and never misses its mark".

Enjoy it Winston Churchill style

The legend holds that Churchill would get as close to the vermouth bottle as to "look at it from across the room". One of the most famous variations of a dry martini with hardly any vermouth is ‘The Dukes’ which comes from The St James Hotel in London. The cocktail is sweetened by merely coating the glass with vermouth. It is a very hard way to drink a martini with no dilution through from stirring, just frozen naked spirits and a glass atomized with vermouth for an ultra dry finish.

'Shaken not stirred'

James Bond’s somewhat worn out classic phrase points to the argument that a shaken martini has a more rounded taste than its fellow stirred twin. The shaking action breaks up the ice and adds more water, slightly weakening the drink.

“A dry martini”, Bond said. “One in a deep champagne goblet”.
“Oui, monsieur”
“Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it is ice cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon – peel. Got it?”

(Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, 1953)

Well, if it was good enough for Roosevelt and Stalin...

When Franklin Roosevelt met Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill during the World War II, he offered them each a classic Dirty Martini. It’s called dirty because of the olive juice brine that clouds the otherwise clear liquid. The brine also creates a wonderful salty experience that compliments the short, sharp, strong type of martini. Excuse the glint in our eye when we ask you “how dirty would you like it”.


 


The Mercer,
34 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8AY
 London  ::Tel 0207 628 0001::  info@themercer.co.uk