How the Martini was Named

There are as many storied origins of the martini as there are ways to make one.  Some believe that a New York bartender named Martini invented the drink in 1912 while some believe it to be invented in San Francisco by Professor Jerry Thomas around 1850 for a miner on his way to Martinez, California. Lore says that a miner placed a nugget of gold on Jerry’s bar and challenged him to concoct something special. The result was the Martinez, the said prototype of the Martini. The Martinez was first published in The Bartenders Guide in 1887, the first bartenders manual of its kind and was made with a full wine glass of sweet vermouth, one (1) ounce of Old Tom Gin, some bitters and a dash or two of maraschino. In those days, if the drink weren’t sweet enough, gum syrup was added.

The citizenry of Martinez, California believe that the martini was first concocted right there in Martinez by a bartender named Julio Richelieu in 1870. They claim that a miner became disenchanted with the whisky Richelieu served him. After all, he paid for the whisky with a pouch of gold. So, Richelieu concocted a glass of gin, vermouth, orange, bitters and an olive to make up for the difference. Thus was born the Martinez.

The Oxford English Dictionary credits Martini and Rossi with the martini. In 1871, the company, then named Martini e Sola, shipped 100 cases of red vermouth to New York. Unfortunately, this was 20 years later than Jerry Thomas’ concoction and a full year later than Richelieu’s serving to a disgruntled miner.

The British think the martini is derived from a British-made rifle called a Martini & Henry used by the English army between 1871 and 1891 because of its kick.

New Yorker’s insist that a bartender at the Knickerbocker Hotel named Martini di Arma di Taggia invented it in 1911 for John D. Rockefeller. True or not, it seems to be the first time the martini forged its way into Wall Street and big business lunch deals. Incidentally, Rockefeller took his martini with London Dry Gin, dry vermouth, bitters, lemon peel and one olive.

Some think it was first discovered in Martinez, California while others believe it was invented by a 19th-century Italian chef in London who named it after his grandfather.

Of course, the Smirnoff Company, with a rich vodka history, was the first to mass market vodka in the United States in the 1930’s. Smirnoff sold its brand to Heublein who then sold it to Diageo who markets many other beverage brands such as Guiness, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, J&B, Seagram 7 Crown, VO, Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Bushmills and Lagavulin.

Join us at Bones Steakhouse for a wide variety of Martini's!

http://www.bonessteak.com

Located in the Battle Ground Village