The History of Martinis

The history of the martini is rather murky. According to one story, the drink was invented in Martinez, California during the Gold Rush ­— supposedly, after a miner struck gold, he requested Champagne at a local bar. But according to legend, the bartender didn’t have any, so he created a beverage using ingredients he did have on hand: gin, vermouth, bitters, maraschino liqueur, and a slice of lemon. The drink was then referred to as “The Martinez Special” (later shortened to “martini”) and spread to other areas like San Francisco when the rich miner tried to order it there. Another version of the story holds that the martini was invented in San Francisco as a pick-me-up for a miner on his way back to Martinez. Yet another version of the story holds that the cocktail was created at New York’s Knickerbocker Hotel. And still another legend claims that the drink was created to help popularize Martini & Rossi vermouth and the name of the resulting cocktail was shortened simply to “martini.” While we may never know the true origin story of the martini, we do know that a recipe for the cocktail was published in Bartender’s Manual in the 1880s. The drink soon caught on and became wildly popular during the 1950s and 1960s. A variation known as the Vesper martini was also famously the drink of choice of the character James Bond in both the books and films. Today, the martini is considered a classic American cocktail.