Post #605670 by TikiHardBop on Tue, Sep 6, 2011 10:00 AM

TornadoTiki specifically ordered a GIN martini this weekend at a local place and the bartender made it with gin and a little bit of olive juice only! You could see her debating back and forth on calling the guy out on it and she finally gave in and asked where the vermouth was. He told her that "everyone drinks it that way"! She pressed him for vermouth, which he couldn't find, and he finally disappeared downstairs for about 10 minutes before he came back with a bottle.

And this isn't the only time this has happened. I've had two bars in downtown Melbourne (FL) and a large nightclub in downtown Orlando that contained 3 bar areas and they all failed to have a bottle of vermouth.

Unfortunately, what has happened is that the term "martini" is now used interchangeably with "cocktail", although we, and especially the cocktail bar owners, should know better. To me, it shows a lack of professionalism. What would you think of an Italian restaurant that called every type of pasta "spaghetti"? You'd think they don't what they're talking about. The same here.

It's always interesting, as well as refreshing, to leave the hinterlands and attend Tales of the Cocktail, where for a solid week, you can hear people talk about cocktails and never once use the word "martini" unless they are referring to the actual drink made with gin and vermouth!

And while I'm ranting -- menus! Check out your local menu and see what they call "cocktails" and what they call "martinis" and try to discover any logical connection between them. It's mystifying to me to see half the drinks at a place called one thing and the other half called something else.