In his own words, Benjamin Wood, the phenomenal Bar Manager at Le Bilboquet Palm Beach, shares a special cocktail recipe with PALMER readers to mark our upcoming anniversary issue, PALMER Vol. 10, and amfAR’s Palm Beach Gala, which is taking place next week. Here, Wood takes us on a journey through the history of the martini in the United States, from Prohibition to the present, and explains why you might want to upgrade your go-to martini order.
The Legend
Now, we don’t know if this year’s amfAR gala performer John Legend enjoys a Martini, but if he does, I imagine he’d go for a classic. I wanted to highlight and talk about the legendary cocktail because the most popular iteration is dramatically less interesting than its historic versions, and most modern imbibers have not been introduced to what a classic version brings to the table.
The origins of the drink are debated, as with most things cocktail or alcohol related. The most widely accepted version is that it derives from a cocktail called The Martinez, a drink made with Old Tom-style gin, sweet vermouth, and Maraschino liqueur, a great cocktail in its own right. As with most drinks, it evolved over time and may now have more variations than almost any other. The most common version today is very simple: vodka, shaken, with a garnish. That version is precisely why I chose to focus on the martini. Allow me to explain.
During Prohibition in the United States, bartenders lost their jobs and, as a result, many of them moved to other countries or left the profession altogether. The craft of cocktail-making took a significant hit, and the knowledge that would have been passed down was largely lost. So, after Prohibition, bartenders had to rely on books (which were not always easy to find at the time) and stories from patrons. This set the art of mixology back quite a bit and it is only relatively recently, with the modern cocktail revival led by figures such as Dale DeGroff in New York in the late 1980s, that the craft has regained its footing.
A large swath of the general population is not familiar with the subtlety of a properly made Classic Martini. When crafted with care, precision, and technique, it is a world apart from the vodka-forward version that remains popular. For your consideration, it is, I think, fair to assume that at some point, tending a bar became something you did during college (myself included) to make some cash and meet people. It was fun and engaging, but much of the deeper knowledge of mixology had already been lost. Some of the spirits being produced were also a bit rudimentary. Bartenders would often buy cheaper products and, in the case of vermouth (a fortified wine), they were not familiar with the care and attention it needed. They would leave their vermouth out and, over time, although it is fortified, it would go bad (another debatable topic). So, with a little liberty, it is safe to assume they were serving an oxidized product in the martini, which may have led people to order it dry, extra dry, or simply with the base spirit shaken.
At Le Bilboquet, we work to offer a version of the classic that I find subtle, nuanced, soft, balanced, and, to be honest, divine. The recipe is 1 dash of orange bitters, vermouth, and gin, stirred, not shaken, and served with your garnish of choice (olives for salinity and a lemon twist for acidity). When done in this way, the “Legend,” which is not in need of a renaissance, has an opportunity to reclaim its place and be enjoyed in a new light by the modern guest. It is more refined, fitting for our guests, and should be celebrated as such, as it is truly a legendary cocktail. Cheers!
The Legend Martini
1 dash Regans Orange Bitters
½ oz Carpano Dry Vermouth
2½ oz Gin (of choice, I love Fords for martinis)
Method: Stirred
Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Lemon swath (or olives, or both if you’d like)
