martini story

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Griff

Master Chef
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Messages
5,564
Location
Anchorage, Alaska
Puff asked me about martinis in a recent PM and it reminded me of a great true story. Most are aware that martinis are four parts gin, or vodka, and one part dry vermouth. Recent trends have cut way back on the vermouth to a splash, a few drops, or even just passing the vermouth cork over the drink.

A couple of years ago I was involved in some protracted litigation that arose from the atomic bomb testing in the Aleutian Islands here in Alaska in the late '60s and early '70s. One of my expert witnesses was Fred Metler, MD, PhD. Fred is internationally renown in atomic medicine. The UN sent him to Chernobyl for two years after that accident and he is on Homeland Security's "go team" in the event of a dirty bomb terrorist attack in this country. Fred and I were drinking gin on the rocks one evening and he said technically, we were drinking martinis. I disagreed because we had added no vermouth and he told me this alleged true story related to him by one of the original Manhattan project scientists.

Sixty minutes before the Trinity explosion, the first atomic bomb test in July 1945 at White Sands, one of the scientists dashed to one of the legs of the tower that supported the bomb and taped an object to it. After the bomb successfully exploded he was asked what he had taped to the tower. He replied "It was a bottle of vermouth. The atomic explosion has distributed the molecules through out the earth's atmosphere and I'll never have to put in my gin again."

I think I'll have a martini.
 
There is no Vodka in a Martini. :?

In the original books, JB didn't drink Martinis... He drank a cocktail that was a combination of Gin and Vodka. The Smirnoff people bought the rights to have him drink a Vodka "Martini" in the movies as a marketing ploy. :roll:

Don't even get me started on all those other cocktails people are calling "fillintheblank-tinis". :x
 
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