There was a time when the Martini was among the most ordered—and respected—cocktails you could ask a bartender to make. The fact that James Bond made it his go-to drink only made the Martini even more iconic.
On the Mount Rushmore of classic cocktails, you’ve got heavy hitters like the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Daiquiri, Sidecar, Jack Rose and of course, the incomparable Martini.
Then, something happened that changed everything.
The 80s.
“There was a shift in the 1980s during the bottled sour mix boom, and Martinis basically became Daiquiris,” said Natalia Cardenas, Breakthru Beverage Development Manager. “The Martini lost its identity.”
In this story, let’s focus on the unfortunate metamorphosis of the Martini, as well as what bartenders can do to bring the Martini back into its rightful landmark status among classic cocktails.
Traditionally, there are only two kinds of Martinis—vodka and gin, and each version is paired with an aromatized wine.
Then, there is the Daiquiri—a cocktail in the same team photo as the Martini, but with its own unique character. The Daiquiri contains a base spirit teamed up with a citrus mixer.
Sometime during the Decade of Greed, bartenders got greedy with their cocktail lists and decided to more or less blend the two ideas, cashing on the Martini’s well-established name and giving the cocktail an extravagant makeover with a variety of sweet mixers and calling the concoction a Martini, even though what the bartenders were serving was more Daiquiri than Martini.
On top of the updated look and flavor, the new wave of “Martinis” came served with amusing names like the Appletini and Chocolatini.
“Those aren’t Martinis,” Cardenas said. “Those are Daiquiris.”
"There needs to be a consensus among bartenders and bar managers on the word Martini."
The problem with this, Cardenas explained, is that a liberal presentation of this new “Martini” causes confusion among consumers. It’s likely that there are a lot of cocktail enthusiasts that like or dislike Martinis without actually having ever tried a true Martini.
If you go to some Martini bars, you may be able to skim pages and pages of different Martinis, even though, as stated earlier, there are only two kinds of Martinis.
“Vodka Martini,” Cardenas said. “Gin Martini. The Martini is not an open canvas for new creations—its methodology is long established in cocktail culture and deserves respect.”
By having one of these long “Martini” cocktail lists, bar managers paint themselves into a creative corner, Cardenas explained, as bartenders are limited in what they can use, whether it’s glassware, garnishes or spirits, and as a result, overall cocktail presentation suffers.
How would Cardenas solve the Martini issue?
“There needs to be a consensus among bartenders and bar managers on the word Martini,” Cardenas said. “Without it, customers won’t have an authentic Martini experience, and the casual usage of the word muddles the entire image of the cocktail.
“There needs to be a recommitment to understanding the fundamentals of cocktails, because when you accurately describe a cocktail to a customer, not only do they win, but you win. You will have created an authentic cocktail experience for your bar, and that will lead to repeat customers.”