Party Excuse: June 19 is National Martini Day

MANILA, Philippines - Call your friends over at your house and share a glass of strong, sophisticated, and sexy martini, because June 19 is National Martini Day.

Martini has earned its spot in the tabernacle of classic cocktails. It is a drink that never goes out of style and appeal on the cocktail scene. In other words, if martini is a person, it would be as seductive as femme fatale and as debonair as James Bond.

This refined drink became so quintessential over time that its triangle martini glass is now used as a standard glass in every bar.  Despite the popularity of this drink, no one really knows who exactly invented martini. Memories get fuzzy and hazy from drinking alcohol, so who could blame the people who have first tasted this delicious glass of liquor?

According to nibble.com, there are different claims to the origin of martini. The earliest legend has the invention in San Francisco around 1850. A bar owner, Professor Jerry Thomas, was offered a nugget of gold by a miner, who is en route to Martinez, California, to create something special, hence the name.

However, it was opposed by the city of Martinez itself. The claim is that the “Martinez” was made in 1870, by a bartender named Julio Richelieu.

On the other hand, author Barnaby Conrad III, who wrote a book on the drink’s history affirms that the true origin of martini is in San Francisco. But still, some New Yorker sources insist that a bartender at the Knickerbocker Hotel, named Martini di Arma di Taggia, concocted the drink in 1911.

In modern practice, the standard martini is a mix of gin coupled with dry vermouth usually in a five-to-one ratio, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Since today is National Martini Day, upgrade your basic martini recipe and add some kick into your drink.

Here are some recipes by Joonbug.com:

Green Apple Martini (Green Appletini)
Fill your shaker with ice, and add 1.25 oz. of Smirnoff Green Apple Vodka, .25 oz of apple schnapps, and a splash sour mix into the shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of apple.

White Grape Cosmo Martini
Combine 1.5 oz of White Grape Vokda, .25 oz triple sec, 2 oz. of cranberry juice, and 1 oz. of lemon lime soda in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, strain, and serve in a martini glass. Add a squeeze of lemon wedge, then garnish with fresh green grapes.

Chocolate Martini a la Laren
Take 4 oz of chocolate liqueur and 3 oz of vodka, and pour over ice into a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into two martini glasses. Finally, garnish with chocolate shavings, or a speared Hershey’s kiss.