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Potent Potable: Martini Redux
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Business New Haven
10/27/2003
By: Gavin Stegmiller
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What's up with martinis? Why has the quintessential liquid signature of 1950s lounge lizards enjoyed a renaissance in the last few years? There really isn't a definitive answer to that question, but area bartenders shed a bit of light on the recycled drink sensation.
In it's truest form, a martini is either gin or vodka with a dash of sweet or dry vermouth. The martini is served either on the rocks or straight up, but more often the latter. The wide range of vodkas and gins available make the selection process fun in a sense. Some bars tend to have menus dedicated to any number of flavored martinis. Neat Lounge on Temple Street in New Haven even styles itself a "martini bar," even though it offers the full range of adult beverages.
Of the martini variations available at Scoozzi, the Bellini martini stands out. This potent potation features Belvadere vodka, Peachtree schnapps and a dash of peach purée. The price is eight dollars, not out of line compared with top-shelf offerings at other upscale bars.
A recently popular iteration of the old classic is the apple martini: vodka and apple pucker, a very sweet schnapps. David Mullins at the Omni Hotel likes to add Midori to his apple martinis. "It takes the edge off the vodka," he says.
Dan McGovern agrees that the apple martini is probably the most popular martini at T.G.I. Friday's in Hamden. "The new generation just holds onto whatever the new craze is, and martinis are that." Everything old is new again.
The Omni also has a separate menu of martinis. There is a chocolate martini, for example - a mixture of vodka, dark creme de cocoa and a dash of Godiva.
Mullins notes that the martini craze has benefited its previously little-known cousin, the cosmopolitan.
"Women see [the HBO TV series] Sex & the City and want a cosmo," he says. The Omni even serves a specialty martini known as the "Sex & the City Martini," containing Pearl Vodka, Alize Red Passion and cranberry juice.
The cosmopolitan is vodka, triple sec and cranberry juice. It is served in a martini glass. It is essentially a variation on the classic martini.
Perhaps one reason for the martini resurgence is its adaptability. In a society of individuals, we must all have our own personalized martini. G.S.
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