James Bond looked carefully at the bar man. "A dry martini," he said, "One. In a deep champagne goblet."
"Oui, monsieur."
"Just a moment. Three measures of gin, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon-peel. Got it?"
-- "Casino Royale" by Ian Fleming (1954).
That was then. This is now:
James Bond looks carefully at the martini menu in the martini bar. "Hmmm. So many different versions. How's the Oreo cookie martini?"
"It's good," says the bar man. "Vodka, Kahlua, Bailey's, Licor 43, cream and an Oreo cookie garnish. If you're more a traditionalist, I'd recommend the chocolate martini: vodka, dark cacao, Bailey's, German chocolate."
Or so my imagination conjured up as I sat at the bar in the Neon Moon in Canton one recent night, discussing martinis' resurgence with bar manager Tom Jones. Neon Moon's martini list offers 39 martinis -- make that quote martinis unquote -- some of which have some combination of the traditional ingredients of gin and/or vodka, Vermouth, or possibly some other dry aperitif, garnished with olive or onion or twist of lemon peel, but most of which don't.
Lest you think this is cutting-edge pioneering, you should know that the "martini bar" has swept the country. There are several others in Baltimore besides the Neon Moon.
Spot-checking here and there, I find that imaginative concoctions called "martinis" are popular border to border and coast to coast. In just the past few days a friend brought me martini menus from two different establishments he patronized while on a trip to Cincinnati. One, the Plaza 600, offered 11 versions. Most (but not all) were in the ballpark of the real thing (gin or vodka), but with this twist: only two used vermouth. The others substituted Cointreau, creme de menthe, Pernod, cognac and so forth.
Another friend called to tell me about a new hot spot in the old home town, Atlanta -- the Martini Club. Its signature "martini" is made with gin, ginger liquor, blue Curacao and a chunk of crystallized ginger.
Joining the club
Such clubs are now to be found in every major city. Most of them are new to this decade. And they're popular. An assistant manager of the restaurant/martini bar FiftySeven FiftySeven at the Four Seasons hotel in Manhattan told a reporter alcohol sales have soared 20 percent in the past two years.
