Let's Get One Thing Straight:

A Martini is made from Gin.

Any of you weakling heretics who argue that it can be vodka are WRONG! . . .

. . . That said, many of my friends are weakling heretics. And those same weaklings will tell you that I am the heretic for mixing gin with a lot of things that are NOT vermouth and calling it a "martini." I guess if James Bond drinks vodka martinis then I can get over it. (In the original Ian Fleming books Bond, James Bond, drank a "watered-down" martini that mixed both gin & vodka--see Vesper Cocktail.) So, okay, make a martini out of whatever you want, jeez.

Gilbey's Gin Ad from Time Magazine, Dec. 7, 1962

Martinis are and should be fun, creative and have a bit of wow factor. So I encourage the unorthodox. Good gin has a strong flavor. And some mixers do NOT taste good with gin--something I've learned from experience and some really awful martini attempts. So vodka makes some sense if you are dead set on that chocolate martini--who doesn't love chocolate?

I guess that leaves me as a champion for gin.

Gin is not an easy liquor. It has very distinctive flavors; herbal and sharp. Juniper berries are not something you enjoy a bowl of or sprinkle on your cereal. Gin has a high alcohol content and can burn your tongue and throat. Learning to enjoy the taste may take a little bit of time and even some effort. All of that is what I like about gin. When you drink it there is no mistaking that you are choosing to drink alcohol. You don't gulp gin. You sip it. A martini is not something you shoot to get drunk. It takes time to savor and enjoy one. So the great joy and challenge of a martini is finding interesting flavors to complement or contrast with your gin. A mixer that works with one brand of gin may not work with another brand.

Vodka is nearly tasteless so I think it is a lot easier to mix. Choose gin for a lifetime of challenge and complexity.

Blue Diamond Martini

My departure--the Blue Diamond Martini:

• 3.0 oz Gin (I used Gilbey's)
• 0.5 oz Crème de Violette
• 0.5 oz Triple Sec
• Twist of Lemon (otherwise the drink is cloyingly sweet)

Shake over ice then strain into glass.

If you need a garnish, try a candied orange slice to imitate a setting sun on the horizon.

The Blue Diamond Martini is the martini I created and am drinking tonight. It takes inspiration from Hugo Ensslin's Aviation Cocktail from the early 1900s. I learned about the Aviation Cocktail after taking a tour of a Solent Flying Boat at the Oakland Aviation Museum. Supposedly Aviation Cocktails were popular aboard Pan Am flights like on the China Clipper in the 1930s.

Photo from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark thanks to Ultimate Indy Locations

Photo of actual Solent Flying Boat at Oakland Aviation Museum from Ultimate Indy Locations

The color of the Blue Diamond is more subtly muted than the aviation cocktail. . . it really looks like a pale, blue diamond instead of the sky. And I prefer the lemon and Triple Sec flavor profile over what you get with the Maraschino liqueur used in the Aviation Cocktail.

Bottom's up!