THE WIKI COMMUNITY

Saturday 21 August 2010

Olives And Martinis - What Is The Link?

By Kate L. Romano

The olive tree is an evergreen tree, likely to grow in the Mediterranean region, Asia and Africa. The extremely healthy olive oil is made from that small fruit. It's often used in salads and certain dishes. But what does it have in common with cocktails and what's the history of olives in martini?

The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, garnished with an olive. Ever since martini exists, it has been one of the most popular mixed alcoholic beverages. The Martinez, Gibson Martini, The Smoky Martini and Apple Martini are only a few variations of the classic drink. Dirty Martini is a variation of the traditional one, but the only difference is that a small amount of olive brine is added to the mixture.

Eggnog is widespread in America as a traditional Christmas and New Year Eve's drink. It's made with milk, cream, sugar, beaten eggs and rum or brandy in addition. Sometimes Eggnog Martini may take the place of the usual drink as a different, contemporary tradition. It's made with rum, vodka, eggnog and syrup. This Martini is normally garnished with cinnamon sticks.

It would be nice if we knew more about the history of olives in martini. In the 1860's, martinis were garnished with a cherry. In later years, barmen started to use olives instead of cherries. The reason why olives are used in cocktails is that they add salt to the drink. It isn't very sure whether that was the reason to replace the cherry, but it's supposed so.

It's interesting how cocktails got their name. It is not known where the word comes from, but there is a actually quite a large number of explanations. One story says that a cock's tail has many colorful feathers - like a cocktail has varied exciting alcoholic drinks mixed together. Long ago, they used to put feathers in the glass, in order to indicate that the drink had alcohol. People liked to drink cocktails in the morning, so that's why they associated them with cocks and though of that name for their drinks.

Martini is also popular in literature and American film industry. The movie and book character James Bond is famous for his favorite "shaken" Martini. Many famous people such as Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote and U.S. President Roosevelt were known to prefer Martini.

We do not know how people started to make this cocktail, but we know it's delightful! Although there are various recipes for it, the standard Martini contains mainly gin and dry vermouth. The recipes, which are supposed to be among the first Martini preparation instructions, don't have anything to do with the one that exists nowadays. The most common garnish is the olive, but in some cases lemon twist or cocktail onions are also used to decorate the beverage.

No woman would refuse to have one and it shows high class when a gentleman drinks Martini. There are hundreds of Martini recipes around the world and every one of them is unique in its own way. But whatever you chose, you won't regret it, because with every sip of Martini, you'll feel the exquisite pleasure of this elegant drink.

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