shaken, not stirred

A martini -- it is the millionaire's beer. The potent drink is crystal clear in color, often with a plump green olive lying at the bottom of the wide-brim stemmed glass.\nChristine Baranski's wealthy character Maryann Thorpe from the 1995 sitcom "Cybill" was never seen without one. Megan Mullally's character of Karen Walker on "Will and Grace" slurps them down like water.\nBut what is a martini? With all of the specialty 'martinis' out in the world today, the definition of a martini is lost, said Alex Tachtiris, a bar manager at Scholars Inn. Scholars Inn offers a wide range of martinis -- specialty and traditional alike.\n"These days, over the last few years, that name has become something of a misnomer," Tachtiris said. "Originally, it was just made with gin and vermouth."\nAccording to a July 4, 2003, Associated Press article written by Michelle Locke, the first incarnation of a martini occurred in 1896 when a customer to the Occidental Cigar Club in Martinez, Calif., threw a gold nugget on the bar and asked the bartender to "shake up something special." What he got was totally different from what is known as a martini today -- a dash of bitters, maraschino, a wineglass of vermouth, two lumps of ice and one part Old Tom gin, shaken well and served with a lemon wedge. This recipe was found in a bartender's guide from 1887 under the heading of "Martinez." Some believe this is the predecessor to the martini, Locke said.\nYet others believe the martini draws its name from one of the oldest distilleries in existence today, Martini & Rossi, whose dry vermouth might have first been mixed with gin to create this drink. According to the historical archives of Martini & Rossi, the company was founded in 1847 as the Distilleria Nazionale da Spirito di Vino. Later in 1879, when Alessandro Martini and Luigi Rossi bought the company, the name was changed to "Martini e Rossi." It is thought that the drink called for Martini & Rossi vermouth and gin, and soon the brand name became generic, shortened to merely "martini."\nAs vodka's poplarity gre in the 1960s, vodka martinis were invented. The trend was pushed into the limelight when Ian Fleming's cultural symbol, James Bond, ordered his drink of choice, a vodka martini, and coined a phrase one must adopt a Scottish brogue to say: "shaken, not stirred."\nThe gin and the vodka martinis sat side by side for another 20 or 30 years, until companies like Stolichnaya and Absolut began creating flavored vodkas and other novelty liquors. This led to more creative flavored drinks, called "novelty martinis."\n"Every year, there are new vodkas, flavors, brands and other high-end alcohols," Tachtiris said.\nEventually, the vermouth was replaced by other flavors: rum, sweet and sour mix, bitters, grenadine and countless other "accessory" liquors. \nBut why are these still called martinis, after having deviated so far from the original?\n"People love it. (A martini) is a romanticized drink," Tachtiris said. "People love the idea of drinking out of a martini glass."\nAs a college town with a large consumer base of twenty-somethings who are new to the alcohol scene and want to experiment, Bloomington has many venues available that serve novelty martinis.\nPuccini's La Dolce Vita, at 420 E. Fourth St., has a martini menu with a dozen novelty martinis, some with names like "Crantini" and "Purple Haze". \nKiros Yohannes is a bartender at Puccini's and is also a junior majoring in biology. Chemistry plays a large amount in his work, both at school and at the bar.\n"Chemistry plays a large part in mixing these drinks," Yohannes said. "You have to know how much of what will taste good with how much of something else."\nTwo such drinks Puccini's offers include the Raspberry Truffle martini, which is comprised of Absolut vodka, Bailey's Irish Cream, Kahlúa, Chambord and dry vermouth; and "Harry's Velvet Room," made from Absolut Citron, Grand Marnier, Amaretto and dry vermouth.\nEach drink is a work of art in a glass -- The opaque Raspberry Truffle martini has a spiral of chocolate syrup floating on top, while the fruit-garnished Velvet Room is a brilliant orange, the color of a fire opal.\nScholars Inn Dessert Café and Wine Bar, at 717 College Ave., has a speciality martini list, too. Sporting such names as the Drunken Monkey, the All-Nighter (made with expresso) and the Amethyst Sky, it is definitely in competition with Puccini's. \nTwo unique martinis on its menu are the Emerald City, made from Absolut Citron, Midori, sour mix and grenadine; and a Bloomington hit, the Indiana Universitini -- Stolichnaya vodka and Chambord, with triple sec and strawberry pureé, topped with a strawberry and whipped cream.\nThe Indiana Universitini celebrates the Hoosier spirit with its bright red base and a puff of white whipped cream to complete the "cream and crimson" colors of IU. The Emerald City is served unstirred. The syrupy cherry-colored grenadine lies at the bottom of the glass with the emerald vodka mix on top. Before drinking, one is supposed to stir the mixture.\nNovelty martinis, at least good ones, are by no means inexpensive. Both Puccini's and Scholars Inn charge $8 per drink, all of which are made from top-shelf quality liquors. \nBut both businesses offer half price nights. Mondays Puccini's reduces the price to $4, and Thursdays Scholars Inn reduces it to the same price.\n"That is a popular night," Tachtiris said. He said his bar can sell upwards of 300 martinis on a Thursday during the school year.\nDespite the popularity of traditional "college town bars" such as Kilroy's on Kirkwood or Bear's Place, the upscale venues that sell expensive novelty martinis do not hurt for business. Many college-aged men and women enjoy these drinks.\n"We get a lot of the Greek crowd, and a lot of the Greek women prefer sweeter drinks -- drinks like novelty martinis," Tachtiris said. \nAnother appeal of the novelty martinis is the bright colors and the traditional martini glass, which is actually called a "cocktail glass."\nWhatever the definition, martinis only grow in popularity. From banana-flavored rum to espresso, the only thing martinis have in common across the spectrum is the alcohol content. There is a martini for any taste -- from spy to sorority girl.\nYohannes said he treats each martini he makes carefully, "I am a poet, so I love art. The beauty of the drink is, in part, in the way you design it."\n-- Contact staff writer Andrew Welfle at awelfle@indiana.edu.