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Martinis in History
Thanks to well known figures such as Frank
Sinatra, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and James Bond, the Martini has
come to be viewed as a symbol of sophistication and influence.
FDR mixed Martinis with enthusiasm, occasionally
introducing unconventional ingredients such as anisette or fruit juice.
Then there was Richard Nixon, who reportedly was drinking Martinis the night the Watergate crisis
broke and began his descent him from office.
Ernest Hemingway also enjoyed Martini's - his favorite being
the "Montgomery" named after the WWII English Field Marshall who liked his odds on the battle field to be 15 to 1.
(Hemingway liked his ratio of gin to vermouth to be 15 to 1.)
Of course there is W.C. Fields, who started his day with two double Martinis - "angel's milk," he called them - one before breakfast and
then one after.
James Bond, was the human embodiment of the Martini. Bond was reckless with his women, rough on enemy agents,
but extremely precise about his cocktail, asking that it be -
"Shaken not stirred."
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