Enough With the Fruity Martinis

Listen up yuppie bar-goers of America, this is the recipe for a martini: gin, dry vermouth, and maybe some olives or a lemon peel twist. That’s it. The apple-tinis, lemon-tinis, and prickly pear-tinis that young people have been quaffing in recent years just don’t sit well with NPR food commentator Bonny Wolf. “Putting a drink in a long-stemmed V-shaped glass does not make it a martini,” she rants.

After all, this drink has some dignity. H.L. Mencken called it “the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet.” It’s supposed to signify urban sophistication and style. Can you imagine James Bond shaking up some frou-frou-tini? How about Don Draper? “I don’t begrudge anyone a chocolate-flavored vodka drink,” Wolf says. “Just don’t call it a martini.” (More martini stories.)