Why Shaken Not Stirred?

The Martini does not have an Italian name!

It was invented in the town of Martinez, CA and derives its moniker from the place of its birth. The original recipe called for a twist of lemon and not an olive.

In addition, I was not joking about pouring the vermouth on and back off of the ice. This is the only way I know of to get just the right amount into the drink.
PS: To properly prepare a lemon twist, use a sharp potato peeler to remove a curl of the zest. You should be able to see the blade through the peel as you cut. Wring the twist to release its oils before dropping it into the drink.

Just to make sure we cover everything that Manny was going to put in his report before it comes out, how about some more talk about the Gibson martini. There has been a little by zen101, but what is the origin of the Gibson? I once drank a couple at a bar in Chicago called Gibson’s. It was across the street from the hotel where a friend had his wedding reception. The hotel had Maplethorpe’s everywhere so it was lots of fun. Anyway did the Gibson martini originate at that bar? I probably asked that night but since we went there after the reception I have very fuzzy memories. I’m surprised I even remember going there at all.

Anyone?

A Gibson is a Martini with a pearl onion instead of an olive or a twist. That simple.

Recently we went to Musso & Frank’s Grill for some martinis,
and the question of stirring or shaking would have been
irrelevant. The bartender, who looked old enough to have been there since they repealed Prohibition in 1933, would pour in the vodka or gin over ice, and then just dribble in a VERY few drops of vermouth. The resulting mixture was then poured through a strainer.

It reminded me of those old jokes about just pronouncing the word “vermouth” over the glass, or perhaps opening a bottle of vermouth across the room…

Here’s the story (probably apocryphal and filtered through what is at best a spotty memory) that I’ve heard: A businessman named Gibson was discussing (what else?) business with some potential partners over martinis. To give him the advantage in the dealings, though, he’d arranged for the bartender to give him water instead of actual booze. The bartender garnished the water with a cocktail onion instead of the olives he used for the martinis, so Gibson would know which one to drink.