The best known of hundreds of Gin-based mixed drinks is the Gin and white vermouth combination called the Martini. As is usually the case with most popular mixed drinks, the origins of the martini are disputed. One school of thought holds that it evolved from the late-19th-century Martinez cocktail, a rather cloying mixture of Old Tom-style Gin and sweet vermouth.

A dissenting sect holds that it was created in the bar of the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City in the early 20th century. The ratio of Gin to vermouth started out at about 2 to 1, and it has been getting drier ever since. The great British statesman Winston Churchill, who devoted a great deal of thought and time to drinking, was of the opinion that passing the cork from the vermouth bottle over the glass of Gin was sufficient.

The martini has frequently served as a metaphor for some of the great social and political issues of our times. President Jimmy Carter denounced the “three martini lunch” in a thinly-veiled attempt at class warfare during his election campaign. He was not reelected.

Source: Tastings.com