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The Drink: Martini
The Location: Anywhere, everywhere
The Price: Varies slightly
The Buzz: I was on assignment Wednesday night. I needed a cocktail. It just so happened that I was meeting some friends for dinner at Logan Tavern. I was in the midst of studying the cocktail menu while others were pondering their own drinks, when someone at the table announced that it was Sinatra‘s birthday. All menus hit the table and martinis were ordered without a second thought. I went with Hendrick’s (possibly the best gin ever), completely dry, with olives. A beautiful martini. (Apologies if the photo is not its usual quality. But not bad for a camera phone, right? Thanks Brett!) But my insistence on drinking my Hendrick’s with olives was met with some resistance. My fellow Hendrick’s devotee feels that a bitter, briny olive doesn’t belong in the herbacious, cucumber-heavy gin. He is loyal to the twist. He finds it refreshing. That night he was drinking Grey Goose, completely dry, with a twist. The age-old question: twist or olives? For me, it’s simple. I love olives. If I want to eat some olives, I order a martini. But what matters here, is Ol’ Blue Eyes. And according to this very reliable source, Sinatra drank a vodka martini, dry, with olives. So we both won that night. But, really, with martinis, everybody wins. Cheers, Frank.
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