Product Description

Here are 201 recipes for gin and vodka drinks fashioned in the style of the martini, with practical advice on glassware, shakers, olives, preparation techniques and measurements.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #927963 in Books
• Published on: 1996-12-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From Amazon.com
What was a friendly cocktail party--a few friends, some witty banter, and a martini or two--just got serious. Your best friend, Bob, wants an Imperial Martini, and his new girlfriend from Key West thinks a Shrimptini would really hit the spot. Across the room, someone with purple hair and "Cocktail Nation" tattooed on her bicep wants an Alternatini. Suddenly your rep is on the line, and it's going to take more than that set of cool glasses you got for Christmas and a bottle of olives to bail you out. A splash of gin and a few drops of vermouth aren't enough to keep you among the suave and the sophisticated; what you need now is Sally Ann Berk's The Martini Book.

This is the first, last, and only book you will ever need to make a martini and possibly save your reputation as a first-class party host. Every type of martini imaginable is included here, along with a history of the famous drink. The Dutch may think they invented the martini, but most true aficionados agree that America has a better claim on this quintessential cocktail. Best of all, The Martini Book is an equal-opportunity cocktail guide. Purists may scoff that a Vodka Martini is a bastardization of a fine drink, but Berk assures us that vodka has a legitimate and rightful place in the martini pantheon. That old Bondian dictum "Shaken not stirred" is also put to rest: it's OK to go both ways now. With more than 201 variations, it's tough to imagine a more comprehensive treatise on the subject of martinis, or a better way to save a cocktail party. --Mark O. Howerton

Ingram
Exploring the evolution of the martini from its origin in Martinez, California, through the fad of the "Roaring Twenties" to the craze of the "Reeling Nineties, " this insider's guide to martini bars, features 200 recipes with 80 color photos of gin and vodka drinks fashioned in the style of the martini--from the traditional Gin Martini to today's popular varieties, plus practical advice on glassware, shakers, olives, preparation techniques and measurements. It also contains amusing historical vignettes and literary and film quotations.

About the Author
Sally Ann Berk is the author of Smoothies, Shakes s Market Cooking, among others. She is the editor of Secrets of the Druids and A Reasonable Affliction: 1001 Love Poems to Read to Each Other. She lives in Northern California with her husband and son.

Zeva Oelbaum is a New York-based still life and food photographer. Her work can frequently be seen in The New York Times Magazine, House Beautiful, and many other magazines and books.