THE WORLD MARTINI TOUR 2010 - The world in a martini glass!

Here's Your Ticket
to join me,
THE MARTINI DIVA
& Fabio of
THE WORLD MARTINI COCKTAIL REVIEW
as we take a tour of
EUROPE'S BEST MARTINI BARS
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7 Cities & 7 Special Martinis in 7 Days
Visit 7 Fabulous Martini Bars with us in the most beautiful cities in Europe!
Learn about local drinking customs, favorite liquors of the regions, unique and exotic martinis, the best places to enjoy a martini and download all seven of the World Martini Tour martinis!

Itinerary:
Day One, July 19th - Rome
Day Two, July 20th - Berlin
Day Three, July 21st - London
Day Four, July 22nd - Barcelona
Day Five, July 23rd - Brussels
Day Six, July 24th - Vienna
Day Seven, July 25th - Paris

Departure: Monday, July 19th

BRING YOUR THIRST, DRESS FOR FUN & DON'T FORGET TO MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

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The Cafe Au Lait Martini

The Cafe Au Lait Martini is a creamy martini with a little kick of caffeine for some extra punch. It's one of my favorite coffee drinks, second only to my old favorite of an Irish Coffee.

The
CAFE AU LAIT
MARTINI
A Coffee Martini to Perk You Up

INGREDIENTS
2 Oz. Vanilla Vodka
1 Oz. Coffee Liqueur
1 Oz. Heavy Cream

For The Rim: Teaspoon of Instant Coffee, 1/4 Cup of Sugar

Garnish: Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans

Tools: Cocktail Shaker

DIRECTIONS
Dip the rim of the glass into some coffee liqueur and then into the instant coffee and sugar mixture. Chill the glass in the freezer.
Add ingredients to an ice filled cocktail shaker, shake until chilled, strain into the chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with the chocolate covered espresso beans and serve.

VOICEOVER VIDEO with Ingredients & Directions:

FROZEN CAFÉ AU LAIT COCKTAIL
You can turn this into a spirited frozen coffee confection by using ice cream in place of the heavy cream and using a blender instead of a cocktail shaker. It's a wonderful late day treat on those dog days of summer when the mercury is rising and your energy is melting. I've even been known to freeze any leftover coffee from the morning in ice cube trays and toss in a few of those as well.

National Café au Lait Day is February 17th.

Updated February 2025

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BLOODY MARTINI - A Unique Bloody Mary Martini with Fangs!

Today I'm featuring the Bloody Martini - a "martini-ized" version of a Bloody Mary Cocktail. I tweaked the classic tomato - vodka cocktail a bit by using Clamato juice instead of tomato juice and left out the celery salt but feel free to tweak it right back if your prefer the classic version.

Need I say this is the perfect martini for all you Twilight and Lestat fans out there???

You can garnish this with the tomato wedge or try out a bit of spicy pepper, a celery stalk, a couple of pickled garlic cloves or mushrooms, or even a pickled yellow wax bean - another of Brad's tweaks!

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The Vesper - The 007 of Martinis, James Bond Style

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce you to the real Bond, James Bond Martini? Direct from the 1953 edition of "Casino Royale" by Ian Fleming:

"A dry martini,' he [Bond] said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'

'Oui, monsieur.'

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

So, not a martini all. Read more and get the recipe for
THE VESPER

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The Martinez - Is this the very first martini?

The Birth of the Martini is a bit of a mystery but it is very likely that The Martinez was the true beginnings of this King of Cocktails.

The Martinez cocktail can be traced back to the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco in the year 1862. The story goes that the bartender at the Occidental at the time, Jerry Thomas*, made the drink for a gold miner heading out to the small town of Martinez, California.

Thomas' book, The Bon Vivant's Companion published in 1887, offers the first print version of the Martinez which consisted of 1 dash of Boker's Bitters, 2 dashes of Maraschino liqueur, 1 Pony of Old Tom gin, 1 wine glass of Vermouth, garnished with a slice of lemon and an optional dash or so of gum syrup for extra sweetness.

I personally love a Martinez, finding it more complex and interesting than a Martini.

The

MARTINEZ

(Note my personal preferences in the parentheses.)

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 Oz. Old Tom Gin

1-1/2 Oz. Sweet Vermouth (Cinzano)

1/4 Oz. Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)

2 Dashes Angoustura Bitters (Orange)

Garnish: Orange Twist, Luxardo Cherry

DIRECTIONS

Stir ingredients with ice until chilled.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish and serve.

If you prefer your cocktails a bit dryer try replacing the Cinzano sweet vermouth with Punt E Mes. If you want it definitely dryer drop the sweet vermouth to 3/4 an ounce and add 3/4 an ounce of dry vermouth like Noilly Prat.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS: 

*Jeremiah "Jerry" P. Thomas (1830 - 1885) is considered the "father of American Mixology" and is often referred to as The Professor.

Updated 1-6-2022

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History of the Gibson Martini - Exactly who did invent it?

Available on posters T-shirts at the PopArtDiva Gift Gallery

The birth of the Gibson is swathed in mystery as several people claim to have invented this historical martini.

The most common tale surrounds Charles Dana Gibson – the illustrator who created the famous Gibson Girls paintings - and his challenge to bartender Charley Connolly, of the Players Club of New York City, to “improve” the classic martini recipe. Connolly’s answer was simply to substitute the cocktail onion for the olive which he then named after Gibson.

Another tale revolves around a Prohibition era American diplomat – also named Gibson – who, as a teetotaller, drank a water martini with the onion to distinguish it from the alcohol laced drinks of his companions.

A third story, from Charles McCabe of the San Francisco Chronicle, attributing the creation of the Gibson to Walter D. K. Gibson. In McCabe’s 1970s interview Allan P. Gibson, great-nephew of W.D.K. Gibson, stated that his great-uncle created the Gibson at the Bohemian Club sometime in the 1890s. This would seem to be the most authenticated version as there is a mention of it by Ward Thompson, another Bohemian Club member, that was supposedly recorded in print in 1898.

No matter the provenance of this now historical onion version of a gin martini, the cocktail itself is here to stay and a very entertaining part of cocktail lore.

The

GIBSON RECIPE

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Martini - Drink your cookie!

Here is the most classic cookie cocktail of them all,

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Martini.

If you love your chocolate chip cookies here is a way you can enjoy them in a martini glass. This is a quadruple chocolate threat of a cocktail with both white and dark Creme de Cacao, chocolate infused vodka and a rim of crushed chocolate chip cookies. The cake vodka is what makes it taste like a cookie.

CHOCOLATE CHIP

COOKIE MARTINI

INGREDIENTS

1/2 Oz. White Creme de Cacao
1/2 Oz. Dark Creme de Cacao

1 Oz. Chocolate Vodka
1/2 Oz. Cake Vodka
1 Oz. Heavy Cream

Garnish: What else?

A Crushed Chocolate Chip Cookie Rim and a Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie!

DIRECTIONS
Rim glass with one of the chocolate liqueurs and some crushed chocolate chip cookies then chill glass in the freezer.
Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake well, strain into the chilled cocktail glass then garnish with the mini chocolate chip cookie.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INSTRUCTIONS:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Day is August 4th.

Updated 8-4-2021

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