Chill those glasses, stuff those olives and shake (or stir) that vodka because today is National Martini Day, boys and girls! And you know—there are few things we like better around here in the Land of Snark than a perfectly chilled martini.

The classic martini consists of gin and dry vermouth, but James Bond substituted vodka in his—“Vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.” Personally, I’m a vodka girl. Specifically Belvedere. As far as shaking vs. stirring? “Shaking cools a drink more quickly producing a chilly fog (by creating tiny bubbles) and creating a slightly different taste, but dilutes the drink more than stirring does” (so says Google). I shake.

I used to be an apple martini girl…

The Apple Martini

…and once in a while I’ll have a chocolate martini…

Vodka and Chocolate. Two great tastes that taste great together.

…but then I was introduced to dirty martinis and never looked back.

Olives, a twist or cocktail onions are all acceptable garnishes. My personal favorite is a dirty martini with three olives.

Dirty Girl Martini

6 parts vodka

2 parts dry vermouth (I prefer actually rinsing vermouth in glass and dumping it out)

1 part olive brine (or my personal favorite Dirty Sue)

Cocktail olives

Combine liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with olives.

Dirty martinis are fun to share with friends, too…

Lesley and I have a long history of drinking martinis together...

So mix up a batch, grab your friends and loved ones, make a toast and drink up!

Cheers!

PS: Some sources claim National Martini Day is today; others say tomorrow. I think it should be both. In fact, it should be a four-day weekend.

PSS: No alcoholics or martini glasses were harmed in the making of this post.

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