Eliot loved his martinis

"There is nothing quite so stimulating as a strong dry martini cocktail."

-- T. S. Eliot

Creators by Paul Johnson

Can I adopt that as my mission statement?

I may be dating myself a bit, but I've always like the Hawkeye Pierce 6:1 recipe for martinis: six parts gin and a moment of silence for the vermouth!

"Dry, drier, driest. A veritable dust bowl of a martini. Mr. Kwang, make me such a martini."

"I like to drink Martinis
Two at the very most.
Three I'm under the table,
Four I'm under my host."
Dorothy Parker

:-)

My favorite poem of all times.

I think it was Robert Benchley who suggested that the perfect martini would be the result of locking up the gin in an airtight container, and then walking past it now and then with an open bottle of vermouth.

Edited to touchstone dear Robert.

“We know the best feeling in the world is the one between the second and third martini.” ~ Al Pacino

My martinis are desert-dry, which is another way of saying '99% gin'.

I'm getting to the point where I may as well just crack the top of the bottle of Noilly and waft it across the shaker. Presently, I fill a cocktail shaker with ice, throw in a double measure of dry vermouth, swirl, empty, and whatever manages to cling to the ice is all I need. Top up with as much Tanqueray as I can fit in, and serve in martini glasses that have been chilled with iced water. This makes two drinks of considerable fortitude.

Garnish will occasionally be a twist, but more often cocktail onions (whereby the martini becomes a Gibson) or chili-stuffed 'Texas olives'.

Add a handful of kettle chips or a small plate of something, and you have a fitting end to any day, good or bad. It'll taste just as good if you're celebrating or washing away a bad memory.