I’m not afraid to say it. The Martini is a pretentious drink. A lot of pretentious people have been drinking them for a long time. They have very specific ways they want the drink made and they’ve come up with names for each one. That means that you have to figure out which one you’re looking for.

Because Martinis have a lot of options, bartenders will need to know the answer to quite a few questions… Vodka or Gin? Vermouth? Sweet or Dry? Shaken or Stirred? Up or Down? Bitters? Garnishes? It seems like a lot, but don’t worry. We’ll have you sounding like a spy in no time.

So, you’ve decided you want to know more about martinis... that elusive, complicated, contentious martini.  Maybe you’re new to drinking and you’ve decided you’re going to be a classier kind of booze hound than your plebeian friends with their long islands and vodka red bulls.  Perhaps you’ve just started bartending and realized that hell hath no fury like a martini drinker who didn’t get exactly what they wanted (even though you made it like your bar book said!).  Or maybe you just love spirits and want to know more about this drink people rave about.   No matter what your reason, you’ve opened a whole new can of worms with this one…

If you've been drinking at all before, you've had a sour before. If you've had a Margarita, a Daiquiri, a Mojito, or a Gimlet... then you've had a Cocktail Sour. If you've had any cocktails at all, it's very likely that it's base was a sour. It's the simplest recipe in the world, it makes incredible drinks, and it's easy to add a little pizzazz to create a really impressive (but easy) cocktail…

Nobody ever sits down and teaches you how to order drinks or what to order or even what is in the drinks that they are ordering for you. For most people, they are lucky to have one bartender friend who might tell them what is in a lemon drop or green tea shot. Otherwise, it pretty much comes down to watching and listening to other people and praying to god you can figure it out.

I think we can do better. Let’s get into it.