This is a perhaps-inevitable iteration of the continuing
evolution of the
Dry Martini in American bartending. Legend has it that during the
Trinity event - the first testing of an
atomic device - a bottle of
vermouth was hidden in the tower with the
gadget itself. As a result, there is a definite statistical chance of literally-
atomized vermouth present over much of the region, if not the atmosphere - so one could now make the definitive,
Atomic Age dry martini in the following manner:
- Chill a martini glass well.
- Shake 1 oz. gin with cracked ice.
- Open window.
- Wave glass outside, knowing that a few atoms of vermouth will settle into the glass.
- Pour gin into glass.
- Garnish.
et voila. This recipe was revealed to the world in a 1966 edition of the
Sunday Boston Globe. Given
J. Robert Oppenheimer's
prediliction for the
martini, its veracity has not been questioned.
Sources: American Heritage magazine, 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos (Simon & Schuster, April 2005). Anecdote mentioned in Vermouth, unbeknownst to me before polluting the nodegel with this offering.