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Recently I arranged a small dinner party. It started on one of those late spring afternoons, a few casual drinks in the garden followed by some homemade pizza. I asked one of my good friends what he would like to drink, as he settled in with a Marlboro light. ‘You choose’, he responded.

I recalled that earlier the previous day I had placed two crystal martini glasses into the freezer, along with a bottle of Tanqueray gin. I knew the perfect drink for my friend. I would introduce him to the Martini as I knew them. So, here’s the story behind the perfect Martini.

London 1996

I’m not sure why, however in the late 90’s I seemed to have a thing for swanky London hotel bars. I’m not sure if it was because hotels tended to have the most money to spend on lavish bars, or it was just a fad, however hotel bars in London were divine and I was a regular at a few that included, the Long Bar at the Sanderson, the Light Bar at the St Martins Lane Hotel, The Blue Bar at the Berkeley, The Fumoir at Claridges, and my favourite of all hotel bars, The Library Bar at the Lanesborough.

An evening or an afternoon for that matter at the Library bar was like stepping into another world, the bustle and traffic of the nearby Hyde Park Corner seemed a million miles away. It was certainly easy to let an evening drift away in the most decadent surroundings fuelled by a Martini or two and accompanied by a cigar from the Library bar’s well stocked humidor. 

It was during this period that I learned the secret of the finest Martini. The barman and creator of these Martini’s was the now world-renowned Salvatore Calabrese. Salvatore’s approach to the Martini was simple, a frozen crystal glass, frozen gin/vodka and the smallest splash of vermouth, garnished with a twist (lemon) or an olive. 

The impact of these Martini’s could never be described on paper, the alcohol content for sure is strong, however once past the initial hit a Martini made by Salvatore can not be bettered. So, it became, that every Thursday for several years I would pull up a stool at the Library bar and order my usual, a Vodka Martini, straight up with an olive and a Partaga’s Serie d No 4, cigar. These were some of the finest days and nights I can remember, I never had more than three and only remember one occasion when I asked my black cab driver to pull over on Sloane Street on the way home as I felt some fresh air might be a good idea.

Today, Salvatore is no longer at the Library bar, he has had a celebrated career running many of Europe’s finest bars and can still be found on Facebook, YouTube sharing his knowledge of cocktail making. 

I have never forgotten this recipe and to this day always have two crystal glasses chilling in the freezer ready to take me back to such decadent times.

Incidentally my friend managed two Martini’s in my garden, the day after he remarked ‘ I don’t know what happened, I can’t even remember the pizza!’.

If you can’t do it in style, don’t do it!

If God created Man, then who on earth created the Martini?

Salvatore calabrese

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