WEBVTT - How Does the Martini Glass Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey Brainstuff, Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>Vogelbaum here. The Martini glass is one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>iconic designs in barware, and maybe one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>iconic designs of anything ever. Its sloped sides, wide rim,

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<v Speaker 1>spindley stem, and round base are immediately recognizable. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>you can drink anything at all out of it if

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<v Speaker 1>you want to, and hey note here, please drink responsibly.

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<v Speaker 1>But for almost a hundred years, the proper cocktail to

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<v Speaker 1>servant it has been the Martini. That's actually forty years

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<v Speaker 1>into the Martini cocktail's history. The drink predates the glass.

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<v Speaker 1>The Martini cocktail has been around in various forms since

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<v Speaker 1>at least the eighteen eighties, although the circumstances of its

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<v Speaker 1>invention are murky. There are at least four competing origin

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<v Speaker 1>stories about the name and ingredients that is, a combination

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<v Speaker 1>of gin and vermouth with or without other stuff like

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<v Speaker 1>a splash of orange bitters or olive brine, or a

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<v Speaker 1>garnish like an olive or a twist of lemon zest.

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<v Speaker 1>A story published in the New York Times in nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>o four claimed that a local judge by the name

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<v Speaker 1>of Randolph Martin came up with the drink. Another story

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<v Speaker 1>goes that a gold miner in Martinez, California, asked a

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<v Speaker 1>bartender for something special to celebrate a big find. The

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<v Speaker 1>addition of the olive is sometimes attributed to a Syrian

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<v Speaker 1>expat by the name of Martini who opened a bar

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<v Speaker 1>in Paris and brought olives from home, though it's perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>most likely that multiple people were independently making and refining

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<v Speaker 1>similar cocktails around the same time, and the name comes

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<v Speaker 1>from the popular Italian vermouth brand Martini and Rossi. The

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<v Speaker 1>Martini glass, on the other hand, comes solidly from the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen twenties and the height of the Deco movement. It

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<v Speaker 1>may have made its debut at the nineteen twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>International Exhibition in Paris. Art Deco was the theme of

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<v Speaker 1>the expo that year. The Martini glass was a sort

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<v Speaker 1>of update to the Champagne coup, which has a similar

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<v Speaker 1>rounded base and delicate stem, but a perhaps more forgiving,

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<v Speaker 1>shallow rounded bowl. Martinis and other cocktails like it were

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<v Speaker 1>served in Coup's for decades before the new angular glass

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<v Speaker 1>arrived on the scene, but by the nineteen thirties this

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<v Speaker 1>new glass design was firmly associated with the Martini cocktail,

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<v Speaker 1>a clean design for a clean drink. The Martini's simplicity

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<v Speaker 1>and its glasses design made it a symbol of the

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<v Speaker 1>modern American urbanite. By the nineteen forties and fifties, with

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<v Speaker 1>the rise of mid century modern design, the lip of

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<v Speaker 1>the Martini glass would grow wider and the stem longer,

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<v Speaker 1>and through industrialization, this glassware became available for home use

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<v Speaker 1>by the middle class. The Martini and its glass, partially

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<v Speaker 1>through the enthusiasm of folks like Franklin Roosevelt, became symbols

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<v Speaker 1>of power and modernity. Another New York Times article from

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty eight called it the symbol of our civilization,

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<v Speaker 1>and the nineteen fifties, by the way, is when vodka

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<v Speaker 1>entered the Martini picture. It had probably made its way

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<v Speaker 1>into the cocktail before then, but the fifties were when

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<v Speaker 1>the popularity of vodka skyrocketed in the US, and by

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen seventies vodka martinis had started to outsell gin martinis. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>the distinctive shape of the Martini glass truly serves one

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<v Speaker 1>purpose to look amazing. There are some side benefits of

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<v Speaker 1>this good looking glass, though, The stem is longer than

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<v Speaker 1>you'll find on most coops or wine glasses, which keeps

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<v Speaker 1>the heat of your hand far away from the drink itself.

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<v Speaker 1>This is important because they're shaken or stirred with ice.

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<v Speaker 1>Martinis are served straight up, that is, with no ice

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<v Speaker 1>in the glass, so keeping the heat of your hand

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<v Speaker 1>away from the drink will help it stay colder longer.

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<v Speaker 1>A side note here, people like to argue about whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's more appropriate to shake or stir a martini with

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<v Speaker 1>ice in order to chill it, probably because of that

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<v Speaker 1>James Bond line which first appeared in Doctor No In

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty eight. A medium dry martini lemon peel, shaken,

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<v Speaker 1>not stir vodka. Of course, scientifically speaking, the act of

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<v Speaker 1>shaking ice with gin or a good vermouth can water

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<v Speaker 1>them down too much, break up the silky texture, and

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<v Speaker 1>make some of the delicate aroma and flavor molecules start

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<v Speaker 1>to dissipate before you get a chance to enjoy them.

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<v Speaker 1>No less than mit researchers have stated that, according to science,

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<v Speaker 1>the best way to mix a gin martini is by stirring.

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<v Speaker 1>But back to that glass. The wide open of a

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<v Speaker 1>martini glass also allows more of the drink to come

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<v Speaker 1>into contact with the air so it can breathe, allowing

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<v Speaker 1>those flavors to open up and reach your face. Many

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<v Speaker 1>other cocktail and wine glasses curve in at the rim

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<v Speaker 1>at least a little, reducing that effect. There's also a

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<v Speaker 1>rumor floating that back during prohibition it was easier to

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<v Speaker 1>toss the contents of a Martini glass during raids on speakeasies.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure whether that holds up scientifically, but for sure,

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<v Speaker 1>the propensity of Martini glasses to lead to accidental spills

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<v Speaker 1>is one reason why they've fallen somewhat out of favor

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<v Speaker 1>with bartenders. Beautiful though, these glasses. Maybe. Today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on the article the straight up History of the

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<v Speaker 1>iconic Martini Glass on Howstuffwork dot Com, written by Kristen

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<v Speaker 1>hall Geisler. To learn more about the Martini cocktail, check

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<v Speaker 1>out my other podcast Savor. We did a whole episode

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<v Speaker 1>called Cocktail Out the Martini and Brainstuff is producted by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com, who is

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Klang. Before more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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