DRINKING La DOLCE VITA

From pioneering distilling methods to the massive success of Martini Racing, the story of the most iconic name in aperitifs

- JARED PAUL STERN

The Oxford English Dictionary long maintained that the Martini cocktail derived its name from Martini & Rossi vermouth; however the first mentions of the drink in print date back to well before the famed firm was founded in Turin, Italy in 1863. No matter— the two have become synonymous thanks to Martini’s mastery of the ultimate aperitif; and though these days all sorts of vermouths have crept their way into martini glasses, none have the potent blend of pedigree, purity, and prestige of the Italian original. Even James Bond chose it for his shaken-not-stirred vodka variation in 1962’s Dr. No.

Martini & Rossi, which recently celebrated its 160th anniversary with a suitably stylish, star-studded soirée in Milan where guests included actress Dakota Johnson and mega-influencer Chiara Ferragni, is not in fact the oldest Italian vermouth in existence, but it is undoubtedly the most iconic. Even those who have never tasted it will recognize its famed logos and racing stripes, the bold colors as evocative of la dolce vita as any Fellini film.

Vermouth, made from wine fortified with alcohol and flavored with herbs and roots, whose main element is wormwood, “has some 50 ingredients in all and takes about four years to concoct and distill,” notes Barnaby Conrad III in his seminal book