I’ve been on a Hemingway kick as of late. I’m really loving Across the River and Into the Trees. A really underrated novel, the story takes place in Venice — most of the action in Harry’s Bar. A place I have not been but would love to see. It’s here that Hemingway introduces us to his own version of the martini — called The Montgomery. Below is the recipe.
The Montgomery
Hemingway ranked dry martini drinking somewhere between bullfighting and big-game hunting in his list of manly pursuits. Papa called this martini, which he drank at Harry’s Bar in Venice, the Montgomery, after Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. The joke goes that Montgomery would not attack unless he had a 15:1 advantage in forces, which is what Papa thought the gin-to-vermouth ratio was in this drink. It reality it is closer to 10:1.
2 oz. Gordon’s gin
1 tsp. + a few drops Noilly Prat vermouth
Olive
Pour ingredients into an ice-filled shaker. Shake, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an olive.
