Luis Buñuel's discrete charm of the dry martini

Buñuel's Belle de Jour

In 'Earthly delights', a chapter in Luis Buñuel's autobiography, My Last Sigh, the consummate surrealist describes his perfect dry martini:

"The day before your guests arrive, put all the ingredients — glasses, gin, and shaker — in the refrigerator. Use a thermometer to make sure the ice is about twenty degrees below zero (centigrade). Don't take anything out until your friends arrive; then pour a few drops of Noilly Prat and half a demitasse spoon of Angostura bitters over the ice. Shake it, then pour it out, keeping only the ice, which retains a faint taste of both. Then pour straight gin over the ice, shake it again, and serve...

Connoisseurs who like their martinis very dry suggest simply allowing a ray of sunlight to shine through a bottle of Noilly Prat before it hits the bottle of gin."

P.S. I like my martini dirty with gin, olives, olive juice and darkly (ie. no sunlight!) Let's bring back Cocktail Hour (snap!)



Link: A lesson in the fine art of mixology, as seen in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise.