The Martini

The history chapter on how dry vermouth and gin first got paired up is genuinely fascinating—I had no idea the drink was almost 150 years old. It's a slim book, but the writing on why the Martini has stayed popular this long kept me reading straight through.

The history chapter on how dry vermouth and gin first got paired up genuinely surprised me. I kept it on the counter and ended up reading the whole thing in two sittings instead of just skimming for recipes.

I've been making Martinis for years and still learned things—the chapter on how the gin-to-vermouth ratio shifted over the decades is genuinely fascinating. It's a slim little history book but packed with stories about why this one drink stuck around for nearly 150 years.