“If God created man, then who on earth created the Martini?” — Salvatore Calabrese, Classic Cocktails

Whether it’s James Bond’s shaken-not-stirred vodkatini or the cast of Mad Men drinking their lunch, the martini is not just for TV and movies. Legend and myth obscure this pivotal cocktail’s origins, but one thing stands clear: this drink changed the world.

The martini is not just a drink. It’s an icon. The iconic cocktail is a hallmark of success, aspiration, affluence. To have a martini is not just to have a drink—it’s to show that you move the world. “It is the drink people aspire to,” Salvatore Calabrese observes in his classic book, Classic Cocktails (which seems to be out of print, but is available at fine libraries such as the Eugene Public Library).

Mixed in Mystery

The martini’s origins are as shrouded in mystery as the drink itself is sparkling clear. Many martini origin stories cite the United States as where the martini was born, though circumstances vary wildly. Some stories say the martini came about in San Francisco during the 1800s Gold Rush. Some say New York in the early 1900s was the birthplace. The English have a story that links the drink to the old British Army Martini & Henry rifle, used 1871-1891. (I have my own theory, but that’s another story for another day, because it is so wildly improbable that the person was alive then.)

We’ll probably never know exactly where and how the martini came about, but perhaps that’s not important after all. Perhaps it’s far more important that the martini is with us, casting its relaxing, emboldening spell on our lives and our imaginations.

Regardless of how the martini originated, it’s clear that even from its early days the drink cast a shadow bigger than its glass, and mystified drinkers the world over.

Over time the drink has had its changes and evolutions, too. An early 1900s recipe describes equal parts gin and sweet vermouth, finished with an optional dash of orange bitters. The overall trend through history seems to be that the vermouth has decreased, from 4 parts gin to 1 part vermouth in the 1940s, to today’s more typical few drops of vermouth.

The biggest change we know of is the change in taste from gin to vodka that dominates today’s martinis. Brought about in part by cultural icons such as James Bond, the vodkatini first appeared in the early 1950s, when vodka, as Calabrese notes, was “a spirit new to the American palate.”

Powerful Not Strong

Whether gin or vodka, equal parts vermouth or a mere nod to the bottle, the power of the martini is not in its strength, prodigious though that is. The power is in its appeal to people. The martini has been the drink—or weapon—of choice for U.S. presidents negotiating tough deals with foreign leaders. From working up-and-comers with their social sights set high, to the halls of economic and political power around the world, Calabrese explains that the martini remains the drink of the powerful and of those aspiring to power:

“A vodka Martini is now the most requested mixed cocktail in power-broking territory—Washington, DC—and throughout Europe and America the Martini, made with gin or vodka, is enjoying a resurgence.”

Given the long history of the drink, and its ability not only to bring a buzz to the body but an intoxication to the very soul, this is no surprise. The martini. We don’t know where it came from. We don’t even really know where it keeps taking us. But we do know that this drink continues to change the world.

Recipe for a Dry Martini

This recipe is adapted from Calabrese’s “My Dry Martini” recipe in Classic Cocktails, p. 69:

Ingredients

• 8cl / 2-3/4 oz. gin or vodka
• 1-2 drops Martini Extra Dry vermouth (he recommends storing your vermouth in an old bitters bottle with a drop pourer)
• Thin twist of lemon
• 1 green olive (optional)

Making Your Martini

1. Chill a bottle of gin or vodka
2. Put a cocktail glass in the freezer
3. Don’t mix the martini (and don’t shake it, because James Bond is fictional and the whole shaken-not-stirred thing is frowned on by many bartenders). Just pour the gin or vodka straight into the glass. Lay 2-3 drops of vermouth on top of the spirit
4. Twist the lemon to add some “tears” of the lemon to the martini. Run lemon twist around glass rim. Add olive, if using
5. Change the world. Enjoy.

About The Martini of Destiny

A special martini gives courage to a doubting man, a ghost doesn’t pay for his pints, a destiny-slinging bartender questions everything, and the world will never be the same. The first Rucksack Universe Short Story E-book, The Martini of Destiny is available June 20, 2013.

About The Martini of Destiny »

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Photo: Billy Abbott

Photo: Niklas Morberg

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I’ve got a new story in the latest issue of Tastings, from The Register-Guard. Awesome photos too from Collin Andrew!

“For more than 30 years, the owners of Eugene-based Pasta Plus have created from-scratch pasta and pesto for restaurants and home cooks from Ashland to Portland.”

Full Story: The art of fresh pasta – Register-Guard, Tastings »

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You are awesome! Thanks for the enthusiasm, shares and support over these last few days. And, above all, thanks for entering to win this week’s The Martini of Destiny Free E-book Giveaway!

Here’s the list of lucky winners who were selected using a random number generator:

• #5, VTfiddle, who said, “Why, a traditional Dirty is the only way to have it of course! Gin, not vodka. A splash of olive juice. And quality bitters are a must.”
• #2, sachartermoms, who said, “I’m not really a martini drinker. Chances are, if I had one now, it would be in a plastic cup, with an olive made of play doh, skewered with a popsicle stick. Very dry. As in, nothing but air. Life with kids.”
• #6, fyberella, who said, “so wonderful, Anthony you are the best!”

Winners have been contacted and prizes have been mailed out. Winners, if you haven’t received your e-book yet, please contact me. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Didn’t win? Fear not.

A new giveaway starts Tuesday, May 28, at 5 a.m. PT.

Keep yourself occupied in the meantime.

About The Martini of Destiny

A special martini gives courage to a doubting man, a ghost doesn’t pay for his pints, a destiny-slinging bartender questions everything, and the world will never be the same. The first Rucksack Universe Short Story E-book, The Martini of Destiny is available June 20, 2013.

About The Martini of Destiny »

Special Features & Launch News »

Photo – Anne Roberts

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Bartender. Best Drinks in Hong Kong. Destiny Slinger. Jake.

He’s the man behind the bar in The Martini of Destiny, the barkeep behind your choices and your fates, but just who is Jake Hongkong?

“Jake turned away from the bar and its view of the pub, and instead examined the bottles on the shelves lining the back wall. In the mirror behind the bottles he glimpsed his reflection; his brown eyes glinted bright but muted, as if under a haze, like a lamp whose shade needed dusting. No gray wove through his short black hair. Beneath his white button-down shirt and his black trousers, his body still looked trim and felt strong—part of the benefits of the job, The Management had told him. Sometimes it still seemed strange to him, the Brazilian amongst so many Asians, but after all these years he had blended in as well as he could. Then again, no Jake or Jade ever really blended in. They just became a sort of invisible, known but not noted, vital but humdrum, like a traffic light or an artery.” — The Martini of Destiny

A quiet man with a tight smile, Jake doesn’t have an easy time as the longest-serving Jake or Jade. Sometimes he thinks he’s seen too much, done too much and influenced too many. The stone he rolls between his fingers, his one reminder of home, is the only thing that keeps his thoughts from getting too dark and keeps the enormity of his tasks from crushing him.

“The glass looked like a mountain inverted, a peak held in the hand. Jake Hongkong mixed the martini with the mastery of years. In a blur he topped it off with the final ingredient, a few drops from the special black bottle in the unseeable cabinet behind a panel of the woodwork below the back liquor shelves. The drink looked and smelled the same, but for the man about to drink it, he did not know how different his life was going to become.” — The Martini of Destiny

Still, when you’re a Jake, and especially the Jake of the Independent City-Nation of Hong Kong, World’s Greatest City, your tasks are always enormous. But no amount of experience can prepare Jake for what happens after he serves Hong Kong’s best martini to a doubting man—and after a ghost not only skips out on his bar tab, but steals the one thing Jake considers precious.

About The Martini of Destiny

A special martini gives courage to a doubting man, a ghost doesn’t pay for his pints, a destiny-slinging bartender questions everything, and the world will never be the same. The first Rucksack Universe Short Story E-book, The Martini of Destiny is available June 20, 2013.

About The Martini of Destiny »

Special Features & Launch News »

Photo: Renée S. Suen

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A special martini gives courage to a doubting man, a ghost doesn’t pay for his pints, a destiny-slinging bartender questions everything, and the world will never be the same…

Available in…

It’s been a helluva journey and lots of work (and to think, this is only the first!). But it’s close.

The Martini of Destiny, the first short story e-book in the Rucksack Universe of travel fiction, will be available worldwide on Thursday, June 20, 2013.

In the meantime, behind the scenes I’ll be getting things ready to launch. Over these next few weeks I’ll also be talking with you about the story itself: the characters, the similar-but-different world of the Rucksack Universe, and some of the process to make the story come alive. The Martini of Destiny isn’t just a short story, after all. It’s an introduction to a new world of urban fantasy and travel fiction.

Come June 20, you’ll be able to get your copy wherever e-books are sold.

But in the meantime you can also take a crack at winning a free copy.

This Week’s Free Book Giveaway

Now through Launch Day, every week I’m giving away 3 copies of The Martini of Destiny.

Want to be in the running? Here’s how to enter.

1. Leave a comment on this post and share your favorite martini.
2. Comments will close at 11:59 pm PT on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Thursday.
3. Giveaway open to everyone, one e-book per winner. Void where prohibited.
4. One comment per person, please. Feel free to enter as many weeks as you want. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.

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Earlier in the year I talked about some goals for my homebrewing for 2013. A big one was how many times to brew this year.

My goal for 2013 is to brew 6 times. I’ve gotten in 1 brew so far (Jodie’s birthday beer, a Hoegaarden Belgian wit clone). Two more are on deck.

Here are the brews I’ve got on my grab list for the year, or my “might brew” list:

• Saison
• Majic Apricot Pale Ale
• Galway Pradesh Stout (or GPS, I’m R&D’ing this beer as part of my Rucksack Universe travel fantasy fiction stories)
• Weizenbock
• Jet Scharzweiss Ale
• Session English Dark Mild Ale (based off profile and recipe in Brew Your Own Magazine)
• Fuller’s London Pride clone
• Cascade Honey Brew (haven’t brewed this since I first started homebrewing in 2007)
• Weiss Beer (last brewed 2008)
• Lazy Haze Kolsch (a lovely summer brew in 2009)

And you know what? I’m about to get halfway to my goal. After a quick run to Eugene’s Home Fermenter Center, I’m ready to brew a Weizenbock and a Lazy Haze Kolsch.

3 down. 3 to go.

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After 2,500 blog posts since 2004, it made sense to showcase some of the favorite and most popular posts on the site. Here’s the Top 25:

1. Priorities
2. The Tokyo Toddler – An Oregon Family Travels Japan
3. A reason to do – Day 8 of 30 Days of Indie Travel – Love Learning
4. Joy, in spite of everything
5. Homemade champagne vinegar
6. Prepare for wet hop homebrew
7. Moon rising over Mt. Everest – Day 10 of 30 Days of Indie Travel
8. How haggis, if no sheep stomach?
9. Falling Sky opens. Is it Eugene’s best brewpub?
10. My Writing Tools: Unruled 3.5″x5.5″ Moleskine Hardcover Notebook
11. The winner – Beer Cheese Dip
12. Homebrew: Majic Fresh-Hop Apricot Pale Ale 2011
13. The Gardens of Noborito
14. Dad, Let’s Help Tokyo Wake Up
15. Still a traveler, still a writer
16. Skipping the stress flight – Day 16 of 30 Days of Indie Travel – Baggage
17. Happy New Beer
18. A pot of good luck: New Year Posole
19. The long delay and the uphill walk – Day 22 of 30 Days of Indie Travel – Transit
20. Homebrew: Ignore the instructions
21. It takes purple pop to paint a patio purple
22. Hot damn, or, 227 note cards
23. Homebrew: Jet Scharzweiss Ale
24. I have no idea
25. Expect to be disappointed – Day 25 of 30 Days of Indie Travel – Family

Not seeing your favorite here? What do you want to see more of during the next 2,500 posts?

Photo – Starry night over Mount Everest – Matt Wier

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Live the world. Start here.

In 2004, kind of on a lark really, I published my first post on a Typepad blog called Antsaint. Thinking back, it’s hard to remember all the motivations that went into it. Mostly I wanted to share things I learned about or researched for projects, in the hopes it would help others.

As time went on, the site grew—about 278 posts per year, or about 5 posts a week—and through the site I met new friends and colleagues. We shared a lot and learned a lot. Hell, my site even played a role in how my wife and I met (thanks in part to good ol’ Perugino). In time I was also sharing more about my writing on the site, such as my various times competing in NaNoWriMo (2011, 2008 and 2005), or the 2012 BootsnAll Indie 30 Project. There was also 2011, when I left my job and set up shop as an indie author, craft beer writer and freelance copywriter. And here we are now, in 2013, with my Rucksack Universe travel fantasy stories getting closer to launch…

As these things often are, it’s been a helluva ride. And when I saw recently that my count of published blog posts was nearing the 2,500 mark, that really made me stop and take stock.

The blog and site have evolved a lot over the years from that initial Typepad blog. In 2010 I finally moved the site off Typepad and on to WordPress—an easy move overall, except for the loss of basically all my images from Typepad (thanks for that screwy image code, Six Apart. Not).

And now, beyond the 2,500-post mark, lots of changes are happening on-site and off-site. Some changes you may have noticed—new logo, new look, spiffed up content. Some is less visible, being prepared behind the scenes—like launching The Martini of Destiny, more Japan trip posts in Tokyo Toddler, and other content around travel and craft beer that I haven’t even announced yet.

So much has happened since 2004. So much has yet to happen. And it’ll keep happening here. I suppose that, in blog years, I’m kinda old. That’s good with me. I like getting older. Last time I checked there was only one other alternative, and all I have to say to that is, “Not today.”

The site will keep changing, just as I keep changing and the world keeps changing. I’m old, I’m here, and I’ll keep showcasing what I can about what in this big varied world is worth living and loving and being excited about. If you want to live the world, this is a good place to start.

And now to keep going. There’s a lot to do. There always will be. To the next 2,500 posts, and beyond.

Meantime, I put together a wee selection of the Top 25 Posts so far »

Photo: Globe – Hanne Johansen

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One couchsurfing experience had us sharing homemade Yokohaman comfort food with a wonderful Japanese family.

Follow the adventure: The Tokyo Toddler

Sometimes people think we’re nuts. Like when we said we wouldn’t be staying in hotels during our Japan trip. Instead, we’d be staying in the homes of strangers.

There’s a method to our madness though, and homestays proved to be a great way for us to travel as a family.

When Jodie and I travel, our preference has always been to leverage hostels or, when possible, stay with friends. Since we view paid accommodation primarily as a place to sleep and keep our stuff, we don’t feel a need to pay high dollar for a place we’re hardly going to see. We prefer the vibe of a hostel, with its funkiness and many nationalities—but always with a private room, instead of a dorm. A couple wants their privacy, after all.

Ahem.

But now our family of two is a family of three, and it made sense to look at some fresh options for accommodation. While researching our trip, Jodie came across the Airbnb and Couchsurfing communities. Immediately we knew we’d found people who had a similar mindset. We focused on doing couchsurfing. Jodie looked over lots of people in the cities we wanted to visit, searching for what sounded like compatible personalities and, above all, a willingness to have a wee child in their midst.

It worked, too. From a bachelor in Tokyo, to an expat couple in Kobe, to families in Yokohama and Kyoto, we couchsurfed 2 of our 3 weeks in Japan. For our middle week, where we were in Matsumoto for Jodie’s Suzuki Method World Convention, we stayed in a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn.

Here are things we learned about couchsurfing—and why we’ll be doing lots more on future trips.

Couchsurfing is an opportunity to see a place from the perspective of people’s ordinary lives. Our hosts were regular workaday folks. We got to see Japan from their standpoint, and share a bit of a regular day.

• See how people live. It’s fun to see the sights, but it’s also fascinating to see how other people live day-to-day in other places. Our couchsurfing experiences with 6 different hosts showed us 6 different perspectives on living in Japan. Some hosts were Japanese, some were expats. Through all of them we got to learn more about Japan and what it’s like to live and travel there.
• It’s comfortable and affordable. Couchsurfing is a great way to save on travel costs, but the biggest knock against it is people who play cheapskate and do nothing in return for their stay. We tried to do things for each of our hosts, such as treating them to dinner, buying flowers, or helping with chores. Each place we stayed at was also safe and cozy, and felt indeed like being right at home. Our hosts also would help us with anything from ideas on getting around, to using the washing machine, or where to buy diapers.
• We could introduce Connor to different people and experiences, helping him understand more about being flexible in life and in travel. This last point is the most important to us. Some of our hosts had children, and they also viewed couchsurfing as a way to introduce their children to other cultures and people. We viewed it as a way to show Connor some of the world’s diversity, and the commonalities and courtesies that are universal. It was also an opportunity to show him how we try to be open to new experiences, and flexible in different situations.

Couchsurfing opened up a new and different range of travel experiences for our wee family. It’s something we will definitely be doing again, but not only as guests. Now that we’re home, we also plan to be hosts.

More Tokyo Toddler

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Tonight I am at the monthly meeting for Willamette Writers. My duties as co-chair as done for now, and I am listening to Eric Olsen talk about his creative process and that of other writers he’s known, all with varying degrees of success.

He just hit upon an example that hit me hard. He read an author’s account of how she would get her work done, all the more challenging while also raising a daughter. As someone who both works and provides a lot of child care for a wee lad, this resonates.

I would write from 11:15 till 1 in the morning, she said (more or less). Sometimes I would spend 10 minutes on my manuscript, but even those few minutes kept my book in my mind during the day.

And that’s what I work toward, always. I work on my fiction usually first thing in the morning, but when raising a child that doesn’t always work out the way I would prefer.

It’s those 10 minutes that stick with me. That’s where I can improve. It’s not easy. I have to immerse myself into a made-up place, where I also have to think not as myself but as multiple other people.

Tough schnackies. That’s the job. That’s my job. And like fatherhood, I have to figure out what works best with what I’ve got at the time.

So that’s where I am working. How can I better poise myself to take 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, and work on the novel, or a short story, or a novella? What can I do, at any time, that keeps my wee travel fiction projects moving forward?

10 minutes. Maybe it’s all I get. But time is a gift. I don’t always get to use time the way I want. But how I use it, how I choose to perceive the value of what bits of time I get, well, that’s all up to me.

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