No. 115: May/June 2025

I always thought I hated Martinis. Throughout my late 20s, the urge would occasionally strike to try and rise above the assorted beers that comprised most of my drinking diet, and to learn to love a Martini. I had no clear reason for fixating on this particular drink, aside from the fact that the Martini was—well, the Martini, the ne plus ultra of cocktails for generations. But this was the 1990s, a time when “Martini” was appended to pretty much anything in a cocktail glass—including the sad, tepid, watery things that wound up in front of me whenever the Martini urge would hit. For one reason or another, my Martini ambitions were regularly thwarted.

Even while I was working as a drinks writer with the cocktail renaissance in full bloom, it took time for me to work my way up to full appreciation of the Martini. Clearly, I wasn’t alone, as the global bar culture slowly cycled its way through highlighting one classic cocktail after another, only eventually landing on the Martini in the past few years. Today, we’re in a full-on Martini revival. Cocktail menus are restoring the Martini to its throne, as bartenders honor the drink’s structure and history while ushering it into the modern era. For this issue, we take a short tour through today’s reenergized Martini landscape.

And while we’re meditating on Martinis: London dry gin may form the heart of many well-loved versions, but the larger gin world begs exploration—check out our Taste Test of California gins. And maybe you bought a bottle of dry vermouth to play along with our Martini coverage, and you want to make sure none goes to waste? No problem—Rich Manning has you covered with a handful of recipes for non-Martini cocktails featuring dry vermouth.

Sweetness is sometimes seen as a caution flag for many wine drinkers. But as Betsy Andrews reveals, some of Germany’s best wines benefit from a little touch of residual sugar, and offer terrific insight into this winemaking region. A more robustly sweet wine from South Africa was once a prized pour, before the style largely faded. Alexandra Owens brings us the story of this once-coveted wine, as producers today are reviving the style.

We’ve also got Josh Bernstein’s look at how breweries are migrating from the cities to the suburbs, Miranda Rake’s dive into the enduring appeal of French press coffee, and Beth Demmon’s profile of influential brewer and cider maker Greg Hall. And are there cocktail names that make you blush? Then join Wayne Curtis for a tour of some of the worst drink names in cocktail history.