Among the roots of the expansive Martini family tree lies the Martinez, a gin cocktail that precedes codified Martini recipes by close to a decade. Competing origin stories range from a 19th-century mining community in Martinez, California, to 1883 newspaper articles in Chicago and Cleveland. Many believe that the Martinez recipe began as a Manhattan riff that swapped the whiskey for Dutch genever, which was prominent in United States bars at the time. Others made similar drinks with Old Tom gin, calling those versions Turf Clubs; by the dawn of the new millennium, Martinez recipes with Old Tom had become more common. At Ellington Park Bistro in Washington, D.C., general manager Hung Nguyen offers versions with both. He’ll even make you a Martinez with London dry gin, if that’s what you prefer. “Old Tom gin is a bit more luscious and fragrant compared to London dry,” he says, making it better suited to those who prefer a sweeter profile and rounder texture. Because genever is distilled from malt, it “gives the Martinez a much more savory aspect that combines well with the sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters.” Like its oft-tweaked Martini relatives, the Martinez cocktail contains multitudes.