When I first started drinking, I would have something like a Cuba Libre or a scotch and soda, just because I was afraid of how strong the alcohol would be. The sugar from the soda would help and make it easy to have several drinks during the night. Of course, there was beer but you can’t always have a beer.
Later on, I discovered James Bond and his “shaken but not stirred” martinis. It was very stylish but vodka (or gin) was not something I was much interested in. Nevertheless, I was growing rather impatient because I kept reading and hearing about it and did not know what to make of it since I would always hear 2 different opinions.
One day, I found a martini bar and it was like magic. I tried every single martini they had to offer, even the famous “Vesper” that was immortalized by Ian Fleming in his first 007 book, “Casino Royale”. From then on, I was hooked on martinis, leaving my friends to their classical fares of whiskey, rum and wine.
Of course, over the years, I’ve had my share of disgustingly watered-down or vermouth-drown martinis that I should have not ordered and stuck to something much more simple.
And then came the dirty…
One evening, I was having dinner at “The Cheesecake Factory” and I was intrigued by their “Well-Mannered Dirty Martini”. It’s a dirty martini with two huge blue cheese-filled olives and just one of them was enough to change everything. I went out and bought a shaker, glasses and everything needed to make my own dirty martinis and it has become a ritual to have a couple of them during the weekend.
Yesterday, I was at “The Cheesecake Factory” for dinner. And guess what did I have to drink… 
Till then…
