Well, I don’t know about you, but it’s been a year, and sometimes only a Martini will do. When I go back to look all the photos of this year I’ve need of a few.
But there’s quite a few highlights and it’s hard to choose my top five Martini experiences of the year. As you know, it takes a few things to come together for a great Martini, even a good one.

You can have a great cocktail but bad ambience, you can have an OK martini but fantastic company to compensate, so it’s more than what’s in the glass. So this year it s probably no surprise that most the top five took place in the natural habitat of the cocktail, PalmSprings, California. The State in which Martini was born allegedly. That said, I had many, shall we say, average ones, even there, they arrived fast but temperature was awful for example.

So here we go. In no particular order….

Fun fact, my usual go to order is a Dry Plymouth gin Martini with a twist and happily that favourite spirit of mine is really available stateside.

Melvyn’s restaurant in Palm Springs, California is an iconic Hollywood glamour era restaurant and bar, and every time I go to Palm Springs I make a B line for it is the real deal. Happily the Martinis are still excellent and since my last visit had they a better selection of spirits and they stirred not shaking.

Of course it was a full house, with a great jazz band, and my friends who had never been there before despite and they were long time visitors to Palm Springs visitors, so a win, win, win.

Staying in Palm Springs the next stop is Workshop Kitchen and bar, an upscale place on the main strip. I’d had a night where I’ve gone to place after place after place, not getting any satisfaction. Either the vibe wasn’t right, or I just wasn’t feeling it so I figured an award winning restaurant would have the good stuff, and they did. A night rescued with a chilled perfectly executed Martini. Thank goodness.

One for the road for Palm Springs my own creations. I had the honour of presenting some workshops on behalf of USModernist radio for a very select group on the cocktail and we journeyed through the various styles and of course, even I can make a pretty good Espresso Martini! Happily they loved the experience and my creations. A bit cheeky for an Aussie to be talking to people from around America about their cocktail they created, and they’re loved it. Well, that was a good day at the office.

And on the before I left USA I had a great pleasure of hanging out with Max from BarMaxLA one of the great cocktail Instagram accounts and a fantastic gentleman as well. . We’ve never met except across through Instagram and he picked my up from my hotel in West Hollywood and we went to the iconic legendary restaurant Musso and Frank featured in so many movies and TV show shows and famous for the Martinis and steaks.

It’s been there for over 100 years, serious old school and I did not disappoint on any aspect. They use a sidecar delivery method so you’ve got the chilled Martini with more in a flask on ice to top up as you go along, so it’s nice and cold at all times. He was a great company naturally and I have to say the food was excellent, and well, I was in my happy place.

Finally back in Sydney a few months later, one of the world’s great bars Maybe Sammy. I had a night of looking at locations for my series and going to various bars and some were sad and some ok. It was a rainy night, and I forgot my umbrella from the hotel, and so I literally walked in with a wet jacket into a dry martini. I just love that no matter how many accolades they have, they offer a true spirit of hospitality and do everything with style.

Everyone matters, everyone is welcomed, to everyone is farewelled and they have a ball doing it and you just know that these fine, mostly European, bar staff know their stuff.