Gin is In, Baby

According to this article on CNN, gin is making a comeback as a premium liquor (who makes up these market segments, anyways?). My vodka-drinking comrades occasionally give me respect (and strange looks) because I drink gin martinis instead of the dry vodka martinis currently in vogue.

The funny thing is, my conversion to the True Faith of gin martinis was similar. I took a road trip with my father a few years back, where we motorcycled around the central U.S. Part of our evening camping/hotel ritual became the making of the martini. My father would mix them up in the classic proportions (1 part vermouth, 3 parts gin), and we would have a martini or two.

I can't explain how it is that the addition of a little vermouth and an olive takes a drink from tasting like paint thinner to a good sipping drink. Chalk it up as one of the mysteries of life -- one of those areas where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

So, like the author in the link above, I have my father to thank for my love of the under-appreciated gin martini. Happy Father's Day, Dad.