SOMETIMES ONLY A MARTINI WILL MAKE IT
Who remembers Judge Robert Bork? He was a right wing absolutist who was kept off the Supreme Court back in 1987, when all thinking people breathed a sigh of relief. Of Bork, Ted Kennedy said – "Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, children could not be taught about evolution."
And yet I find myself in full agreement (except for the olive) with the following letter, written by Bork and published in Monday’s Wall Street Journal...

Martini's Founding Fathers: Original Intent Debatable
Eric Felten's essay on the dry martini is itself near-perfect ("Don't Forget the Vermouth," Leisure & Arts, Pursuits, Dec. 10). His allusion to constitutional jurisprudence is faulty, however, since neither in law nor martinis can we know the subjective "original intent" of the Founding Fathers. As to martinis, the intent may have been to ease man's passage through this vale of tears or, less admirably, to employ the tactic of "candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker."
What counts in mixology is the "original understanding" of the martini's essence by those who first consumed it. The essence remains unaltered but allows proportions to evolve as circumstances change. Mr. Felten's "near-perfect martini" is the same in principle as the "original-understanding martini" and therefore its legitimate descendant. Such latter-day travesties as the chocolate martini and the raspberry martini, on the other hand, are the work of activist bartenders.
Mr. Felten lapses into heresy only once. He prefers the olive to the lemon peel because the former is a "snack." Dropping a snack into a classic drink is like garnishing filet mignon with ketchup. The correct response when offered an olive is, "When I want a salad, I'll ask for it."
Robert H. BorkThe Hudson Institute
Washington

And, just for reference, here is how Doc40 makes a perfect martini.
Take a cocktail shaker, and half fill with ice.
Pour in a shot of vermouth.
Shake.
Throw away the Vermouth, but keep the ice.
Pour a large shot of gin over the vermouthed ice.
Shake very quickly.
Decant into conical glass.
Add lemon peel or olive. (I love a martini-soaked olive.)
The only thing you can’t put in a martini is a cocktail onion because that makes it a Gibson.

Also Natalie Nichols also has a very good piece on gin in the LA CityBeat drinking issue.
http://lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=2974&IssueNum=131

The secret word is Legless