MENISCUS TEARS

(Photo not by Araki)

We’ve spoken previously about the importance of the meniscus on the martini, but the subject never gets old. If nothing else, it makes you think you’re getting your money’s worth

Below is an Instagram photograph of Grace Dent sipping a meniscus-positive martini at the Egerton House Hotel in Knightsbridge.  And kudos to all involved.

 

The Egerton menu describes it like this:

‘The Classic

‘We start with a frozen glass, chilled to 22 degrees below. A dash of vermouth first, then gin as cold as the glass. It’s poured all the way to the rim, so there’s only one way to drink it: our trademark Egerton Slurp. Trust us – it’s the only way to avoid spilling a single drop.

‘We normally finish things off with a single squeeze of lemon rind, nothing more, nothing less. Times have changed since the first martinis 130 years ago though, so if you prefer vodka to gin, we’re happy to make the switch.

‘We strongly advise one thing; whatever the spirit, treat it gently. As far as we’re concerned, our martinis are never shaken, never stirred, always perfect.’

 

When they say ’22 degrees below’ do they mean Fahrenheit or Centigrade?  I’m guessing the former but I’m not sure.  -22°F is -30°C and domestic freezers don’t go down that far but maybe industrial freezers at the Egerton do.

 

Also note the frosting on the glass in front of Grace Dent.  That’s the measure of any half-decent martini.  And you know, the movies rarely get that right. And even rarer is the meniscus.

 

Here, to pluck an example out of nowhere, is Nicolas Cage in the movie Next.

And here in Leaving Las Vegas

 

And here in Lord of War:

 

No meniscus and no frosting as far as I can see.  And of course you could say there’s no meniscus because he’s already drunk half of it. And no frosting because he’s been savouring it over a good long time.

 

But we know that’s not really the case.  It’s half empty because an overfull martini glass is hard to handle and no movie star wants to be seen  splashing gin down his or her front.    And as for the frosting, well you try to keep a glass looking frosted on the 27^th take.

Here's Bette Davis avoiding the problem by having a completely empty glass:

And below is poor dear Meryl Streep on Youtube, supposedly at home in her bathrobe singing in honour of Stephen Sondheim.  

 

She’s made the cocktail herself and she’s still only going to get half an inch of warm booze. 

And, of course, we know it's not really booze, but that applies to all the above except for Grace Dent.

You know, sometimes it seems as though Hollywood doesn’t have all the answers.