For cocktail writer and author Robert Simonson, Wisconsin has always held its own in the cocktail world — even when he moved away to be a writer in New York City for decades.
Simonson recently returned home to Milwaukee, where he's continuing to write about food, drink, history and regional culture. As a part of that exploration, he's joining Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski for a series called “Bar Talk.” Each month, he'll be sharing some of the most memorable local drinks he’s tried at local bars.
This September, we're exploring an iconic drink that comes shaken or stirred — the martini — as Simonson prepares to host a Martini Expo in Chicago from Sept. 13-20.
Here are his martini recommendations for September:
For the past few months, I’ve been working on The Martini Expo, a Martini-focused cocktail convention in Chicago that begins on Sept. 13. So, I’ve had Martinis on my mind. That set me to thinking: what are Milwaukee’s best bars for Martinis? Milwaukee has historically been a place where beer, Bloody Marys and Old-Fashioneds are the preferred quaffs, so the answer to this question was not immediately obvious.
Voyager
But I knew there was hope after a trip to Voyager, the wine bar in Bayview. I should point out that when I say Martini, I’m talking about the classic gin-and-vermouth drink, or vodka-and-vermouth if you must. Dirty Martinis are, to my mind, a completely different category of cocktail. Voyager listed something called the Golden Record Martini, made with Junipero gin, Lustau dry vermouth, fino sherry, orange bitters and a lemon twist. It was excellent with a wonderfully dry texture and perfectly cold. Though I’m going to mention a few other great Martinis in a minute, I would say this is probably my favorite Martini in Milwaukee.
After that, however, I searched in vain for quite a few days. I tried several leading Milwaukee cocktail bars and ordered their house Martini, or the closest thing they had to a Martini on the menu, and found the drinks lacking.
Don's TV and Repair
Finally, I went to the rare bar in Milwaukee that actually makes a big deal out of its Martinis, Don’s TV and Repair, the kitschy speakeasy restaurant in Walker’s Point. Only, these Martinis come with a gimmick. They are sold for 10 cents only on Thursdays and there’s a 3-Martini limit. There is a catch, however. You must order a full meal in order to get the bargain Martinis, so it’s more like $20 plus 10 cents. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your appetizers count toward the meeting of that food quota; they don’t. I expected the Martinis to be far worse than they were. I thought they’d be made with the most bottle shelf of spirits. But they’re actually made with Gordon’s Gin, which is perfectly respectable stuff. Note that there will be no vermouth in your Martini unless you ask for it; just a glass of cold gin.
Mason Street Grill
After that, I went to another place where I felt certains to get a solid Martini: a steak house. Steak houses have long been incubators of classic cocktails, even when classic cocktails weren’t cool back in the late 20th century. Mason Street Grill downtown has all the requisite steak house vibes. It feels like a bar you want to have a Martini in. Strangely, there was not a Martini on the cocktail menu. Instead, there was a Vesper, which is a James Bond-born variation made with gin, vodka and Lillet, an aperitif wine from France. To be safe, I ordered both. The Martini—which was shaken, as most Martinis in Milwaukee seem to be—was fine, but the Vesper was actually one of the best I’ve had. It was made with Gray Whale Gin and Ketel One Vodka and was garnished with a long, swirling lemon twist. If I went back, I would order the Vesper, because they are obviously putting some care into it.
Fink's
A surprise Martini outpost was Fink’s bar on the Lower East Side. At first glance, Fink’s looks like a regular neighborhood bar. But the shelf above the boar, which is loaded with literally hundreds of cocktail and spirits books, tells you these bartenders probably know how to make any cocktail well. The bartender on duty that night did an excellent job executing my order of a 3-to-1 Tanqueray Martini. I’m sure he could turn out any Martini order you could throw at him.
Birch
One variation on the Martini that has been gaining in popularity over the past two years—so much so that I now consider it its own category, like the Dirty Martini—is the Tomato Martini. These are Martinis in which tomato plays a role somehow, either as a garnish or as tomato water or a tomato infusion. Birch recently put a winner on their menu, simply called Tomato Martini. It’s made of gin, tomato, cilantro vodka and blanc vermouth. It was garnished with a Sun Gold cherry tomato, which I recognized because I had just bought a bunch at the West Allis Farmer’s Market that morning. It was slightly savory, slightly sweet and smelled wonderfully of tomato leaves.
Eddie Martini's
Finally, I had to go to Eddie Martini’s. I’ve passed by this Wauwatosa steak house, which has been open for 30 years, many times and have been wanting to check it out, mainly because of the name and the old-school vibe. Still, I was skeptical that a place called Martini’s would actually have a good classic Martini. Historically, bars that call themselves Martini bars have the worst Martinis around. I was happily surprised. The house Martini is at the top of the cocktail list, as it should be. And it’s made with Plymouth gin, an English gin that makes for an elegant Martini. They hand-stuff their blue-cheese-stuffed olives. They won’t add vermouth unless you ask, so be advised. All in all, a classic Martini, and one of the best I’ve found in town. Milwaukee may remain largely an Old-Fashioned town, but Martini lovers don’t need to go thirsty.
