Not martini or manhattan – martinez is the cocktail you should be drinking. A Hong Kong barman tells you why

There are several theories as to how the martini, a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, acquired its name. One is that it derives from Martini, a brand of Italian vermouth, while another is that, at some point, a connection was made between the alcoholic kick of the drink and the powerful recoil of a Martini-Henry rifle.

Yet another theory is that the name is a corruption of martinez, a cocktail that’s more like a manhattan and much sweeter than a contemporary dry martini. The 1887 edition of Jerry Thomas’ classic Bartenders Guide contains a recipe that includes the same ingredients – gin and vermouth with a lemon twist, plus gum syrup (if a guest prefers it very sweet) – but with the addi­tion of bitters and Maraschino. The 19th-century New York-based bartender also advocated using twice as much vermouth as gin.

The recent interest in early cocktails has put a spotlight on original Jerry Thomas recipes, including that for the martinez, which calls for Boker’s Bitters, the formula for which has long been thought lost.

Introduced in 1828, Boker’s Bitters remained in production for about a cen­tury. After production ceased – possibly because of stipulations in the United States’ 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, or Prohibition (1920-33) – the original recipe was lost. During the past decade, however, several companies have intro­duced products that they claim to be close facsimiles.

A boom in the production of bitters means bartenders now have a much greater variety to choose from and have even become adept at making their own.