It is a favourite among the fashionable, the suave and the well-heeled. While no one truly knows its origin, every connoisseur of the spirits is more than familiar with the martini. Many cocktail historians claim Harry Johnson’s 1900 Bartender’s Manual as the first mention of the drink. While the drink has been popular with writers like W Somerset Maugham and Ernest Hemingway, and even leaders like Sir Winston Churchill, it was author Ian Fleming’s iconic creation, James Bond, who gave the drink its glamour. Mentioned for the first time in his book, Casino Royale (1953), the drink has since become a signature of the character on screen. Starting in the late 20th century, the United States began the National Martini Day on June 19 to celebrate the first reported occasion of the drink being ordered by a miner for the first time in Martinez, California. Commemorating the occasion, we line up some unique martinis from across the bars of Mumbai for our readers to try.

Martinis with a difference