The Martini was known as the "Martinez" when it first came into existence, and this name persisted, to judge by bartender's manuals, well into the twentieth century.  The name "Martini" first appears in Harry Johnson's manual of 1888.  The two names and some others were in competition over several decades.

Folklore associates the origin of the name "Martinez" with Martinez, CA, a town twenty-six miles north of San Francisco.  The stories are retold at M,SU, 82.  They are nothing but folklore.  Unfortunately, journalists and authors of web pages regularly repeat these stories as if they might be true or might at least deserve some serious thought.

In order to put the matter to rest, I should like to tell the following true story:

Once upon a time in the early 1980s, I was traveling north from San Francisco to the gold country.  When I reached Martinez, I was thirsty and went into a bar for a drink.  I ordered a Martini and placed a thick wad of bills on the bar, in order to show that I would pay anything for this drink.  The bartender said: "What?"  I repeated: "Martini."  Again, he said: What?"  I replied: "Martini-it's made with gin and vermouth." He said: "I have never heard of that drink and neither has anyone else in Martinez.  It has never been served here.  So I can't make one for you."

© 2001, Lowell Edmunds