A Guide to Garnishing Your Martini

A martini-with-a-twist is sophisticated and pure – zesty, dazzling, on-point. A martini-with-an-olive is more naughty and salty – it has a bit more mystique (olive advocates also regard themselves as intellectually superior to twist-ers, though they’re too polite to say it).

For the record, I like my martini with an olive and a twist, which shocks people no end. They look at me, outraged, as if I’m trying to have my cake and eat it. I’ve seen bartenders blanche, as if what I’ve ordered may actually be illegal.

Ideally, I like three olives (nocellara, please, with the stone left in), plus a few more on the side. And then a twist spritzed and discarded, so the drink is scented but the glass is not too crowd...