Elegant in its simplicity, the martini is iconic. Clear and uncomplicated in the hand of James Bond, the mix of gin and vermouth packs a stylish punch. Born in the Gilded Age, the martini is a city dweller wearing a bespoke suit, resting meticulously crafted footwear on a mahogany desk, in cocktail form. What’s even more posh than a classic martini? A storied variation called the tuxedo.
A standard dry martini is 5 parts gin to 1 part dry vermouth. A more sessionable (lower-alcohol) version is the 50-50 martini, with equal parts gin and vermouth. A riff on a 50-50 and popular in the same era, the classic tuxedo recipe stirs together equal parts dry gin and fino sherry, with a few dashes of orange bitters. The nutty saline qualities of sherry mellow the juniper-forward backbone of gin. Smoother and with more flavor depth than your average martini, the tuxedo offers a harmonious interplay of botanical complexity and subtle sweetness. It’s more chic, bringing us to the drink name’s name.
A derivation from either the native Lenape word “tucseto,” meaning “place of the bear,” or the Munsee word “p’tuksepo,” meaning “crooked river,” Tuxedo Club was the name given to the exclusive upstate refuge where high society members escaped the hustle of the city. Residing in the club’s Gatsby-eque neighborhood (called Tuxedo Park) were captains of industry such as William Waldorf Astor, and tycoons Cornelius Vanderbilt and J.P. Morgan.
The sophisticated allure of the tuxedo cocktail is an intriguing parallel to the elegance of the tuxedo itself. The glitterati who stopped for a drink within the opulent confines of the original New York City Waldorf-Astoria Bar (owned by the Astor family) before trekking to Tuxedo Park began wearing a new type of dinner jacket in the 1880s.
Stories differ on who wore it first in New York, but the tuxedo jacket as we know it debuted at the Tuxedo Club, influenced by a jacket commissioned for the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) as a more comfortable alternative to the traditional tailcoat worn when dining. After a trip to England 20 years later — news was slow in the 19th century — a club member (which one is disputed) donned the satin-lined, rebellious take on formalwear, and other members took suit. The tailless dress coat was forever dubbed the “tuxedo.”
The drink is perfect for when you are in an empire state of mind. (The original Waldorf-Astoria was demolished to make way for the Empire State Building in 1929, when the Astor family sold it.) In its elegant balance, the tuxedo cocktail weaves a story of a drink, a style of dress and landmark architecture.
Two places in Atlanta always have a tuxedo on the menu, serving their own versions. Beverage director/partner Tim Faulkner’s version at Whoopsie’s in Reynoldstown is a succinct and playful stirring of gin, maraschino liqueur and a dash of absinthe.
At newcomer Madeira Park in Poncey-Highland, bar manager Philip Weltner’s tuxedo comes after a deep dive into the history of the martini and all of its iterations. To Weltner, bringing together two types of gin — African Procera and Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength from England — fino sherry, vermouth, Chartreuse Vegetal (a concentrated version of the classic) and bitters is perfectly elegant. I concur.
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