A Gift To The World

Yes! The martini is truly one of this country’s gifts to the world and should be honored up there with the Declaration of Independence (“There Is Something About a Martini,” July/August).

I discovered the vast difference between a French martini and an American one at a hotel in Da Nang, South Vietnam, in 1963–64. It took most of my first tour in Vietnam to teach the bartender how to make a dry martini. Surely, if they are the least bit civilized, the new administrators are enjoying the results of my efforts.

Alas I can no longer partake of that marvelous creation, but if I ever get a firm expiration date for me or the world, I shall mark it with Tanqueray (just a whisper of vermouth), lemon peel, and Beethoven.