My Mother’s Secret Martini Recipe

Name: My Mother's Martini Recipe
Prep time: 1 min
Total time: 1 min
Ingredients: ice cold vodka; 1 green olive

Our Editor-in-Chief, Andrew Cotto, takes over the aperitivo hour to share both his mother's martini recipe and a salute to Tony Bennett.

By Andrew Cotto

2:21 PM EDT on July 22, 2023

With our aperitivo expert, Riccardo Massetti of Cremini’s Aperitivo & Kitchen, on holiday, I decided to fill in for him this week and share how my fabulous mother and her fabulous sisters used to make their martinis.

This memory was conjured by the death of Tony Bennett because there was always the jazz station out of Newark, WBGO, playing as my mother and her sisters sat in the living room, smoking cigarettes, laughing, and sipping their so-called martinis. They, like pretty much anybody with ears and eyes and heart, loved Tony Bennett, and the ebullient mood of such occasions always elevated when he came on the radio.

I imagine my beloved mother and her sister Nancy welcoming Tony Bennett to heaven with some ice-cold vodka in a chilled glass. Down here on earth, I'll raise a glass with Aunt Rosalie and cherish the moment.

Cin-cin tutti!