Briny, herbaceous, thyme, juniper
Pair with anchovies and every briny damn thing, from fresh clams to plump green olives. The gibson is even friendly with a vinegary beet salad and deviled eggs.
While the Gibson may have appeared as early as the 1890s at San Francisco’s Bohemian Club, it doesn’t show up in print with its signature cocktail onion until the 1920s. There’s an onion in both the Onion Cocktail and the L.P.W. Cocktail in Tom Bullock’s book, The Ideal Bartender, published in 1917—but curiously still not in the Gibson. The gibson was drier than other martinis at the time of its emergence, and went on to become associated with mid-twentieth-century drink culture in books by the likes of Raymond Chandler and John Cheever. Along with the buckeye (which sports a black olive), it takes the martini in a savory direction. Recipes typically call for London Dry gin, but we like to use St. George Terroir (lots of fir, sage, and other botanicals), which mixes with Dolin dry vermouth to elegant effect. Following Hemingway, we use a frozen onion to keep the drink extra cold.
1½ ounces (45 ml) London Dry gin (St. George Terroir)
1 ounce (30 ml) dry vermouth (Dolin)
Frozen cocktail onion, for garnish
Stir gin and vermouth with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cocktail onion.