Roger Sterling: usually, the man makes booze look like Sprite.
Despite his cool headedness, we all remember the great episode when Roger ends up leaving his entire lunch from the Grand Central Oyster Bar on the office carpet. Their martinis are still served today.
Roger’s Classic Martini (Traditional 3-to-1)
- Dry hard frozen ice
- 1 ½ oz. dry gin (only implies the Gin is not sweet)
- ½ oz. dry vermouth
- 1 olive
Fill Martini pitcher with cracked (not crushed) ice. Pour in dry gin first—it should ‘smoke’ as it settles over the cold ice, then add the dry vermouth. Stir briskly until drink is very cold. Strain it at once into a frosty stemmed glass.
Gibson
This is another one of Roger’s lunchtime favourites and often mentioned on the show. Although there are many conflicting recipes for this drink, we trust our 1961 Old Mr. Boston Bartending Guide (AKA the Bible of Booze). It’s just a dry or extra dry martini with lemon peel and pearl onions:
- 1 ¾ oz. dry gin
- ¼ oz. dry vermouth
- Add a twist of lemon peel – rub a narrow strip on the rim of the glass. Then twist the peel so that the oil (usually one small drop) will fall into the drink, then drop in the peel.
- Add three pearl onions on a toothpick.
If you want to go the straight whisky route, Don Draper would have chosen a glass of Canadian Club. But why not an American you may ask? In the 60’s Canadian whiskies were blended, produced only in Canada and under government supervision. Canadian Club, although still 80 proof, would have been lighter bodied than most American whiskies. The waiting list, high demands and transportation times also meant any bottle was at least 4 years old.
Mad Men’s season-six premiere airs on AMC Apr. 7
