Over the years, the martini has become a totem of simple, effortless cool. A clear spirit, some vermouth, shaken over ice and poured. It’s pure. It’s sophisticated. It’s a way to get incredibly drunk, incredibly fast. This year, though, a new trend has swaggered into view: the vegetable martini. A martini that tastes of vegetables might sound disgusting, but last month the news site Bloomberg called it “London’s latest drinking craze”, so who am I to argue?
Veggie martinis are on the rise: in central London, Eve Bar has a tomatoey Brusketta martini and Science + Industry in Manchester offers a Mushroomtini. In Dalston, east London, Three Sheets makes a beetroot-infused Earth martini, while Tom Kerridge’s Michelin-starred pub the Hand and Flowers, in Marlow, recently introduced a martini made with the chef’s own small-batch vegetable gin. Frankly, I wanted in.
