It’s a “Mad” Mad World…

If you haven’t been keeping up with the Newport Winter Festival, grown ups may want to make note of tonight’s Samuel Adams Beer Dinner at The Mooring (reservations required, 401-846-2260) and the 11th Annual Martini Contest at Newport Grand.

Funny how a drink holds a certain panache, a signature swagger. The Cosmo clearly has the fictional Carrie Bradshaw and her gaggle of galpals to tank for making the ubiquitous pink potion the official cocktail of Girls Night Out, and while the martini has never really gone out of style, we have Mad Men’s Don and Betty Draper to thank for it’s soaring popularity. (Frankly, Betty is being blamed, in the best of ways, for a lot of trends recently, including full, flirty skirts paired with belted waists, and coifed, flipped ‘dos. Wanna get the Portsmouth’s own Cynthia Bogart of TheDailyBasics.com got the fashion scoop from Janie Bryant, the costume designer behind Mad Men. CLICK HERE to read the story).

I must confess, I have Christie’s to thank for reuniting me with the legendary libation. Five dollar martinis seven days a week? It’s no wonder I finally broke down. Their gateway martini was the bevy of fresh and fruity concoctions, but one evening the bartender convinced me to try a standard, shaken not stirred, Beefeater gin martini with a twist, and it was lovely.

They continue to make a great martini, and I adore a Fifth Element gin martini,  and espresso renditions from Asterisk, the Clarke Cooke House and the Brick Alley Pub. But we’ll have to wait to tonight to see who Newport thinks does it best…

Mad Men photo courtesy AMC, Sex and the City photo courtesy HBO