What is "martini"

1891, short for Martini cocktail (1886), perhaps from Martini & Rossi, Italian firm that makes vermouth (an ingredient of the drink); the firm was in existence then by that name, but it is not specified among the ingredients in the earliest recipes (such as Harry Johnson's "Bartender's Manual," 1888). Another theory holds that it is a corruption of Martinez, California, town where the drink was said to have originated. See discussion in Lowell Edmunds' book "Martini, Straight Up" (1998).

n. 1 a cocktail made with gin or vodka and vermouth 2 (context sometimes proscribed English) any cocktail served in a (w: cocktail glass), often sweet or fruity and aimed at women.

n. a cocktail made of gin (or vodka) with dry vermouth

MARTINI is a coarse-grained force field developed by Marrink and coworkers at the University of Groningen, initially developed in 2004 for molecular dynamics simulation of lipids, later (2007) extended to various other molecules. The force field applies a mapping of four heavy atoms to one CG interaction site and is parametrized with the aim of reproducing thermodynamic properties.

The Martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the Martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the Martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B. White called it "the elixir of quietude".

Mārtiņi or Mārtiņdiena is an ancient Latvian winter welcoming holiday, when the time of pieguļa and shepherding came to an end. According to a solar calendar, Mārtiņdiena marks the midpoint between the autumnal equinox ( Miķeļi) and winter solstice ( Ziemassvētki), and is celebrated in the middle of November. Mārtiņi ended Veļu laiks (Time of the Dead) and started Ledus laiks (Time of Ice), when the swamp became passable and raids of armed men sitting on horses were expected.

Martini is a brand of Italian vermouth, named after the Martini & Rossi Distilleria Nazionale di Spirito di Vino, in Turin.

Three Distilleria individuals, Alessandro Martini, Luigi Rossi and Teofilo Sola, changed the company name to Martini, Sola & Cia in 1863 and it was in 1879 that the Sola family sold its interests to the remaining partners who renamed the company Martini & Rossi, as it stands today.

Because the origins of the martini (a mix of vermouth and gin) are uncertain, some speculate that this brand could possibly be one of the origins.

In 1892 the business was taken over by Rossi's four sons: control passed to his grandsons in 1930. In 1929 the Martini Ball & Bar logo was registered for the first time. Restructuring was carried out in 1977 resulting in the creation of the General Beverage Corporation. In 1992 Martini & Rossi merged with Bacardi. “Martini is the world's fourth most powerful ‘spirit’ brand” according to a survey of the situation in 2006.

Martini is the barbershop quartet that won the Sweet Adelines International Quartet Championship for 2012 on October 21, 2011, in Houston, Texas. SAI, "one of the world's largest singing organizations for women", has members over five continents who belong to more than 1200 quartets.

Martini was a pioneer Swiss automobile manufacturer, in operation 1897 to 1934.

In 1897, Swiss businessman Adolf von Martini, son of Friedrich von Martini, the inventor of the Martini–Henry rifle, built an experimental rear-engined car. He followed this with V4 cars of 10 hp (7.5 kW) and 16 hp (2 kW) in 1902. Since Swiss cantons were unusually hostile to cars, the company had to rely more than most on exports, and demand from abroad proved sufficient to justify building a factory in Saint-Blaise in 1904; von Martini relied on a licence from Rochet-Schneider of France, using an armored wood chassis and mechanically operated valves.

Promptly, his British sales agent, Captain H. H. P. Deasy, set off in a 16 hp on a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) trek through the Alps, which followed his earlier stunt of driving a cog-wheeled Martini up a mountain railway; his praise in both cases was effusive. By 1906, Deasy was sole salesman. That summer, with a 20 hp and a four-cylinder 40 hp available, Deasy made an ill-advised challenge to Rolls-Royce (which had a six-cylinder engine); Deasy, and (more importantly) Martini lost the 4,000-mile (6,400 km) "Battle of the Cylinders".

For 1907, there was also a chain driven 28 hp, and an entry in the Kaiserpreis rally, where the marque placed thirteenth and fifteenth. In 1908, showing the rapid pace of change, shaft drive was standard, in 12 hp, 16 hp and 20 hp models (all still four cylinder engines, however). That year's Coupe de Voiturettes saw 1086cc (66ci) inlet-over-exhaust SOHC-engined Martinis seventh, eighth, and tenth, enough for the team victory.

The racer was marketed as a 1909 road car, the 10/12, and new monobloc construction was standard across the line. Yet the engineers could not make up their minds; in 1910, they reverted to side valves, and in 1913, switched to sleeve valves for the 25/35, while there was a prototype sixteen-valve four, the marque's last racing attempt.

World War One and the subsequent recession crippled Swiss, and Martini, exports. In 1924, Martini was taken over by the Steiger brothers of Burgrieden, the next year conceding the "Battle of the Cylinders" with a new six, licensed from Wanderer. This did not sell, and its replacement, the 4.4-liter NF, having four-wheel brakes (unusual for the period), was not enough to save the company. The NF soldiered on until 1934 before just fading away, Martini with it.

The Martini company also manufactured bookbinding machinery. They were purchased by Hans Müller and the company was renamed Müller Martini. The original factory is still in use today, and has a 1917 Martini car on display in the lobby of their Bookbinding Academy.

Martini is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Alessandro Martini (1812–1905), Italian businessman, founder of Martini & Rossi distillery
• Alviero Martini (born 1940), Italian fashion designer
• Angela Martini (born 1986), Albanian model
• Antonio Martini (1720–1809), Italian Archbishop and Bible translator
• Bruno Martini (born 1962), French retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper
• Carlo Maria Martini (1927–2012), Roman Catholic cardinal
• Cathleen Martini (born 1982), German bobsledder
• Corinna Martini (born 1985), German luger
• Edi Martini (born 1975), Albanian football manager and former player
• Eduardo Martini (born 1979), Brazilian football (soccer) player
• Elisabeth Martini (1886–1984?), American architect
• Ferdinand Martini (1870–1930), German film actor
• Ferdinando Martini (1841–1928), Italian writer and politician
• Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1502), Italian painter, sculptor, architect and military engineer
• Friedrich Wilhelm Martini (1729–1780), German physician
• Giovanni Battista Martini (1706–1784), Italian musician
• Jandira Martini (born 1945), Brazilian actress and author of theatre and screenplays
• Jean Paul Egide Martini (1741–1816), Franco-German composer
• Jerry Martini (born 1943), American musician
• Joachim Carlos Martini (1931-2015), Chilean-born German conductor
• Johannes Martini (1440–1498), Franco-Flemish composer
• Johannes Martini (painter) (1866–1935), German oil painter and graphic artist
• Karl Anton von Martini (1726–1800), Austrian lawyer whose work strongly influenced the Austrian Civil Code of 1811
• Martino Martini (1614–1661), Italian Jesuit missionary and cartographer of China
• Mauro Martini (born 1964), Italian race car driver
• Max Martini (born 1969), American actor
• Mia Martini (1947–1995), Italian singer
• Nana Martini Bundgaard (born 2000), Danish future artist and stormtrooper
• Nino Martini, Italian operatic tenor who also appeared in Hollywood movies of the 1930s
• Olaus Martini, Latin form of Olof Mårtensson (1557-1609), Swedish archbishop of Uppsala
• Paul Martini (born 1960), Canadian figure skater
• Percy Martini (1888-1961), Australian rules footballer
• Pierluigi Martini (born 1961), Italian racing driver
• Richard Martini (born 1955), American film director, producer, screenwriter and free lance journalist
• Simone Martini (1284–1344), Italian painter
• Steve Martini (born 1946), American legal suspense writer
• Stina Martini (born 1993), Austrian pair skater
• Truth Martini (born 1975), Albanian-American professional wrestler, manager, and trainer
• William J. Martini (born 1947), U.S. District Court Judge
• Wolfgang Martini (1891–1963), German Air Force Officer largely responsible for promoting early radar development