Martini Expo celebrates Chicago's classy cocktail
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A martini at Aster Hall. Photo: Carrie Shepherd/Axios
Martini Expo makes its Chicago debut this week, celebrating classic and quirky spins on the cocktail and its deep history here.
What to expect: A week of special events running through Sunday, featuring new concoctions by master bartenders, food best accentuated by the drink and a tour through "Chicago martini landmarks."
- Plus, talks on how espresso martinis and cosmopolitans joined the martini family, along with deep dives into gin and vermouth.
Flashback: Robert Simonson, a longtime liquor writer, and Mary Kate Murray, co-writer with Simonson of The Mix newsletter, launched Martini Expo last year in New York.
- It was only a few days, but it has expanded to an entire week in Chicago this year.
What they're saying: "Martinis belong to the world, not just one city! We always intended the second event to be in a different city than New York. And Chicago is a great drinking city with a longtime love of Martinis," Simonson tells Axios.
- Martinis "may be more popular today than in any time in history," the fest founder adds.
Fun fact: The martini recipe first appeared in print in a book published in Chicago in 1888, Simonson told the Chicago Tribune's Rick Kogan.
Zoom in: The writer's deep knowledge of the classic cocktail informs Thursday's Martini Tour Through Time, a bus ride to Chicago landmarks integral to the martini's history.
- The tour ends at the famed Billy Goat Tavern, where author and burger expert George Motz will serve his Oklahoma fried onion cheeseburger from Hamburger America.
The Martini Mixer on Saturday is the expo's main event, bringing together some of the country's best bartenders for tasty interpretations of the cocktail and bites to match.
State of play: Organizers also mapped out 50 great places for a martini across Chicago.
- Martini madness doesn't end when the expo wraps. Former Chicago Bears player and restaurateur Israel Idonije just opened his new South Loop concept, Martini Lounge.
If you go: Tickets for Martini Expo are still available.