First, the last month’s release of the movie Julie and Julia showcases the cocktail’s creator and advocate, Julia Child.  I’ve always appreciated the fact that she attributed her longevity to “red meat and gin”.  Despite her perceived benefits of gin, vermouth was a far more popular ingredient in her recipes. The Upside Down Martini – with far more vermouth than gin – is naturally her cocktail of choice.

As the New York Times recently noted, the other big event is that Julia’s favorite vermouth, Noilly Prat, are returned to selling its original European recipe in the United States. The availability of this arguably richer vermouth means that we can now easily enjoy an Upside-Down Martini in the original form that Julia enjoyed. The recipe is quite simply:

5 parts dry vermouth (Noilly Prat is ideal)
1 part gin sweet vermouth
Lemon twist for garnish

Pour vermouth into a wine glass filled with ice, top with gin and garnish with lemon twist.

Smuggle into the theater and enjoy the next showing of Julie and Julia from a new perspective.