The votes have been tallied.
It was a tight race right down to the deadline for this column to decide whether gin or vodka is the quintessential quaff in a martini.
In fact, it was so close that this author had to make the deciding vote.
Sorry, vodka lovers. Gin wins by an olive.
Now, granted, this was not what one would consider a highly scientific survey. It very well could be that fewer vodka lovers took the time to vote. Or perhaps there are even more gin lovers out there, but they were so busy stirring up a pitcher of martinis that they didn't weigh in.
But it was quite a battle, nonetheless, proving that many martini sippers carry a passion for their potables. To wit:
"Vodka martinis are for heathens," said reader Bridget Mayes.
Whoo! Them's fightin' words.
Several people wrote in that the original martini was made with gin (equal parts French dry vermouth and gin, to be exact). But that didn't matter to some vodka martini fans.
"I am a purist, and I know an authentic martini is a gin martini. But taste is subjective, and I prefer the taste of a vodka martini," said a Sacramento-based reader named Belinda.
A bunch of readers not only are quite persnickety about which liquor lives in their martinis, but they also know exactly which brand of their chosen liquid they want. Grey Goose got the nod from vodka lovers, while those in the gin camp were split between Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray.
Interestingly, one style of martini crossed the liquor lines. Several representatives from both sides wrote that they prefer their martinis "dirty" -- with a little extra liquid from the jar of olives included for a salty punch. One reader said he likes his with so much olive juice he calls them "filthy."
Dry, extra dry and extra-extra dry ("wave the vermouth bottle over the glass") were other common traits among the martini masses. Some folks use a mister to spray a couple of vermouth droplets into the glass. Others prefer to swish the vermouth in the glass and pour it out -- leaving just a slight wash of the liquor on the sides of the glass -- before adding either gin or vodka.
Perhaps the e-mail that best represents both sides of the eternal martini debate came from Patrice Gulledge, who wrote in to register votes for herself and her mother. They canceled each other's votes out: Patrice voted for vodka, but her mother likes gin.
"My mother, by the way, is 85 years young and continues to love her gin martinis, going to Weight Watchers so that she can fit into her lovely cream silk suit when she dies -- and she still flirts!" Patrice said.
Whether gin or vodka, I propose we all raise a toast to Patrice's spunky mom.
