From Julie & Julia (2009)
Julia's Reverse Martini
Serve when
Pour one at cocktail hour, the way Julia and Paul do — the day's cooking done, the kitchen still warm.
What to drink
Both timelines run on wine and cocktail hour, and Julia Child had a real-life signature: the 'reverse' or 'upside-down' Martini — mostly vermouth, just a splash of gin — so she could have two and still get dinner on the table. It's a lighter, more sippable aperitif than a standard Martini, and it's the honest, characterful drink to raise to this particular film. (A pairing drawn from Julia's own habit rather than a specific on-screen pour.)
Ingredients
Steps
- Stir the vermouth and gin with plenty of ice until very cold.
- Strain into a small chilled coupe.
- Twist a strip of lemon peel over the top and drop it in.
- Sip slowly. As Julia would tell you, the point is to enjoy two of them — and still cook dinner.
What to drink
The reverse Martini flips the usual ratio: vermouth leads, gin whispers. It's low enough in proof to be genuinely companionable over an evening of cooking, which is exactly why Julia favored it. Raise it to butter, to Paris, and to the radical idea that following a recipe well is a life's work worth having.