Cheers to the Chief

Long-suffering martini purists long ago recognized that any old drink that happened to be served in a martini glass would be given that name, however undeserving, but stand firm on the classic recipe nonetheless:

[A]s a result of the publication of this monograph, I shall be offered innumerable Martinis. I also know that most of them will be downright poisonous or otherwise unacceptable...
In the first place, the Martini on the rocks is an abomination, and must be classed with fast foods, rock and roll, snowmobiles, acid rain, polyester fabrics, supermarket tomatoes, and books printed on toilet paper as a symptom of anomie. My Martini shall be served "straight up" in a thoroughly chilled, stemmed glass. The gin, but not the vermouth...shall have been chilled before mixing, and the gin and vermouth shall be shaken or stirred -- I don't care which -- with good ice. "Good" means made from spring water, or failing that, Perrier or the like. (Lowell Edmunds, "Martini, Straight Up", Preface to the First Edition, 1979)

SC confesses, before preceding further, that he is a vodka martini drinker, not a gin martini drinker, and has a taste for many of the adulterated concoctions that earn Dr. Edmunds' disapproval. Nevertheless, a short sampling makes reasonably clear that -tini is now simply a suffix meaning "served in a martini glass, possibly containing vodka or gin":

• A partial selection from the Cheesecake Factory (click on "From the Bar"; formatting per original):
  

  TROPICAL MARTINI
  Absolut Vodka Shaken with Passion Fruit, Mango and Pineapple

  BIKINI MARTINI™
  Malibu and Cruzan Pineapple Rums with Pineapple Juice.
  Delicious!

  ASIAN PEAR MARTINI
  Absolut Vanilia Vodka, Pear, Sake and Passion Fruit

  RED RASPBERRY MARTINI
  Stoli Raspberry Vodka, Chambord and Fresh Raspberry

• A couple from the Ruth's Chris Steak House drink menu (formatting largely per original):
  

  Fusion Martini                
  The ultimate fusion of Belvedere Lemonessence &
  Belvedere Vodka with a touch of fresh lemon sour. Served up.

  Pear Twist Martini                
  Belvedere Lemonessence is "twisted" with
  Absolut Pear Vodka and fresh lemon sour. Served up.

So when SC saw the following show up in an e-mail from the Patina Group this afternoon, he wondered what was particularly Obama-related about an "Obamatini":

Alas, no information is available from the company's website, so SC set out in search of Obamatinis to see what other people thought might be characteristic; recipes from the first 4 pages of Google results are shown:

• Chocolate vodka, Frangelico and Chambord (link)
• Zodiac vodka, Blue Curacao, sour mix and blueberries (link)
• Godiva white chocolate liqueur and vodka (link)
• Rye (eww), cardamom vodka (double ewww), various fruit juices and grenadine (link)
• Ciroc (a grape-based "vodka" only dubiously entitled to the name), lemonade and Chambord (link)
• Vanilla vodka and Godiva dark chocolate liqueur (link)
• Self-consciously avoiding "race-based liqueurs", Grey Goose, blueberry juice and Chambord (link)

The obvious choices are things that link Obama to his party (Blue Curacao, blueberry juice) or are suggestive of physical appearance (the various selections of chocolate vodka), but the recurring Chambord was a total surprise -- nothing whatsoever obviously links the President-Elect to raspberries generally or Chambord in particular (including several pages worth of Google results for each pairing).

A final note of linguistic observation: SC was surprised it was "Obamatini" instead of "Obamartini", as the latter seems like the obvious choice from an orthographic standpoint. However, Obama and -tini are clearly the morphemes available for combination (when it isn't a Baracktail instead), and so the morphologically expected result is observed instead.

 

Comments

[Becci]

I loved the last post, and what you said about the resulting blend 'Obamatini'. I don't know that much about American dialects, but I know that some exhibit rhoticity, and some don't. I also know from the radio that some people pronounced the 'ma' in Obama like it would be pronounced in Martini in non-rhotic speech. Would be interesting to privately know the socio-geographical origin of the person who came up with the Obamatini...

[MSC IT dissertation]

Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!

[dissertation writing help]

Excellent Blog every one can get lots of information for any topics from this blog nice work keep it up.

[UK dissertation]

Blogs are so interactive where we get lots o informative on any topics nice job keep it up !!

[custom dissertation]

nice post keep it up

[UK dissertation]

Fantastic post and wonderful blog, I really like this type of interesting articles keep it up.

Nice work!!

[Jamie]

Hello Justin,

My name is Jamie and I’m part of the Promotions Team here at AllModern.com. We have been seeking out high quality websites and blogs, gauging interest in doing a giveaway with one of our sites.

We love the look and feel of your blog and think that your US readers might be interested in a giveaway with our site.

Have a look at a couple of our sites and let me know if you think that this might be something you’d be interested in. Perhaps we could give away a selection of our stylish modern barware or office accessories. I’d be happy to brainstorm some other ideas with you if you’re interested. Alternatively you could do a review of something from our site.

Please email me and let me know if you have any questions for me. I hope to hear from you to further discuss the details of the giveaway.

Kind Regards,

[UK Dissertation]

Hello,
Excellent post and wonderful blog, I really like this type of interesting articles keep it up.

[Pheromone Cologne]

Excellent post, I really enjoy reading this article, thank you so much for sharing it!
Danielle

[Dissertation Writer]

Hi,
Nice work, thanks again for sharing such an informative ideas. I appreciate the information, well thought out and written. Thank you

[Academic Essay]

Hi,
This is really a nice post, you share good piece of information. I appreciate the information, well thought out and written. Thank you

[Coursework Help]

Hello,
Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!

[Custom Essays]

Hi,
Quite informative article. Gives new thoughts to focus. Exactly what I was looking for.

[Cheap Viagra Online]

Great information, where can I find that book?

[graduate school essay]

Took me time to read all the comments, but I enjoyed the article.

[Custom Essay]

Hi,
I personally like your post; you have shared good information.

[Dissertation Proposal]

well its soo good to see this information in your post, i was looking the same but there was not any proper resource, thanx now i have the thing which i was looking for my research.

Dissertation Research Proposal

[Dissertation Help]

Nice, accurate and to the point. Not everyone can provide information with proper flow. Good post. I am going to save the URL and will definitely visit again. Keep it up.

[dissertations sample]

Thanks a lot for a bunch of good tips. I look forward to reading more on the topic in the future. Keep up the good work! This blog is going to be great resource. Love reading it

[tudor clothes]

you have an excellent blog here. every topic is presented in details. I enjoyed reading.. GGood job! God Bless!

[runescape gold]

Many articles read, your article is very useful, occasionally there are so few pictures looks very interesting ~ is also very cute, so I learned a lot. Thanks!

[cheap mbt shoes]

A very good article, point out I have not noticed the details. Thanks

[hospital acquired infections]

Not everyone can provide information with proper flow, thanks for this.

James Ferris

[ghd]

Not everyone can provide the appropriate flow of information, thanks.

[generic viagra]

My budges are not eating vegetables and fruits.what should do to them eat these?
please guide me n this matter