‘Barefoot Contessa’ Host Ina Garten Reveals She’s Never Had a Martini Before — So Stanley Tucci Makes Her One
Ina Garten tries a martini for the very first time with help from Stanely Tucci. (Photo: “Be My Guest with Ina Garten”/People)
“Barefoot Contessa” Host Ina Garten reveals in a new episode of her latest show, “Be My Guest with Ina Garten,” that she’s never had a martini before. In response to this clear cocktail conundrum, Emmy Award-winning actor and home mixologist Stanley Tucci swoops in to make her one.
In People’s sneak peek of the third season of “Be My Guest with Ina Garten,” Garten makes an oysters Rockefeller feast for Tucci. In doing so, she mentions that oysters pair perfectly with martinis — but she’s never had one.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Garten asks Tucci. “I’ve never had a martini in my life — seriously. So, this is my first.”
“You’ve got to get out more,” Tucci jokes. “Really!”
Garten adds that she’s had many cocktails before but never a real martini. “But you make the best ones of all,” she tells Tucci.
“This is true,” he responds with a grin.
The two then turn to a spread of cocktail ingredients and tools, where Tucci begins spooning ice into a mixing glass. He tells Garten that, since this is her first martini, he’s not going to make her a super dry one. This means Tucci’s cocktail is going to have a moderate serving of vermouth, as a dry martini requires using very little to just a hint of the fortified wine product.
After gently stirring 3/4 ounces of white vermouth and 4 ounces of Tanqueray No. TEN gin with ice, Tucci strains the mixture into two frosty martini glasses. The drinks are garnished with both lemon zest and a green olive, which Tucci jokes is because he’s “greedy.”
Tucci rubs a thin slice of lemon zest along the rim of an iced martini glass. This elevates the cocktail by adding a little touch of bright citrus oil to every sip. (Photo: “Be My Guest with Ina Garten”/People)
Garten then takes her very first sip of a martini and deems it “gorgeous!”
No stranger to a good cocktail, Tucci officially partnered with Tanqueray Gin last October in a campaign titled “Make It A Martini Night.” The campaign launched amid the resurgence of the beloved classic cocktail and featured two 15-second films, along with a recipe for the actor’s “Signature Martini.” Differing from the recipe he whipped up for Garten, Tucci’s “Signature Martini” is light on the vermouth and garnished with a lone grapefruit twist.
Read next:
8 Recommended Gins for a Dry Martini
‘I’ve Made Martinis for a King’: Paul Feig and King Charles Once Shared Gin Bottles
5 Tasty Twists on a Classic Martini
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