The Bar Snob: How to order a martini

As any bar snob will grumble, the word martini is pretty much meaningless in modern bars. Most places use it to refer to any silly fruity concoction poured into a martini glass.

A real-deal martini is nothing but gin, vermouth and an olive. A vodka martini is an acceptable substitute. Here's a basic martini vocabulary guide.

Up: chilled in a cocktail shaker, strained into a martini glass

Dry: made with more gin, less vermouth

Dirty: mixed with olive brine

Sweet: made with sweet vermouth

With a Twist: garnished with lemon zest

In-and-Out: vermouth is swirled in the glass, then poured out before adding the gin

Gibson: garnished with a cocktail onion

Buckeye: garnished with a black olive instead of green (who knew?)