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Additional reporting: Sam Davies
With their racing credentials, relationships with top Milan fashion houses, and their reputation as the tipple of the stars, Martini is on an a mission to take Italian luxury worldwide.
When I arrive at Pessione — the town just outside Turin that is home to Martini HQ (aka Casa Martini) — it's the day before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Lewis Hamilton will eventually win, but as usual it's the fans walking the track post-race that steal the show. The sight of them is impossible to forget: thousands of roaring fans clad in red pouring onto the track like a tsunami, letting off red smoke flares into the sky. They're there for Ferrari (hence the red) — and have a football Ultras vibe about them. They're superfans.
Sometimes a brand becomes more than itself, it becomes a way of life. We see that mainly in the sporting world, but not exclusively. In Pessione, I will hear about hour-long queues that stretch over blocks to have a drink in the pop-up Martini Terraza.
The Martini terrazze (terrace bars) achieved iconic status in Italy, especially Milan, as the venues in which anyone who is anyone is seen and although many have closed, their reputation has persisted since their height in the '50s and '60s. The small pop-up versions that have appeared as part of race days can pull in the size of crowds like you might anticipate for a celebrity.
Martini superfans are out there, and they're plentiful, spurred on by grand collaborations with fashion houses, their long-standing relationship with racing, and globally a rise in Italian apertivo culture which for many, has Martini at the heart. We take a look back at the iconic brand.
The Beginning
Back in the 1850's, Alessandro Martini, a wine seller from Florence, was working at a vermouth distillery in Turin, when the four founders of his company passed away. By 1863, Mr. Martini — alongside accountant Teofilo Sola — took ownership of the brand eventually hiring herbalist Luigi Rossi to join them. Here, the brand Martini, Sola & C.ia was born. Following their motto, 'Volere é Potere' (loosely translated as 'where there's a will there's a way'), Martini flourished. Rossi's secret recipe — adding a combination of herbs to fortified wine — and Alessandro Martini's entrepreneurial talent won the company its first grand prize in Dublin in 1865.
The brand went on to win prizes in Paris in 1867 and 1878, after which the Goddess of Fame began appearing on the Martini label. in 1879, after the death of Sola, the company became known as 'Martini & Rossi', the name it still goes by today. During the late 19th Century business boomed, as it did across Italy, as the first fashion houses were established and the car industry began to pick up. Italians would drink vermouth in the 'aperitivo' hour — namely the Martini Rosso, a reddish-brown drink with hints of tobacco leaf, cinnamon and liquorice. Aperitivo (from the Italian 'aperto' meaning 'open') is the tradition of having a small snack and a drink, usually with friends, to open up the evening, and whet your appetite.
Going Global
Luigi Rossi died in 1892, leaving his four sons, Teofilo, Ernesto, Cesare and Enrico, to take primary control of the business. During this period the company broadened its horizons, opening branches in Buenos Aires, Geneva and Barcelona, as well as a new distillery at Montechiaro d'Asti. The Rossi brothers had been working on a recipe for a new drink and on New Year's Day 1900 brought out the Martini Extra Dry, a clearer vermouth with citrus notes. By 1903 Martini was being distributed in more than 70 countries worldwide. Alessandro Martini died in 1905.
By 1912 Martini had won a total of 13 grand prizes and over the next two decades the fast growing popularity of martini cocktails — typically vermouth and gin — sent Martini's business soaring. In 1925, the Gran Coppa Martini & Rossi cycle race was held, hinting at the affiliation the brand would later have with racing. Four years later, Martini registered its iconic Ball and Bar logo. The origin of the logo is disputed, but the most popular belief is that it was designed by Livio Cibrario and inspired by the image of a sun setting behind a Martini billboard.
Hollywood Glamour
1958 saw the grand opening of the Terrazza Martini, a lavish terrace bar in Milan with an interior designed by Tomaso Buzzi. The Terrazza became a focal point of Italian culture and hot-spot for celebrities, encapsulated when the premiere of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita was held there in 1960. During this period Andy Warhol designed a number of posters for Martini's ad campaign.
Shortly afterwards, Martini began its foray into racing, sponsoring two Alfa Romeos at the Daytona 3 Hour Race in 1962. In 1969, Martini Racing was formed, with the team entering Porsche 907s into several races that year.
1970-1989
In the '70s, Martini Racing moved into Formula One, partnering with Brabham to win the 1975 German Grand Prix. The brand was also affiliated with powerboat racing and, in the '80s, rallying.
Meanwhile, Martini's 'The Right One' advertising campaign was further establishing the brand as a world-renowned symbol of class and luxury. The '80s then saw Martini launch some of the most memorable commercials of all time, including one depicting a roller-skating Nicolette Sheridan carrying Martinis around Beverly Hills on a silver platter.
1990-2017
The most recent years in Martini's history have been notable for a series of high-profile partnerships: in 1993 Martini merged with Bacardi to form the Martini-Bacardi Group; in 2010, Martini collaborated with Dolce & Gabbana to release Martini Gold and open a high-end restaurant in the heart of Milan; and in 2014 Martini Racing announced a new partnership with Williams, forming the Williams Martini Racing team that is still active today (pictured).
Martini recently launched a bitter vermouth as part of their Riserva Speciale range.
Beyond
"Fundamentally, Martini is a lifestyle brand with a long heritage," says Caroline Hipperson, Martini's global brand director. "You can drink it, taste it, but you also feel it." Anyone who has been lucky enough to sample the Martini experience on race days, will know the brand have a certain luxury, Italian flair. And for those who haven't had a chance to find them trackside: "We've brought back Terrazza Martini Milan," Hipperson explains. "It's next to Duomo [the famous Cathedral in Milan's centre], returned to its former glory."
A short stroll from the restaurant collaboration between Martini and Dolce & Gabbana (pictured), the terrazza will revive "the stylish connections of the iconic terrazze across food, fashion and culture." There will also be pop-up terrazze across various F1 races, alongside "many big plans, championing Italian culture." Unfortunately, she won't let us in on the secret plans, but we can tell you they involve their friends at Dolce & Gabbana.