What you need to know:
J. Robert Oppenheimer was not only a renowned and controversial nuclear physicist, he also had his own special drink.
Christopher Nolan and the cast headed by Cillian Murphy did an excellent job on oppenheimer recreating the life and –controversial– work of the so-called ‘father of the atomic bomb’. And with that, we are not only referring to scientific aspects, moral dilemmas or sentimental relationships… there are also interesting things like the famous ‘Martini Oppenheimer‘.
It is very likely that before the immense history that is presented to us on the screen, suddenly two or three minor details escape us. And that is why we say that Nolan studied the nuclear physicist thoroughly for the tape, so much so that he captured the scientist’s well-known taste for this drink in the feature film.
Oppenheimer’s favorite drink appears in the film
This is a pretty minor spoiler, but still. We open a SPOILER ALERT… In oppenheimer, there is a scene where we see the protagonist talking in a kitchen with a colleague of his. The physicist has several coupe-style glasses within reach and while holding the talk, he prepares the drinks.
His wife Kitty (played by the rambunctious Emily Blunt) walks in, scornfully asking where the martinis are. And that dialogue might not be that significant to the movie’s plot, if we’re being honest… but it’s an example of those little real-life details that the movie’s director didn’t hesitate to recreate. Yes, the Oppenheimer martini existed.
As he points out The Washington Post in a recent article, Oppenheimer was known among those close to him, among other things, for his way of preparing martinis. It is said that he liked to make them very loaded ‘so that they tie up’, besides that he wet the edges of the glasses with an infusion of lemon juice and honey.
The aforementioned medium has as sources the book American Prometheus, which was the one on which Nolan was based for the film’s script. And it is even known that J. Robert Oppenheimer himself had a special phrase to make his toast when he had a drink with his colleagues from the Manhattan Project: “To the confusion of our enemies” (for the confusion of our enemies).
However, Is there a recipe for the Oppenheimer martini? Sure it would, but we have to say that it’s a pretty strong drink in terms of known proportions for making a martini.
This is what the ‘Oppenheimer martini’ is wearing
As is well known, J. Robert Oppenheimer organized parties at his home in Los Alamos, the region where the Manhattan Project was based. And it was there that he became known for his taste for cocktails… or well, rather, his famous drink that we refer to as the Oppenheimer martini.
The curious thing about the matter is that it is the Los Alamos National Laboratory itself (which Oppenheimer himself helped found) is the one that shares the recipe for the cocktail on your website. You just need these ingredients: gin (4 fluid ounces), vermouth (a dash) the chilled coupe glass, and finally the lime juice and honey mixture.
As we said before, the cooled coupe glass is covered around the edges with the mixture of lime and honey, to then add the four fluid ounces of gin with the dash of vermouth. But here’s an interesting fact about why the Oppenheimer martini was so strong.
Those who know cocktails will have already identified the issue. But for those who don’t, putting in four fluid ounces might already be pretty overkill. According to The Washington Post, the proportions of that martini would be 16/1 (i.e. 16 parts gin to 1 vermouth), which exceeds the ‘standard’ ratios of 4/1 to 6/1.
According to testimonies collected by the Los Alamos Laboratory, some of the people who managed to try those drinks said of Oppenheimer that “served the coldest and most delicious martinis”. What a thing, don’t you think?
Interview with the cast of Oppenheimer cast
Taking advantage of the fact that we are talking about the Oppenheimer martini, here we leave you the interview we had with Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy and part of the main cast of oppenheimer. Check what they told us, because the talk got pretty good.
