Baltic Sea Martini

“Tervist!� That’s the way to say “cheers� as the Estonians

do -- and you’ll want to do that once you sip a Baltic Sea

Martini at Nic’s & the Martini Lounge. Nic’s stocks more

than 40 vodkas from around the world and offers nearly

two dozen variations on the martini, but this new creation

is a house favorite, in part because Turi, the only super-

premium vodka distilled and bottled in Estonia (which

has produced vodka for 500 years) for the U.S. market,

has a remarkably smooth taste. Turi is surely the coolest thing to come out of Estonia since cover girl Carmen Kass landed in New York. And it’s nowhere more at home than in a salt-rimmed, 6-ounce martini glass, chilled with a splash of olive juice and three red caviar-stuffed black olives. Salty and decidedly pungent, this new martini honors Turi’s origins, as red caviar is a fixture on the Estonian dinner table.

-- Chris Rubin