Martini Triumph

Secretly special agents gathered evidence in Italy, France, Britain, Germany for five years. Even in New York polite young men dug up oldtime barkeeps, went from speakeasy to speakeasy writing down professional opinions. Last week these labors bore fruit when the Supreme Court of Appeals of Turin decreed that in future no Italian barman could sell or manufacture a drink known as a Martini cocktail unless it was confected from Martini & Rossi vermouth.

The court bluntly named as villains the vermouth manufacturing firms of Cinzano, Cora, Gancia, forbade them to manufacture any bottled cocktails labeled MARTINI COCKTAIL or AMERICAN MARTINI COCKTAIL, made them pay the expenses of the trial and appeal, and ordered them to publish advertisements in ten papers to be chosen by triumphant Martini & Rossi, admitting their guilt.

Wine is fermented, brandy and whiskey are distilled, but vermouth, like tea, is steeped. Italians, Frenchmen, Spaniards drink it straight or dilute it with soda, lemon peel or various fruit juices.

One of the oldest and best known Italian vermouth houses is the firm of Martini & Rossi. It was established in 1835 in Turin as Martini, Sola & Co. The enterprising Rossis entered the firm in the '60s; the last of the original Martinis withdrew from the company nearly 40 years ago. President of the company is white-haired Count Ernesto Rossi. His nephew, a director of the company, is sleek young Count Teofilo Rossi who was sliding down hills at Lake Placid last week as captain of the Italian Olympic bobsled team (see P. 56).

Several years ago Martini & Rossi, who used to have a virtual monopoly of the export trade in Italian vermouth, received violent competition from the enterprising younger firm of Cinzano. They plastered the billboards and fences of France and Italy with Cinzano posters, cut deep into Martini profits.

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