OK, i'm going to show my cultural ignorance and admit that I don't know much about alcohol all in the same post. Still, I have seen a lot of movies and tv shows. I always see Martinis portrayed as this awesome, super-elegant drink. Not once have I seen someone drink a Martini and recoil in horror at the absolutely awful taste. So you can imagine my surprise when I recently decided to buy some gin and vermouth and try out this beverage legend. Let me summarize my experience: --insert spit take-- Shock and horror! I was quickly able to isolate the problem to the gin. Now I'll admit, the gin I bought wasn't exactly top shelf, so I thought maybe I just got some bad stuff. The stuff smelled wretched ... and yet ... strangely familiar. I couldn't quite place the smell. Was that some kind of cleaner? Paint thinner? Rocket fuel, perhaps? I needed some expert advice. Gentlemen, start your search engines! Some quick googling revealed that the smell in question was ... Christmas Trees!?! Wait a sec, James Bond has been drinking Christmas tree juice all this time? Huh. The more you know...