There's a fond bartender term I learned after a particularly long night at work. I was called over by my manager and asked if I'd tried each of the vodkas on the shelf. I nodded yes. Then he gave me my favorite term for the best part of my job to date: revisiting. The only way you build the memory of your palate is to practice. You cannot be wrong about your personal taste, but you do need to give spirits and cocktails a chance by visiting and revisiting. Yes, there are quality distillates and ways to test that, but everything else is quite subjective. Your tastes can change over time. Did you always like bleu cheese?

There's a long, sordid history of martinis, but the bottom line is: give them all a try, and see which you prefer. However James Bond wants to order his martinis is just fine, but I prefer mine stirred. It does something magic with the mouthfeel. It's almost velvety. But right now, I'm going to go make sure. A revisitation is in order.