Robert De Niro's cocktail request reads more like assembly instructions to a toy car than that of a perfect martini. The founder of the TriBeCa Film Festival issued written instructions to the staff at the New York jubilee on how he likes his drinks.
"Bob likes gin martinis," the request letter begins. It then lists the vital ingredients: "gin, cucumbers and stemmed martini glasses", specifying that the glasses be properly chilled prior to use. It later explains that Robert De Niro prefers his beverages ¾ full so they do not spill or "get warm in his hand".
The cucumber must be "muddled" in the martini shaker and then mixed with the ice and gin "like crazy" for nearly a minute longer than normally required to mix properly. The cocktail request specifies that "frothy chips" will form to let the bartender know the proper amount of shaking has been attained. De Niro reportedly does not use Vermouth in his gin martini.
Though Robert De Niro was not officially scheduled to attend the TriBeCa Film Festival, a remastered version of "The King of Comedy", starring De Niro in 1982, scheduled to close the festival was said to hopefully draw the actor to the festival.
The TriBeCa film festival was co-founded by Robert De Niro in hopes to attract visitors back to Manhattan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It has been wildly successful as it entered it eleventh season this year. Named for the neighborhood in which it is held, TriBeCa is a geographic portmanteau of Triangle Below Canal [Street].
De Niro's cocktail request contrasts that of other famous (fictional) martini fan, British Commander James Bond, who simply asked for his to be 'shaken, not stirred', in addition to preferring a vodka base.
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