Nothing says cocktail like a classic martini mixed with just the right gin.  So, our friends at the Astor Center invited 18 top gin brands to go head to head to determine which gin is the people's gin.  Each brand offered up their spirit for a blind taste test where attendees sipped, swirled, and spit all 18 gins before choosing their favorite.

While each brand could only hope they would win the vote in the blind taste test, the competition was a bit more fierce in the gallery where the top mixologists in the city shaked and stirred their riffs on the classic martini. 

Trying to pick a favorite was nearly impossible, but the attendees seemed to have no problem going back for seconds to make sure they made the right choice.

In the coming week, we'll post videos highlighting the best from the Martini Challenge including drink recipes from The Liquid Chef (Junior Merino), The Cocktail Guru (Jonathan Pogash), and other cocktail luminaries.  We'll also take you behind the scenes and walk you through the 18 brand gin tasting with our resident cocktail assassin, Allan Katz.