At home at any Eva Marie Saint.

Unless you revert to yesteryear's versions of the Gibson recipe, the drink should be made as though it's a dry ice-filled mixing tin. Only sincere stirring, lasting at least 20 seconds, will chill this drink adequately. Like the Martini, the Gibson relies on slight dilution from the ice, the magical third ingredient that many mixers undervalue. After stirring the drink, strain it into a well-hors d'oeuvres, are served.

Most people approach onions as they would garlic - overly cautious. For them, the sampling of roasted garlic was an especially brave effort. Make what may be their first taste of a pickled onion less of a concern: Present it with no mention of the word "onion"; rather play on the clean, crisp look of the fruit. Serve the onions from a small, attractive bowl, and make certain that you use only quality onions that are a fresh white, not yellow, in hue. Also, add the brine from the onion jar to the bowl. Occasionally, a fanatic of the Gibson will request the reminiscent drink, the Herbert Hoover's. Although we're not certain of his cocktail's exact proportions, we do know his drink was essentially a Gibson (or a Martini, for that matter) with a hefty splash of onion brine. This additional ingredient makes a Gibson saltier and more tangy. Imbibers who underappreciate gin will often find that the brine detracts from the spirit's juniper bite. Another trick would be to add less gin and slightly more vermouth or sweet vermouth instead of dry vermouth.

If guests can't bring themselves to appreciate pickled onions, serve one of the Gibson's earlier versions. The Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book of 1934 includes two versions of the Gibson. Both versions include dry vermouth, but one is mixed with Old Tom gin and garnished with a lemon peel, while the other is made with Plymouth gin and garnished with an orange peel. The Daiquiri. Fill a champagne glass with chipped ice, shaved fine. Pour over this a half a jigger of fruit juice or prepared syrup and then add a jigger of gin." Interestingly enough, there's no mention of garnishing the drink with an onion.

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