CREDIT: Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun Josh Bender of Vancouver Martini, a club that sees the martini as more than a drink.

The opportunities for puns are just too obvious when a guy's name is Bender and he runs a martini club. Josh Bender and I steer skilfully around the topic and don't stoop to the lowest form of humour.

He does say, "I don't endorse over-consumption."

Judging from Bender's description, the Vancouver Martini Club (www.vancouvermartini.com) is not aimed at the slurring, overtly lecherous Dean

Martins of the world but more the cosmopolitan Frank Sinatras. It's not a drunkards' convention, it's not a singles club, and not just anybody can get in.

Instead, the monthly get-together is intended for people who get a genuine kick from dressing up, going out in a large pack to several gin joints per night, and sampling all kinds of versions of the most elegant cocktail around. These run the gamut from the gin and vodka classic to the current favourite of club member Regan Macdonald, the Caramel Apple Martini.

"I like [martinis] because they're fun," she says. "They have great names, they have great flavours. A lot of them don't taste like alcohol.... I try different things all the time."

It's the variety, both of martinis and venues, that Macdonald enjoys about the club, not to mention the chance to go out with an affable bunch of regulars that is always being refreshed with newcomers. On Oct. 15, a year after starting up the group, Bender was expecting 120 participants to make the club's trek to Elixir, Glowbal, Blue Water, Capone's and Bar None.

Macdonald also appreciates having bar cover charges waived and not having to stand in line. Membership in the club, which costs $10 per outing, means Bender sets up the visits ahead of time, reserving a section for the group and researching the bar's signature martinis to advise members of them ahead of time. When partygoers arrive, they present their club passports; their privileges sometimes include complimentary appetizers or discounts.

"It's all so well-organized," says Macdonald, 29, who works in marketing for a non-profit agency.

Club members obviously feel that there's something about a martini that makes it worthy of special attention. Bender, now 31, made martinis for his parents long before he was allowed to partake. Eventually he became a grown-up who nerdishly waved away the draught and ordered martinis at the university pub. What's the key to the cocktail's appeal? "I think in addition to appreciating the subtleties of flavours that come in a classic martini, I think it's the martini culture," says Bender. "... holding a martini is just much more refined than holding a beer."

"There's a certain air a martini has when you're drinking one," says Macdonald, implying that you almost need to dress elegantly to be worthy of the drink.

Dan Cripps, a 36-year-old small business consultant who has been a member of the club since it began, likes the dressing-up aspect of the evening. He feels that nice clothes keep people behaving decently. But, truth be told, he's not a martini zealot. During the course of a club outing he might start with a beer, have one or two vodka martinis, and go back to the brew later on.

Cripps was attracted to the club by the people he knew who were in it, and he still loves its social aspect as much as anything. When his longtime girlfriend is in town, she goes, too; when she isn't, Cripps is comfortable going solo.

Martinis may not be as trendy now as they were at the apex of Sex and the City, says Bender, who never refers to them disrespectfully as "marts" or even "martins." Still, he continues to find them on the list of every self-respecting bar and restaurant in the city. He even stumbled on a martini menu at the Squamish White Spot.

Bender notes, however, that just because a bar makes martinis, it doesn't mean it makes good martinis.

Please send your tips about unusual nightspots, night-time events and intriguing potables to mailto:katezimm80@hotmail.com

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THE WONDERS OF VODKA

Skybar's Caramel Apple Martini

1 oz. Smirnoff red vodka

1/2 oz. sour apple liqueur (like Sour Puss)

1/2 oz. butterscotch schnapps

Shake the martini over ice and pour it into a martini glass. Garnish with a squirt of caramel sauce, if you like.

Bender's Classic

3 oz. good vodka, like Grey Goose

A hint of dry vermouth (a drop or two)

Shake together the vodka and vermouth over cracked ice for at least two minutes, until the martini is well-chilled. Serve in a chilled martini glass, garnished with a twist of lemon peel.