The best days have rituals: the smell of the morning paper, the daily turkey sandwich, the afternoon coffee. Rituals keep us on track; they give us some small milestone to keep the day moving; and they let us know when we can shift our brains into the next gear.

The Martini Shot, in the Hollywood lexicon, is the last shot of the day. It’s the shot that gets you to that magic moment — when the frosty glass is beading with condensation, the twist is dropped into the clear, cold-steel of a perfect Martini.