Martinis are among the most classic, and simplest, of cocktails – gin and dry vermouth topped off with an olive – and a long-time American favorite.

Now, a rebirth of the martini has provided bartenders with a wealth of possibilities to create drinks that sometimes don’t even qualify as martinis.

“The martini craze happened when people decided they didn’t have to be gin or vodka straight up,” said Bill Rogers, owner of Fire Creek in West Des Moines. “There’s no end to what you can make a martini out of.”

Bartenders and restaurateurs throughout the metro are left, then, to wage the battle of the martini – whether it’s the tastiest, smoothest or most unusual.

At Fire Creek, “we’re just continually trying to be on the cutting edge and trying to be different from everybody else,” Rogers said. That requires constant experimentation and adding a breath of fresh air to the restaurant’s drink menu four or five times a year.

One of that restaurant’s signature drinks is a cosmopolitan martini – vodka, triple sec, a dash of lime juice and a dash of cranberry juice – that doesn’t exactly stray from the standard recipe. But a few others add some new flavors to the drink menu. April Rain is made with Hpnotiq liqueur, pineapple rum, a dash of Sprite and pineapple juice. A Monkey Tail, mixed using banana liqueur, Frangelico hazelnut liqueur and Godiva dark chocolate liqueur served in a martini glass rimmed with chocolate syrup, has been very popular among customers, Rogers said, as has the Flirtini, Belvedere vodka shaken with champagne and topped with orange juice.

“They are more popular with women,” Rogers said, adding that half-price martinis on Wednesday nights make for a popular outing with groups of women. Men still drink martinis, he said, but tend to stick to the traditional gin or vodka mixtures. “You don’t see a guy with a frou-frou drink.”

Wednesdays at Taki Japanese Steakhouse are as busy as any night of the week, said bartender Chuck Bickel, with discounted martinis and special nightly selections. But this steak and sushi restaurant has adapted a popular Italian dessert and made that drink one of its signatures. The Tiramisu is mixed with butterscotch schnapps, vanilla-flavored vodka, Kahlua and Godiva white chocolate liqueur, sprinkled with cinnamon. Another converted dessert is the Raspberry a La Mode – Bailey’s Irish Cream, vodka and raspberry puree blended and topped off with a dollop of whipped cream.

“It’s like ice cream and pie blended together,” Bickel said.

Taki’s Hpnotiq martini with Hpnotiq liqueur, blue raspberry vodka and a splash of 7-Up is garnished not with fruit but a glow stick.

“As soon as someone sees the glow stick they order them like crazy,” Bickel added.

At Nick’s Bar & Grill in Clive, Owner and General Manager Brett Champion said the signature Nick’s Martini continues to be one of the restaurant’s biggest sellers. With Bombay Sapphire gin and Kettel One vodka garnished with the increasingly popular Maytag Blue Cheese stuffed olives, it seems to break a cardinal rule of martinis: Don’t mix gin and vodka.

“It used to be unique to mix vodka and gin, but I see it everywhere I go,” Champion said. The no-frills Nick’s Martini is particularly popular among male customers, while the Wild Orchid – Shaker’s vodka, pineapple juice and Chambord liquor topped with champagne – is a favorite among women.

At Sage in Windsor Heights, owner Andrew Meek adapted the classic French 75. The Sagetini is made with Courvoisier cognac, lemon juice and simple syrup topped with a splash of Brut champagne. (Meek said the restaurant tops off many of its martinis with champagne to lighten it up and make it stand out, such as with a Sparkling Cosmopolitan.)

“We’re just reinventing (the French 75),” he said.

Trostel’s Dish, which opened Oct. 11 in Clive, concocted a signature martini, Paul’s Coconut Snowball Martini, named for owner Paul Trostel. The potion is concocted with Absolut Vanilla vodka, Cruzan Coconut Rum, coconut syrup and cream, served with a rim of freshly shredded coconut.

The restaurant is one of several that have taken the holiday season as an opportunity to spice up their martini menus. Jeff Duncan, general manager at Trostel’s Dish, said the staff experimented with several mixtures and came up with the Christmas Wreath (Absolut Citron vodka, green and white crème de menthe and cream with a red sugar rim) and the Mistletoe martini (Belvedere vodka, white cream and Bailey’s Irish Cream). Two holiday cocktails have also been popular: the Russian Noggin’, with Kahlua, Absolut Vanilla and egg nog, and Frothy the Snowman, with Kahlua, butterscotch schnapps and cream.

Fire Creek concocted a Christmas Tree martini from vodka, green crème de menthe and dark crème de coco. At Sage, the restaurant will mix a White Chocolate Candy Cane martini – Stoli Vanil Vodka, Godiva white chocolate liqueur and peppermint schnapps served in a glass rimmed with crushed candy canes.

“It’s a fun little drink and a great dessert,” Meek said.