Dry Martini
Gin and dry vermouth stirred very cold. A short, clean, aromatic drink whose dryness is set by how much vermouth you use.
- MethodStirred
- GlassNick & Nora glass
- IceNone (served up)
- Strengthabout 26.2% ABV
- BaseGin
- Tastestrong, herbal
Recipe
| 60 ml 2 oz | London dry gin or Plymouth-style gin |
| 15 ml ½ oz | Dry vermouth |
| 1 dash | Orange bitters (optional) |
Garnish. A strip of lemon peel twisted over the surface and dropped in, or a single olive on a pick; choose one, not both.
Method
- Chill the glass in the freezer or fill it with ice water while you mix.
- Put the vermouth, bitters and gin in a mixing glass and fill it with cold, hard ice.
- Stir for 30 to 40 seconds, until the drink is very cold and has softened slightly.
- Strain into the empty, chilled glass and finish with the lemon peel or the olive.
About the Dry Martini
The Dry Martini is gin softened by a measure of dry vermouth, stirred until it is icy and served without ice. It should taste of the gin's botanicals first, with the vermouth adding a faint wine note and a rounder texture. Ratios run from 2:1 to 15:1 or more; around 4:1 is a good place to start.
History
Earliest record 1888: Harry Johnson, Bartenders' Manual (as Martini Cocktail, a sweet version)
Documented
The drink grew out of the sweeter gin and vermouth cocktails of the 1880s. O. H. Byron's Modern Bartenders' Guide (New York, 1884) describes the Martinez as a Manhattan made with gin, and Harry Johnson's Bartenders' Manual of 1888 is usually cited as the first book to print a recipe called "Martini", made with Old Tom gin, sweet vermouth, syrup, bitters and curaçao. Over the following two decades bartenders moved to dry gin, French dry vermouth and orange bitters, and recipes explicitly labelled "dry" appear in American bar books in the early 1900s. Through the 20th century the proportion of vermouth kept falling.
Legend and lore
Several stories name an inventor: a bartender in the town of Martinez, California; Jerry Thomas in San Francisco; or Martini di Arma di Taggia at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York around 1911. None has contemporary evidence, and the last comes decades after the name was already in print. The link to the vermouth brand Martini is a plausible guess, not an established fact.
Disputed or unclear: The origin of the name is not known. The jump from Martinez to Martini is often assumed but has never been shown.
Variations
- Martinez. The sweeter ancestor: Old Tom gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino and bitters.
- Vesper. Gin and vodka with a quinquina aperitif wine in place of vermouth, shaken.
- Dirty Martini. A spoonful or two of olive brine added before stirring, for a salty, savoury drink.
- Gibson. The same drink garnished with a small pickled cocktail onion.
Bartender's notes
- Keep the vermouth in the fridge once opened and use it within a few weeks; stale vermouth is the usual cause of a dull Martini.
- Use plenty of ice in the mixing glass. Too little ice melts fast and leaves the drink warm and watery.
