Title:
Martini
Description:
What’s most remarkable, and wonderful, about the Martini - in addition to being the most iconic cocktail of all time - is that it has no established recipe, just a series of different personalities. You could stir together gin with a healthy dose of dry vermouth and garnish it with a lemon twist and call it a Martini, or vigorously shake up vodka and olive brine and serve it with a pimento stuffed olive and that would also be a Martini, even though the only common ground the two drinks share is a name.
So there is no right or wrong way to make a Martini. Just your way. This page explores the Martini’s many faces, before delving into the maze that is Martini variations.
Recipe
This is my preferred recipe, with gin. Broadly speaking, when using gin in the 40-45% ABV range use ¾ oz dry vermouth, for 45-50% go for the full 1 oz.
2½ oz gin
¾-1 oz dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters - optional, but highly recommended.
Combine all ingredients in a chilled mixing glass. Fill with ice, stir for 18-30 seconds, then strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Garnish with an expressed lemon peel (my preference) or an olive(s).
For a Vodka Martini....
Simply replace gin with vodka, decrease the vermouth to ½ oz, and forgo the orange bitters.
Dry Martini
A Dry Martini is a Martini with less dry vermouth. There’s no standard amount, but I generally use in ¼ oz - ½ oz, and on the lower end for vodka. There are some who prefer their Martinis ”extra dry” and don’t want any vermouth at all. Personally, I would call that just vodka or gin straight up, but there’s no accounting for taste.
2½ oz gin or vodka
¼ oz - ½ oz dry vermouth
Prepare as above.
Side note: The first versions of the Martini back in the 1880s were made with sweet vermouth, such as the Martinez. Originally, a dry Martini simply meant to distinguish a Martini that was made with dry vermouth, it had nothing to do with the proportions. Dry vermouth didn’t become standard in the Martini until around the end of the 19th century, which is about when the amount of the vermouth started being commented on as well. You can see the a comprehensive of the Martini’s evolution in this amazing annotated timeline from David Wondrich on the Daily Beast.
Dirty Martini
The notorious Dirty Martini is a Martini with the addition of olive brine, which sets the drink off on quite the divergent, and salty, path. Olive brine is the liquid the olive is cured in, not juice as it’ s sometimes called (you can’t get juice from an olive). In many ways this version has morphed the public’s perception of what a Martini is (I’m pretty sure my first Martini was dirty), to the point that some people think this is the way all Martinis are made.
How dirty, or filthy, you want you Martini to be is up to you, take the classic recipe above, use less vermouth if you like, and add the following to taste:
1/4 oz - slightly dirty
½ oz - “classic” dirty
3/4 oz and up - very dirty to filthy
If you’re a fan of Dirty Martini’s be sure it checkout the Gibson below, or try using other types of brine. There are lots of cool boutique brands of pickled items available nowadays that are excellent for dirty-ing things up.
50/50 Martini
Making a Martini with equal parts of vermouth and spirit may be unthinkable to a contemporary Martini drinker, but that is actually what the earliest Martini recipes called for. Today these are called 50/50 Martini’s. They are surprisingly satisfying and clock in at a very reasonable potency. One could, conceivably, have three of these, and still be in a respectable realm of inebriation (I can’t confidently say that about the other versions listed on this page). I only recommend these with gin. If you happen to have some Navy Strength Gin (57% ABV) a 50/50 is a good idea.
1½ oz gin
1½ oz dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
Prepare as above. A lemon twist is highly recommended.
Perfect Martini
As with a Perfect Manhattan, a Perfect Martini is made with equal parts dry and sweet vermouth. Adding sweet vermouth to a Martini may seem blasphemous, but it was once very common. In fact, the earliest ancestors of the Martini were all made with sweet vermouth, most notably the Martinez, and you’ll find it included in several of the variations below. I personally love Perfect Martinis, maybe even more than Perfect Manhattans.
2½ oz gin
½ oz sweet vermouth
½ oz dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
lemon peel for garnish (orange works nicely too)
Prepare as above.
So there is no right or wrong way to make a Martini. Just your way. This page explores the Martini’s many faces, before delving into the maze that is Martini variations.
Recipe
This is my preferred recipe, with gin. Broadly speaking, when using gin in the 40-45% ABV range use ¾ oz dry vermouth, for 45-50% go for the full 1 oz.
2½ oz gin
¾-1 oz dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters - optional, but highly recommended.
Combine all ingredients in a chilled mixing glass. Fill with ice, stir for 18-30 seconds, then strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Garnish with an expressed lemon peel (my preference) or an olive(s).
For a Vodka Martini....
Simply replace gin with vodka, decrease the vermouth to ½ oz, and forgo the orange bitters.
Dry Martini
A Dry Martini is a Martini with less dry vermouth. There’s no standard amount, but I generally use in ¼ oz - ½ oz, and on the lower end for vodka. There are some who prefer their Martinis ”extra dry” and don’t want any vermouth at all. Personally, I would call that just vodka or gin straight up, but there’s no accounting for taste.
2½ oz gin or vodka
¼ oz - ½ oz dry vermouth
Prepare as above.
Side note: The first versions of the Martini back in the 1880s were made with sweet vermouth, such as the Martinez. Originally, a dry Martini simply meant to distinguish a Martini that was made with dry vermouth, it had nothing to do with the proportions. Dry vermouth didn’t become standard in the Martini until around the end of the 19th century, which is about when the amount of the vermouth started being commented on as well. You can see the a comprehensive of the Martini’s evolution in this amazing annotated timeline from David Wondrich on the Daily Beast.
Dirty Martini
The notorious Dirty Martini is a Martini with the addition of olive brine, which sets the drink off on quite the divergent, and salty, path. Olive brine is the liquid the olive is cured in, not juice as it’ s sometimes called (you can’t get juice from an olive). In many ways this version has morphed the public’s perception of what a Martini is (I’m pretty sure my first Martini was dirty), to the point that some people think this is the way all Martinis are made.
How dirty, or filthy, you want you Martini to be is up to you, take the classic recipe above, use less vermouth if you like, and add the following to taste:
1/4 oz - slightly dirty
½ oz - “classic” dirty
3/4 oz and up - very dirty to filthy
If you’re a fan of Dirty Martini’s be sure it checkout the Gibson below, or try using other types of brine. There are lots of cool boutique brands of pickled items available nowadays that are excellent for dirty-ing things up.
50/50 Martini
Making a Martini with equal parts of vermouth and spirit may be unthinkable to a contemporary Martini drinker, but that is actually what the earliest Martini recipes called for. Today these are called 50/50 Martini’s. They are surprisingly satisfying and clock in at a very reasonable potency. One could, conceivably, have three of these, and still be in a respectable realm of inebriation (I can’t confidently say that about the other versions listed on this page). I only recommend these with gin. If you happen to have some Navy Strength Gin (57% ABV) a 50/50 is a good idea.
1½ oz gin
1½ oz dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
Prepare as above. A lemon twist is highly recommended.
Perfect Martini
As with a Perfect Manhattan, a Perfect Martini is made with equal parts dry and sweet vermouth. Adding sweet vermouth to a Martini may seem blasphemous, but it was once very common. In fact, the earliest ancestors of the Martini were all made with sweet vermouth, most notably the Martinez, and you’ll find it included in several of the variations below. I personally love Perfect Martinis, maybe even more than Perfect Manhattans.
2½ oz gin
½ oz sweet vermouth
½ oz dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
lemon peel for garnish (orange works nicely too)
Prepare as above.
Type of Alcohol:
Martini
Date Added:
2025-12-30 08:09:21
Automatic Estimated Date:
2025-12-30
Date Added:
2025-12-30 08:09:21