The Martini

Wherein we learn three versions of the classic cocktail, talk about gin vs. vodka, and discuss the importance of stirring.

The Martini (photo courtesy of Ambitious Creative, Rick Barrett)

Overview

Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients: Gin or vodka, dry vermouth, orange bitters
Garnish: lemon twist or olive(s)
Gear: mixing glass, strainer, bar spoon, Nick and Nora glasses, ice
Flavor Profile: Spirit forward, herbaceous, complex
Countdown to Enjoyment: 5 minutes

Base Recipe*:
2 parts gin
1 part dry vermouth
1 dashes orange bitters

*Fear not vodka lovers. We explore this base recipe and variations including vodka below.

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Introducing the Martini

 (Click here to go directly to the recipe and instructions.)

Hello everyone, and a special hello to our new readers! Welcome to The Reluctant Bartender. Around these parts of the interwebs, we're focused on helping all you Reluctant Bartenders make craft cocktails at home, with minimal effort, stress, expense, and worry.

Today, we're examining The Martini, one of the oldest and most important cocktails in the history of mixology. Exciting times!

We knew that these first three entries—The Manhattan, The Old Fashioned, and The Martini—were always going to be a labor of love to tackle. These three drinks are arguably the most important cocktails in the history of mixology. Some may argue for the inclusion of the Highball, or maybe the Flip, but it's nigh impossible to exclude the Manhattan, Old Fashioned, or Martini from their well deserved places on the Mount Rushmore of cocktails.

The Martini in particular has sprouted an entire family of drinks that are closely related. The core recipe lends itself to experimentation—trying different ratios and swapping ingredients.

The Martini name has also been slapped on many other drinks that are not in fact related by recipe or ingredients. This is due to the confusion between the drink itself, and the glass that bears its name. These days, any drink found sloshing around a Martini glass is called a “Martini” of some sort.

The Cosmopolitan is not a Martini. Neither is the Apple-Tini or Choco-Tini, or any of those neon-colored, sweet concoctions that are pressed into the hands of over-sugared drinkers around the world.

The Martini is made with gin or vodka, dry vermouth, and little else. There are variations we'll explore here at The Reluctant Bartender such as the Fifty-Fifty, or the Vesper, but for now we're going to embrace simplicity and keep our focus on the core ingredients and how you can manipulate them.

The Manhattan has been around longer, but the Martini is the more flexible platform, due to its subtlety. Swapping one gin for another, or grabbing a different brand of vermouth can lead to a different experience. We're going to examine some variables within the context of the base ingredients, adjusting the relative levels of gin and vermouth. In contrast, this is decidedly not so with the Manhattan, where we hold tightly to that 2:1 ratio of whiskey to vermouth, and for good reason*.

(*We here at The Reluctant Bartender spent years trying to improve upon the 2:1 ratio in the Manhattan, experimenting with all sorts of nonsense. 11:2 ratios, 9:2, 5:4, etc. And you know what? There's a reason the original 2:1 ratio has remained the go-to for over 140 years. But enough of that--we're here to discuss the Martini.)

You remember that 2:1 ratio for the Manhattan recipe, right? Well, that 2:1 ratio will come in handy for learning the Martini too. Our base Martini recipe uses the very same 2:1 ratio. This gives us a great starting point, and one that is easily remembered by all you home mixologists.

Modifying the ratio will allow us to adjust the drink to suit your tastes, and those of your guests. Want a drier Martini? Move the ratio towards more spirit. Prefer a wetter Martini with lots of notes from the vermouth? Move the ratio the other way. Bingo.

Just remember that 2:1 starting point! We're going to lean on that magic ratio more and more as we introduce additional cocktails over time.

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Notes on how to make the Martini

Gin or Vodka?

The original Martini recipe called for gin, but over the years vodka has made an appearance, driven by pop culture icon James Bond. Americans loved watching the dapper Bond order vodka Martinis shaken, not stirred.

For our purposes here, and the sake of simplicity that drives us, we're going to avoid wading into the murky waters of which spirit is the correct one, and acknowledge that plenty of folks like vodka in their Martinis, and others love gin. With that in mind, come along with us and we’ll show you some easy recipes for both the gin and the vodka lovers.

Shaken or stirred?

Our recommendation falls in line with the common wisdom of professional bartenders: drinks containing only spirit should be stirred. Drinks containing fruit juices, egg whites, and other ingredients that may be more difficult to integrate should be shaken. Since our Martini, whether gin or vodka, only contains spirit and vermouth, we are going to stir.

How much to stir?

You've probably never really thought about it, but the amount of time you spend stirring your cocktail matters.  It's super important for the Martini, so pay attention here.

Part of what happens when we're stirring a cocktail is that the ice starts to melt, and that water is added to the formulation of the cocktail.

Let me tell you: this writer used to think this dilution talk was all nonsense. It wasn't until I tried testing how stirring affected the taste of a drink that I was convinced. Put simply, if you stir too little the drink will not absorb enough water and the resulting balance will be slightly off. This effect is very pronounced in the Martini, where the base ingredients are much more subtle and less assertive compared to those in other drinks. 

If you're using "normal" sized ice, such as those cubes from the ice maker in the 'fridge, we suggest stirring for approximately 100 rotations of your bar spoon.

Don't worry! It's not an exact prescription. Stir for about 45 seconds. Have fun with it; make it a thing. Talk to your guests, those folks for whom you're making the drink. Tell them why you're stirring—they'll be impressed by your mixology knowledge, and they’ll notice the care you’re putting into their cocktail.

What gin or vodka should you use?

When it comes to gin, we're going to make three simple recommendations: Beefeater, Boodles, and Plymouth. The links below take you to the Total Wine website. We are not affiliated with Total Wine in any way, just using their great site as a reference. Plus, depending on where you live they may offer delivery directly to your door.

Beefeater is the classic choice for a gin Martini. Beefeater has character, and you can't go wrong walking out of your local liquor mart with a bottle in hand. It's fairly inexpensive and readily available.

Boodles is a favorite here at The Reluctant Bartender.  The gin has engendered a bit of a fan club recently—it seems to be, literally, on the lips of drinkers in-the-know. We find it smooth and almost slightly sweet, with a velvety mouth feel. Did you know that most gin formulations these days were intended for mixing? While that's true, we find Boodles to be fairly approachable, and yes, we've even sipped it from time to time. That said, it shines in cocktails and we're recommending that's how you deploy it here.

Plymouth is another classic choice in the gin arena. Plymouth is little milder than the other two, slightly soft and smooth, with more citrus notes. A good choice for those who don't love gin but are curious about a good gin Martini.

If you can't find one of these, ask the salesperson at your local liquor store for a London dry gin. All three of the recommendations here are London dry gins. There are other types of gin: “Old Tom” style gins, and new modern formulations to explore. We'll get there. For now, make things easy on yourself, choose a London dry gin—somewhere in the $15-30 range—and you should be good to go.

Dry vermouth, not sweet

This recipe calls for dry vermouth, as opposed to sweet vermouth. We recommend Dolin Dry Vermouth because it’s good, readily available, and inexpensive. Plus, it goes well with the gin we have recommended above.

Don’t use the same vermouth that you use for your Manhattan. That’s a sweet, red vermouth. We need a dry white vermouth for the Martinis we’re making here.

Notes on glassware

Since we are making Martinis, you may be tempted to run out and buy some super awesome, 12-ounce Martini glasses for use with your new-found Martini skills.

Look, Martini glasses are sexy, cool, and fun. They’re truly iconic—we get it. The Martini glass is even a part of our logo! So yes, we love that iconic shape.

We’re not going to tell you not to buy Martini glasses. Go ahead, have a blast.

But we are going to tell you that those v-shaped glasses are cumbersome and often too dang large for a standard cocktail, which has somewhere between 3-5 ounces of liquid. Martini glasses take up a lot of space, are not practical for daily use, and you wind up sloshing your drink around like it's a swimming pool. Since it's awkward to handle such a wide glass—especially when full—people tend to hold the glass from underneath the bowl, instead of by the stem. Doing so warms the drink faster than if the glass is held by the stem, which is the whole point of having a long stem in the first place.

If you do opt for Martini glasses, go with something in the 6 ounce range. They'll be easier to store, less prone to breakage, and will be more appropriately sized for the average cocktail.

Our recommendation is to use a Nick and Nora glass. Look, there's no time to get into the naming details—that's what it's called. If you want to learn more about how the glass was named, here’s a link to vinepair.com where the author Robert Simonson investigates the origins of the name. The Nick and Nora is the perfect size and shape for the cocktail we are deploying here.

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Recipes and Instructions

Let’s get to the fun part! We have several recipes to share, because we have two different base spirits—gin and vodka. Also, smart adjustment of that base 2:1 ratio will help you tweak the drink to fit your taste, and the tastes of your guests.

With that in mind, we're going to start with what we'll call the Standard Gin Martini.

Standard Gin Martini

Ingredients
2 ounces gin (see recommendations above)
1 ounce dry vermouth (TRB recommends Dolin)
1 dash orange bitters
Garnish: lemon twist, or olive(s)

Measure and pour all ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice well over the liquid level. Stir 100 rotations (40-45 seconds) and strain into a Nick and Nora glass, garnish with a lemon or an olive.

Remember the ratio--2:1. This will come in handy as we learn how to exploit that ratio to derive more drinks, and perhaps even invent one of your own. Use your jigger for easy measuring—use the big well for the gin, the small well for the vermouth. Unless you've bought some odd off-brand jigger, the ratio between the big well and the small one should be 2:1.

The Standard Gin Martini is a delicate balance of gin and vermouth. The herbaceous notes of the gin mingling with the aromatized wine bring a nuanced complexity to the proceedings. This 2:1 version is generally considered by most Martini drinkers to be a wet Martini. You may also find references to a 1:1 ratio for wet Martinis. We suggest starting with the 2:1 first, then move to the dry version for comparison.

The Dry Gin Martini

For the "dry" version, we recommend a 5:1 ratio. In this case, 2.5 ounces of gin, to 1/2 ounce of vermouth. (Yep, that's a 5:1 ratio—multiply both amounts by a factor of 2 and you get 5 ounces of gin, 1 ounce of vermouth. 5:1.)

Ingredients
2.5 ounces gin
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
Garnish: lemon twist, or olive(s)

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, add ice above the liquid level, and give it those 100-ish revolutions as we discussed above. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass, garnish with a lemon twist or olive.

Definitely try the Dry Gin Martini. It's a particular favorite here at TRB, and a go-to when making Martinis.

The Vodka Martini

For those of you who like vodka instead of gin, here's a version for you! Vodka has a lighter flavor profile than gin, so we're sticking with the 5:1 ratio that we used above to create the proper balance with the dry vermouth.

Ingredients:
2.5 ounces vodka*
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1 dash orange bitters (optional)

Same preparation as described above. Don't skimp on the stirring!

*Regarding the vodka. Since this drink is dominated by vodka with little else to add flavor, we’re counting on you getting a good vodka for this preparation. Don’t reach for the plastic jug on the bottom shelf at $9.99. That may be fine for mixing, but in a cocktail as delicate as the one we’re making here, we’re recommending you move up a shelf. Grey Goose, Absolut, Ketel One, Belvedere—all are good choices, and easily found at your local liquor mart.

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Wrap Up and Miscellaneous Notes

• For those of you who like a super dry vodka Martini--that is, without any vermouth at all--we say go ahead and chill your vodka over ice and serve it straight up. We wouldn't call this a Martini—it isn’t—but plenty of folks enjoy vodka this way, especially with some salty olives added to the party.
  
  For the vodka-only version, heck, you could forgo the stirring, and shake it if you prefer! *gasp*
  
  Since it's just the single ingredient—vodka—and it because vodka does tend to play better when bracingly cold, go for it. Just remember to double strain in order to remove stray ice from the shaking process. Ice chips floating on top of a cocktail is never a good look, and feels wrong on the lips. We don't recommend shaking any of the other versions with vermouth in the mix, as the resulting drink will be cloudy and not as smooth as a great Martini should be.
  

• For garnish choices, we here at TRB tend to like a lemon twist with our gin Martinis, while preferring olives for the vodka version. The fragrant oils from the lemon go well with gin because many gins have citrus included in their base recipe. The Earthy saltiness of olives brings character to a vodka Martini.
   

• When using olives as a garnish, it's common to see either a single olive, or three olives. Somewhere along the line, someone got the idea that two olives was somehow bad luck. We shall leave you to decide about the impact of luck, but here's some simple math that may help with your olive decision: three olives is way better than two olives, and two olives is twice as good as just one. Need we say more?
  
  Oh, and get yourself some of these—they’ll help with your olive deployment, and they look classy too.
   

• We'll tackle dirty Martinis, Gibsons, and some other variations in future articles. For now if you want a dirty Martini, we recommend starting with the vodka version and adding a 1/2 ounce splash of olive brine to the mix. Adjust up/down according to how salty and briny you like it.

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What did we cover here today? We learned that both gin and vodka can be used as base spirits for a Martini, but the classic and original version contains gin and dry vermouth. We started with the Standard Gin Martini using that special 2:1 ratio, and moved to the dry version at 5:1. We then swapped out the gin for a good quality vodka, and kept the ratio at 5:1.

Boom! That’s three more recipes added to your cocktail toolkit, and you can easily derive them all from the 2:1 starting point.

That's all for now. Stir up some Martinis at home and have fun experimenting! There's a wide array of flavors to explore when it comes to the Martini. Happy Tippling!