Cocktail recipe
Martini
A stirred cocktail featuring Gin, Dry Vermouth.
Ingredients
- 60 ml Gin
- 30 ml Dry Vermouth
- 2 dash Orange Bitters
Method
- Combine Gin, Dry Vermouth, Orange Bitters (if using) in a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until cold and diluted.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Optional garnish: green olive.
- Optional aromatic finish: squeeze the colored side of a lemon peel over the surface to release its oils; discard the peel or use it as garnish.
Story
The Martini grew out of 1880s gin-and-vermouth drinks like the Martinez and the Marguerite; its exact birth is lost. Early versions were sweet. The dry martini with French vermouth took over in the early 1900s, and the vermouth kept shrinking through the century until 'dry' came to mean barely any at all.
Tips
- Stir it; shaking gives you the colder, cloudier Bond version.
- Keep the vermouth in the fridge — it is wine, and it goes stale.