Perhaps the most iconic of all cocktails, the Martini delivers a strong and dry alcoholic punch straight to the taste buds. Despite its formidable nature the Martini has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years, nobly assisted by it's most famous proponent, James Bond. The Martini comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes but the Daddy of them all remains the uncompromising Dry Martini. Retain the Vermouth before adding the Gin and you have a Wet Martini. Adding a splash of brine from the olive jar creates a Dirty Martini. A Franklin has two olives, whereas a Gibson substitutes these for cocktail onions. A Bradford is shaken not stirred and for a Martini that's really licensed to kill, Ian Flemming's recipe for the famous Vesper reads: "Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel".
Mix
3 shots of Gin
0.25 shots of Dry Vermouth
Shake
Stir the vermouth with the ice, strain, discarding the Vermouth while keeping the ice in the mixing tin, add the Gin, stir well and strain.
Pour
Serve in a Martini glass and garnish with an olive or lemon zest twist.
Ingredient Profile
A green olive garnish in an ice cold Dry Martini.
More on the Dry Martini
The popularity of the Wet Martini remains high, as this Martini discussion on Chow.com shows. Don't be afraid to experiment with different amounts of Vermouth, despite the MSP preference for a drier Martini.
Shot by Shot Guide
mix shake and pour's shot by shot guide shows how to mix a Dry Martini cocktail. Don't forget to check out our Top Ten Tips For Mixing Cocktails
Fill a Martini glass with ice and water to chill it while mixing the cocktail.
Measure 0.25 shots of Dry Vermouth and add to the mixing tin.
Stir the contents of the mixing tin.
Strain the mixing tin, discarding the Vermouth while retaining the seasoned ice.
Stir the drink well until condensation forms on the outside of the mixing tin.
Discard the ice and water in the glass.
Strain the contents of the mixing tin into the glass.
Garnish the cocktail with an olive or lemon zest twist.
Buy Ingredients
Buy all the ingredients to make the Dry Martini recipe from mix shake and pour's recommended online retailers: TheDrinkShop.com (UK, Europe and Worldwide) and mySupermarket.co.uk (UK only). For further information on key cocktail ingredients see Stocking Your Home Bar.
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