Martini
ClassicIBA OfficialGin, a whisper of vermouth. Nothing more.
Bracingly dry, cold, and crystalline — the purest expression of gin. Juniper and botanicals lead, sharpened by a whisper of dry vermouth and lifted by bright lemon oil from the twist. Barely sweet, barely diluted: a drink that hides nothing and rewards good gin above all.
Ingredients
- 2.5 oz Gin
- 0.5 oz Dry Vermouth
- Lemon twist · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Add the gin and dry vermouth to a mixing glass with ice.
- 2
Stir until very well-chilled, about 30 seconds.
- 3
Strain into a chilled martini glass.
- 4
Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in.
The Story
No cocktail's origin is argued more, or matters less to its authority. The Martini most likely evolved from the sweeter, Old Tom–and–maraschino Martinez of the 1880s, drying out steadily as London Dry gin and pale dry vermouth took over the bar. By the turn of the century the formula had settled — gin, a wash of dry vermouth, stirred cold and served up — and over the decades that followed it only grew drier and more mythologized, from Churchill's near-vermouth-less pour to Bond's contrarian shake. Stripped to two ingredients and a twist, it remains the most elegant argument in the cocktail canon.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
