Drink Classic Dry Martini with gin and vermouth Base Gin, dry vermouth and bitters In our recipe 8 cl Bombay Sapphire, 1.5 cl Noilly Prat, 2 to 3 drops of Peychaud's Ratio About 5 parts gin to 1 part vermouth Served Cold in a Martini glass, garnished with an olive Oldest known Dry Martini 1904, Frank P. Newman's "American-Bar" (according to Difford's Guide) Relatives Gibson, Dirty Martini, Perfect Martini, Vesper
How to make a Dry Martini Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add 8 cl gin, 1.5 cl vermouth and 2 to 3 drops of Peychaud's, and stir until the glass is ice cold on the outside. Strain into a chilled glass and add an olive. Garnish and glass are covered at the top: an olive and a Martini Riedel glass . You will find the ingredients here: Bombay Sapphire , Noilly Prat and Peychaud's bitters .
VIDEO Dry Martini history: where does the name come from? Nobody knows exactly where the Martini comes from. The name may come from the Martini vermouth brand. It may also come from the Martinez cocktail, which some say was served in the early 1860s at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, while the town of Martinez in California claims a local bartender. All we can hold on to are the printed recipes, and they only start in the 1880s.
From sweet Martini to Dry Martini The first Martini recipes did not look like the one you get today. They used old tom gin and sweet vermouth. The timeline below is from Difford's Guide.
1884 O.H. Byron's "The Modern Bartender" has the first known Martinez recipe: genever or old tom gin, sweet vermouth, curaçao and orange bitters 1888 Harry Johnson's "Bartender Manual" has a "Martini" with old tom gin, sweet vermouth, curaçao, sugar syrup and bitters 1903 Tim Daly's "Bartenders Encyclopedia" calls the drink "supposed to be a very dry cocktail" 1904 Frank P. Newman's "American-Bar" has the first known Dry Martini recipe, with equal parts gin and dry vermouth 1906 Louis Muckensturm writes "Dry Martini Cocktail" in his book, with dry gin and dry vermouth
The sources do not fully agree. Wikipedia mentions William Boothby's 1907 book as a possible oldest recipe and the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York in 1911 or 1912, but Difford's has older recipes. We go with the oldest printed years.
Why did the Martini get drier? The amount of vermouth has dropped steadily. According to Wikipedia the ratio was 2 to 1 in 1922, 3 to 1 in the 1930s and 4 to 1 in the 1940s. In the late 1900s 5 or 6 to 1 became normal, and the driest versions go all the way to 15 to 1, called the "Montgomery". During Prohibition in the US, 1920 to 1933, gin was easy to get hold of and the Martini became the dominant cocktail. After Prohibition it got drier and drier. Our recipe sits at roughly 5 to 1.
Shaken not stirred: what is true about James Bond? We open by telling you to forget about James Bond, and that is on purpose. Ian Fleming invented the Vesper in "Casino Royale", made with gin, vodka and Kina Lillet. The line "vodka martini, shaken, not stirred" is first said by Bond in the film "Goldfinger" from 1964. A classic Dry Martini is made with gin and stirred. The IBA recipe does say "stir or shake well", though, so it is not a rule you break with a straight face.
Dry Martini variations Gibson Dry Martini with cocktail onions instead of an olive Dirty Martini A splash of olive brine in the drink. Extra dirty has about twice as much Perfect Martini Equal parts sweet and dry vermouth Vodka martini Vodka instead of gin, with dry vermouth Vesper Gin, vodka and Kina Lillet, from "Casino Royale"
Tips for your Dry Martini Soak your olives in Noilly Prat a day before you need them. That is a tip from our original recipe. Serve the drink ice cold and have the right equipment ready. We have gathered it in the Cocktail Kit .
Our verdict on the Dry Martini At roughly 5 to 1, our Dry Martini sits between the wetter versions from the 1930s and the very dry ones from more recent times. You can adjust the vermouth to taste, but start here. If you want a Martini with Njord Gin, read our Njordic Martini .
Frequently asked questions about the Dry Martini recipe What is a Dry Martini? A cocktail of gin and dry vermouth, normally served cold in a Martini glass with an olive or a lemon twist.
What goes into a Classic Dry Martini? In our recipe it is 8 cl Bombay Sapphire, 1.5 cl Noilly Prat Vermouth and 2 to 3 drops of Peychaud's bitters. The garnish is an olive.
How much vermouth goes into a Dry Martini? We use 1.5 cl vermouth to 8 cl gin, roughly 5 parts gin to 1 part vermouth. Historically the ratio went from 2 to 1 in 1922 to 5 or 6 to 1 in the late 1900s.
Should a Dry Martini be shaken or stirred? The classic method is to stir it with ice. The IBA recipe says "stir or shake well", though. "Shaken, not stirred" is James Bond's order, and it applies to a vodka martini.
Is a real Martini made with gin or vodka? With gin. A vodka version exists, but it is called a vodka martini. That is why we say to forget about the vodka martini if you want the classic.
Who invented the Martini cocktail? Nobody knows for sure. Some point to the Martinez cocktail, others to Martini vermouth, and the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York is also mentioned, but none of it is proven.
Why is it called a Dry Martini? Because it uses dry gin and dry vermouth instead of the sweet vermouth the first Martini recipes had. The oldest recipes with "dry" in the name are from the early 1900s.
What is the difference between a Dry Martini, Gibson, Dirty and Perfect? A Gibson is a Dry Martini with cocktail onions instead of an olive. A Dirty has a splash of olive brine. A Perfect has equal parts sweet and dry vermouth.
Olive or lemon twist in a Dry Martini? Both are used. We serve it with an olive. One tip is to soak the olives in Noilly Prat a day before.
What is a Vesper Martini? A cocktail Ian Fleming invented for Casino Royale, made with gin, vodka and Kina Lillet. It is not a classic Dry Martini.
Read more about Martini and gin cocktails Find more Martini cocktails and gin recipes here at Whisky.dk. You can also read Wikipedia on the Martini cocktail and Difford's Guide on Martini history .
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