Having spent the last couple of weeks musing about some of the finest bars in both NYC and London, it’s probably time for a night in. Thankfully, we have just had National Martini Day.
National days celebrating drinks often feel like a cheap marketing exercise – here’s looking at you, International Scottish Gin Day (October 4th) or California Wine Month (greedy). Yet for martinis, I think it’s worth making an exception.
The martini may just be the definitive cocktail. Often, the best ones are as simple as they come, with a minuscule alteration to the gin to vermouth ratio making a world of difference. And yet there’s also plenty of variety. Each bar seems to have a house style, with numerous classic establishments battling it out and claiming to offer the definitive iteration.
Even in pop culture, fictional characters like James Bond have a particular way they like to take their martini. Although the phrase ‘shaken, not stirred’ is practically guaranteed to cause an adverse reaction in bartenders all around the world.
Like most of the classics, the origins of the martini are a little murky. Does it come from the well-known Italian vermouth of the same name, or perhaps the Californian town of Martinez? It’s unlikely we will ever get a definitive answer.
One thing is absolutely clear. Throughout the last century, the ratios have changed. In the early days, a 50/50 gin to vermouth was fairly common. However, during prohibition, thanks to how quick and easy it is to distill gin, the Martini boomed. The vast quantities of readily available gin flooded the market, and so a dry martini — one featuring more gin less vermouth — became the standard. Today if you walked into a bar and asked for a wet martini — one with more vermouth — you might catch a few strange looks.
Then there are those that perhaps take it too far. Noel Coward is quoted as suggesting, “a perfect martini should be made by filling a glass with gin, then waving it in the general direction of Italy.”
At London’s fabled Duke’s Hotel bar — a spot that was regularly frequented by Ian Fleming, and so is likely where Bond developed his penchant for martinis —the style is a direct martini. This is where no ice is used at all. The gin and glass are stored in the freezer, and so the cocktail is delivered in its purest, undiluted form.
In reality, there’s no perfect martini. You just have to go out, play the field a little and learn how you like it. And if that’s not a good excuse to hit the bars, I’m not sure what is.
So, to begin your martini mission, you first need a baseline. The following recipe is for a classic dry martini, no bells and whistles. Just gin, vermouth, ice and a dream.
Ingredients
2 oz London dry gin
1 tbsp vermouth
Lemon peel garnish
Method
Add the gin and vermouth to a cocktail shaker with ice and stir to chill. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a lemon peel. Enjoy. Try making another one. Enjoy. Wonder if you even like martinis, or if you’re just messing up this complicated recipe. Maybe it’s best to leave these things to the professionals. Get changed, lock the door, go to a bar.
