The Perfect "American" Dry Gin Martini

[blue dog]

I specified American because you blokes in GB still don't understand American cocktails. You think a Martini is 1/2 Gin and 1/2 Vermouth. Pleeeeeeze! Another thing. A Martini is not made with Vodka and never was except in James Bond movies and now, geez, every swank bar in America. Chocolate Martini's? See what happens when you let amateur female drinkers behind the bar?

Anyway. It is very important that the mixologist gets the degree of dryness exactly to the customers liking. If you don't know, a very dry Martini has less Vermouth than a dry Martini, but a Martini never never has No Vermouth. I mean, that's all the separates us from the apes! So, here's a list of ways to make dry and drier Martinis. Experiment until you find the one that's just right for you..ALSO, this guide serves as a measure of your true level of maturity as a Martini drinker, that is, the further down the list you find yourself is generally proportional to the length of time that you've been drinking them AND the degree of refinement that your pallette has achieved.

(Reproduced here, as best as I can remember: I haven't used the recipes near the top for many, many years.)

1. A "Standard" Dry Martini. In a well chilled Martini glass, add 1 jigger of a fine British Dry Gin and 1/2 Jigger of Martini and Rossi Dry Vermouth.

2. An Authentic Dry Martini. Same as above but just pour a few drops of Vermouth over the Gin.

3. Very Dry Martini. Swirl the Vermouth around in the Martini glass, pour it out, then add the Gin.

4. Very Very Dry Martini. The bartender drinks a shot of Vermouth and then breaths on the glass before adding the Gin.

5. Extremely Dry Martini. The bartender drinks a shot of Vermouth and then kisses the customer on the lips as the Gin is served.

Note: Anytime you want, you can begin adding More Gin to take advantage of the extra space in the Martini glass that's left from using less Vermouth.

6. Very Extremely Dry Martini. Swirl the Vermouth around in the glass, then wash it out and add the Gin.

Note: The remainder are very esoteric recipes whose exact degree of dryness and proper listing order are seriously debated by Martini devotees. You can usually recognize true Martini connoisseurs. They typically carry a pocket-sized container of their favorite brand of olives whenever they go out.

7. Gently, go around the rim of the glass with the cork from the bottle of Vermouth.

8. The Bartender throws a shot of Vermouth over his/her shoulder.

9. Whisper the word "Vermouth" over the glass.

10. Being both brief and discrete, merely show the glass the bottle of Vermouth.


Once a truly great Martini drinker, I am sad to report that my doctor has limited me to only One Per Day which is why I am constantly searching for the larger, most perfect Martini glass.

[Steve Conway]

Originally Posted by blue dog

I specified American because you blokes in GB still don't understand American cocktails. You think a Martini is 1/2 Gin and 1/2 Vermouth. Pleeeeeeze! Another thing. A Martini is not made with Vodka and never was except in James Bond movies and now, geez, every swank bar in America. Chocolate Martini's? See what happens when you let amateur female drinkers behind the bar?

Anyway. It is very important that the mixologist gets the degree of dryness exactly to the customers liking. If you don't know, a very dry Martini has less Vermouth than a dry Martini, but a Martini never never has No Vermouth. I mean, that's all the separates us from the apes! So, here's a list of ways to make dry and drier Martinis. Experiment until you find the one that's just right for you..ALSO, this guide serves as a measure of your true level of maturity as a Martini drinker, that is, the further down the list you find yourself is generally proportional to the length of time that you've been drinking them AND the degree of refinement that your pallette has achieved.

(Reproduced here, as best as I can remember: I haven't used the recipes near the top for many, many years.)

1. A "Standard" Dry Martini. In a well chilled Martini glass, add 1 jigger of a fine British Dry Gin and 1/2 Jigger of Martini and Rossi Dry Vermouth.

2. An Authentic Dry Martini. Same as above but just pour a few drops of Vermouth over the Gin.

3. Very Dry Martini. Swirl the Vermouth around in the Martini glass, pour it out, then add the Gin.

4. Very Very Dry Martini. The bartender drinks a shot of Vermouth and then breaths on the glass before adding the Gin.

5. Extremely Dry Martini. The bartender drinks a shot of Vermouth and then kisses the customer on the lips as the Gin is served.

Note: Anytime you want, you can begin adding More Gin to take advantage of the extra space in the Martini glass that's left from using less Vermouth.

6. Very Extremely Dry Martini. Swirl the Vermouth around in the glass, then wash it out and add the Gin.

Note: The remainder are very esoteric recipes whose exact degree of dryness and proper listing order are seriously debated by Martini devotees. You can usually recognize true Martini connoisseurs. They typically carry a pocket-sized container of their favorite brand of olives whenever they go out.

7. Gently, go around the rim of the glass with the cork from the bottle of Vermouth.

8. The Bartender throws a shot of Vermouth over his/her shoulder.

9. Whisper the word "Vermouth" over the glass.

10. Being both brief and discrete, merely show the glass the bottle of
Vermouth.

My favorite martini recipe comes from back when this country was first testing the atomic bomb in the desert near Las Vegas. Seems this bartender in vegas had the atomic scientists strap a bottle of Vermouth to one of the test bombs. The bartender would then set his martini glasses outside and as the device exploded the fallout would cover the glasses. He then just added the gin, making the driest martini of all time.


Steve