A Practical Guide to Martini Variations

The Martini is simple until you start making one. Then every choice matters.

Gin or vodka. Wet or dry. Olive or lemon. Vermouth measured properly or waved near the glass like a superstition. The Martini has room for preference, but preference is not the same as ignorance.

All variations are stirred unless noted. Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir for 30 seconds until properly cold, and strain into a chilled coupe or Nick and Nora. Garnish with a lemon peel or one quality olive unless the variation calls for something else.

The dry Martini

• 2 1/2 oz London dry gin
• 1/2 oz dry vermouth
• 1 dash orange bitters, optional

This is the version most people mean when they say Martini. It should be properly cold, and the vermouth should still taste like vermouth. Do not skip it. Our recipe sits at this spec.

Cold gin is not a cocktail.

The wet Martini

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• 1 dash orange bitters

More vermouth gives the drink lower proof, more aroma, and a better first-drink quality. If you think vermouth ruins Martinis, you probably have bad vermouth or old vermouth.

The 50/50

• 1 1/2 oz gin
• 1 1/2 oz dry vermouth

The 50/50 is its own drink, not a watered-down Martini. Equal parts means a lighter pour that you can drink across an evening without losing your edge. Use fresh vermouth and keep it refrigerated.

The dirty Martini

A dirty Martini works when the brine is treated as seasoning. It fails when the brine becomes the drink.

• 2 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz dry vermouth
• 1/4 oz olive brine, then adjust

Garnish with olives that are worth eating. If the drink tastes like pickle water, pull back.

The vodka Martini

A Martini is historically a gin drink. Vodka changes the job. You lose botanicals, so the vermouth, garnish, and temperature have to carry more weight.

If you want vodka, make it clean and cold. Just do not pretend the spirit choice changes nothing.

If what you actually want is a gin-led Martini with vodka along for the ride, the Vesper is the historical answer. Gin carries the drink, vodka adds proof, and Cocchi Americano stands in for the original Kina Lillet (discontinued in 1986).

The rule that matters

Stir, use cold glassware, and use fresh vermouth. Measure instead of performing little rituals with the bottle cap.

The Martini is not hard because it has many ingredients. It is hard because it has nowhere to hide.

Use a mixing glass built for stirred drinks.