🥃 Dry Martini

Dry Martini is the classic gin and dry vermouth cocktail, stirred with ice and served in a chilled martini glass; the "shaken or stirred" argument is answered in the IBA recipe, which stirs. The International Bartenders Association (IBA) lists it in its "The Unforgettables" category. The garnish is lemon peel oil and, on request, a green olive.

Recipe. The IBA recipe is 60 ml gin and 10 ml dry vermouth, a ratio of 6 : 1. Both ingredients are stirred with a spoon in a mixing glass with ice and strained into a pre-chilled glass. Difford's Guide gives a 5 : 1 ratio with London dry gin and a dash of orange bitters to taste as its preferred variant.

History. According to Difford's Guide, the martini grew out of the Martinez cocktail, whose recipe appeared in a book by O. G. Byron in 1884. The first known recipe under the name "Martini" was published by Harry Johnson in 1888, with sweet Old Tom gin and red vermouth. In 1903 Tim Daly proposed a drier mix, and the name "Dry Martini Cocktail" first appears in 1904 in a French book by Frank Newman.

Dryness. The less vermouth, the drier the martini is considered. At the start of the 20th century it was made half and half or 2 : 1; later the share of vermouth kept shrinking. Orange bitters were customary until the 1940s. A version with vodka instead of gin is called a vodka martini.

Why this matters to you. A Dry Martini is almost pure strong alcohol: 60 ml of gin and only a little vermouth, with no juice or syrup. That is why it is served small and very cold. WHO reminds that there is no safe amount of alcohol.