A classic dry martini is made with gin, dry vermouth, and olives or a lemon twist for garnish. It’s one of the most well-known cocktails and remains popular more than 100 years after its creation.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Gin: A distilled spirit flavored with juniper berries and, occasionally, other botanical herbs or spices.
- Dry vermouth: A fortified wine (made from grapes) that is often pale and always bitter compared to red, sweet vermouth.
Step-by-step instructions
- To a mixing glass filled with ice, add gin and vermouth. Using a bar spoon, stir until mixture is fully combined and well chilled, about 30-45 seconds.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with olives or a lemon twist.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 cocktail.
- Glassware: Martinis are traditionally made in a cocktail glass, also known as a martini glass.
- Big batch: Martinis are best prepared individually.
- Extra dry: Made with almost no dry vermouth at all.
- Dirty martini: Add a splash of olive brine to the mixing glass with the gin and garnish with an olive.
- Wet martini: Use equal amounts of gin and dry vermouth.
- Perfect martini: Use equal parts of dry and sweet vermouth.
- Vodka martini: Substitute vodka for the gin.
- Gibson cocktail: Garnish with cocktail onions instead of olives or a lemon twist.
- Vesper martini: Increase the vermouth to 1 ounce, add ½ ounce Lillet blanc with the 3 ounces of gin, and garnish with a lemon twist.
- Churchill martini: Omit the dry vermouth entirely and “should be prepared with gin straight from the freezer while glancing at a closed bottle of dry vermouth.”
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Martini
A classic dry martini is made with gin, dry vermouth, and olives or a lemon twist for garnish. It's one of the most well-known cocktails and remains popular more than 100 years after its creation.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces gin (6 tablespoons, see note 1)
- 1/2 ounce dry vermouth (1 tablespoon, see note 2)
- 2 pitted, brine-cured olives or lemon twist, for garnish
Instructions
- To a mixing glass filled with ice, add gin and vermouth. Using a bar spoon, stir until mixture is fully combined and well chilled, about 30-45 seconds.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with olives or a lemon twist.
Notes
- Gin: A distilled spirit flavored with juniper berries and, occasionally, other botanical herbs or spices.
- Dry vermouth: A fortified wine (made from grapes) that is often pale and always bitter compared to red, sweet vermouth.
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 cocktail.
- Glassware: Martinis are traditionally made in a cocktail glass, also known as a martini glass.
- Big batch: Martinis are best prepared individually.
- Extra dry: Made with almost no dry vermouth at all.
- Dirty martini: Add a splash of olive brine to the mixing glass with the gin and garnish with an olive.
- Wet martini: Use equal amounts of gin and dry vermouth.
- Perfect martini: Use equal parts of dry and sweet vermouth.
- Vodka martini: Substitute vodka for the gin.
- Gibson cocktail: Garnish with cocktail onions instead of olives or a lemon twist.
- Vesper martini: Increase the vermouth to 1 ounce, add ½ ounce Lillet blanc with the 3 ounces of gin, and garnish with a lemon twist.
- Churchill martini: Omit the dry vermouth entirely and “should be prepared with gin straight from the freezer while glancing at a closed bottle of dry vermouth.”
Nutrition
Serving: 1cocktailCalories: 219kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 125mgPotassium: 5mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 31IUCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
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