Martini

Or Dorothy Parker: "I like to have a Martini. Two at the very most. After three I'm under the table, After four I'm under my host."

If you like a good martini and don't know Ogden Nash's stanza on them, you should! There is something about a Martini, A tingle remarkably pleasant; A yellow, a mellow Martini; I wish that I had one at present. There is something about a Martini, Ere the dining and dancing begin, And to tell you the truth, It is not the vermouth- I think that perhaps it’s the gin.

You are confusing Martinis with Manhattans, which are indeed either sweet, dry, or perfect. No Martini has ever (knowingly) been made with sweet vermouth; the writer of the article is correct in their assertion that a dry Martini has less (or, typically, no) dry vermouth in it.

I think a dry martini is so named because it's made with dry vermouth (regardless of proportions, vs a perfect martini, made with both sweet and dry vermouth). The idea that a dry martini has less vermouth is a myth.

Luis Bunuel suggested that the perfect dry martini was made by placing a cocktail glass with cold gin on a western facing window at sunset, and positioning a bottle of vermouth between the sun and the glass, to enable the sun rays to pass through the bottle into the glass.

About ten years ago the NYT did a tasting of about ten gins, using martinis as one of the test bases. The best gin for martinis turned out to be Plymouth. This got me interested in martinis and I began making them and testing proportions. A letter to the Times said, correctly, that the VERMOUTH used was also of prime importance. I think it recommended Boissiere as the choice for martinis. I managed to find some, and the letter was right -- a 5 to 1 Plymouth/Boissiere, ice-cold, is perfect!

To those who store gin or vodka in their freezer, you are missing the critical amount of melt that occurs while chiling your spirits over ice. Not too much, just enough to chill, but the melted water is a critical addition according to many palates.

This 3:1 ratio with a dash of orange bitters is the recipe I've been using for a few years now, though I go with 3oz gin to 1oz vermouth. I like trying various so-called new American gins with my current favorite being Leopold Bros. Shake vigorously and pour thru a fine mesh strainer into chilled glass. Just my opinion but I find that a lemon twist brightens the botanicals in the gin. Olives overwhelm the botanicals and are better placed on the cheese board.

According to Noël Coward perfect martini should be made by filling a glass with gin, then waving it in the general direction of Italy. He's wrong of course, 3:1 is good but the quote is worth it. But bitters?

My perfect martini is one part Tanqueray (or even better Plymouth Gin), one part Bombay or Bombay Sapphire Gin, one part top shelf vodka (I use Svedka because it is the best value among all spirits and belongs on the top shelf despite its low price), and dry vermouth to taste (I use a splash), over cracked ice in a shaker, shake till your hand hurts, pour, serve with olives. The two gins give you the best combination of complexity and smoothness, the vodka smooths it even further.

“I’m pursuing my lifelong dream of the finest, driest martini that can be found on this or any other world, and I think I hit upon the perfect formula. You take six jiggers of gin, and you drink it while staring at a picture of Lorenzo Schwartz, the inventor of vermouth.” "I'd like a dry martini, Mr. Quoc, a very dry martini. A very dry, arrid, barren, desiccated, veritable dustbowel of a martini. I want a martini that could be declared a disaster area." -Capt. Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce

This is one of the best discoveries I've made on Cooking. I've only used about a capful of vermouth in my martinis for years, but this ratio is absolutely delicious. Also, the orange bitters--this is a wonderful addition. Any more than a dash of them would be overwhelming and would flavor the martini, whereas I think the intention of the bitters is more to enhance it, and it works *wonderfully.* It still tastes like a martini without being citrusy, and olives are still great with it.

The best martini requires the best gin you can afford and cold. Cold is key. This why a martini is held by the stem, never the body of the glass. Take a martini glass - or two - and fill with ice and water. Set aside. In a shaker combine gin and ice. Shake vigorously for a moment. Throw the ice water out of the glass. Swirl the cold wet glass with a splash of vermouth. Shake out the glass. Pour in the icy cold gin. Add two olives. Enjoy!

No it's not. People order "wet" martinis all the time to imply they want more vermouth.

Any mention of a vodka martini cracks my teeth.