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The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages.
By 1922 the Martini reached its most recognizable form in which London dry gin and dry vermouth are combined at a ratio of 2:1, stirred in a mixing glass with ice cubes, with the optional addition of orange or aromatic bitters, then strained into a chilled cocktail glass. Over time the generally expected garnish became the drinker’s choice of a green olive or a twist of lemon peel.
A dry Martini is made with dry, white vermouth.
Dry Martini
Main alcohol: Gin
Ingredients: 1/2 oz (1 part) Dry vermouth, 3 oz (6 parts) Gin
Preparation: Straight: Pour all ingredients into mixing glass with ice cubes. Stir well. Strain into chilled martini cocktail glass. Squeeze oil from the lemon peel onto the drink, or garnish with an olive.
Served: Straight (or on the rocks)
Standard garnish: Olive, Lemon twist
Drinkware: Cocktail glass
Sweet Martini
The Sweet Martini is a drink made with Gin (or Vodka) and sweet vermouth. It is very similar to a Classic Gin Martini which uses Gin and dry vermouth, but in this recipe, it uses sweet vermouth instead of the dry. The Sweet Martini which is also sometimes referred to as the Sweet Vermouth Martini dates back to the late 19th century and is one of the earliest of cocktails.
Ingredients
- 3 shots of Gin
- 1 shot of Italian Sweet Vermouth
- Couple of dashes of Orange Bitters
- Orange Twist for garnish
Preparation/Recipe
- Add ice cubes to a martini shaker
- Pour three shots of your favourite Gin into the shaker
- Add a generous shot of Sweet Vermouth
- Shake the ingredients about 5-10 times
- Put a generous dash of orange bitters into a chilled martini glass and swirl it around
- Strain the contents of the martini shaker into the chilled glass
- Garnish with an orange twist