80 Views of the Martini

So as described, there are almost innumerable variations accorded to the martini. Even with the standard ingredients, variations in quantities or preparation can change the flavour considerably.

The next few entries will look at these variations, starting with the quantity of gin to vermouth.

The original martini was equal parts gin and vermouth. An early recipe I have found describe how to make a Dry Martini.

Dry Martini

1 part Gin
1 part Vermouth
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters (for extra dry)

As time has altered tastes, the vermouth has almost completely disappeared from the drink. The original recipe used dashes of angostura bitters and orange bitters to create an extra dry martini, but by today's standards the quantities of vermouth to gin would make it 'wet' instead. These days, a dry martini is created by adding as little vermouth as possible. This is largely due to the ending of prohibition which has improved the quality of gin (during the prohibition gin was made in backyard, or bath tub distilleries), requiring less mixer to make it palatable.

The majority of martini anecdotes base themselves around the amazing disappearing vermouth, the most famous of which is that told of Winston Churchill who would forgo vermouth completely and instead bow, drink in hand, in the direction of France.

Vermouth avoidance amongst the famous was rife; General Patton would salute the gin bottle towards Italy, Alfred Hitchcock would merely 'glance' at the vermouth bottle, and Ernest Hemingway would order a "Montgomery", a martini mixed at a gin:vermouth ratio of 15:1 (these supposedly being the odds Field Marshall Montgomery wanted to have before going into battle).

Others would create martinis by rubbing the cork from the vermouth bottle around the glass, or by letting light pass through the bottle onto the glass.

Today, bartenders have found other ways of creating a decent 'dry martini' without the drama of salutations towards distant lands. One lovely bartender at the Sly Fox Hotel in Sydney would make me dry martinis by pouring a small amount of vermouth over ice cubes sitting in a martini glass. After a few moments of resting, the contents of the glass would be shaken out and the gin poured in. Another variation uses the cocktail shaker. Ice and vermouth are added and then the vermouth drained, leaving vermouth coated ice cubes to chill and flavour the gin.

For The Record

One cannot start a blog about the Martini without first revealing their own preference. For such a simple cocktails, the variations possible in its creation are astounding and the results significant.

Matthew's Perfect Martini

4 parts Bombay Sapphire Gin
1 part Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
3 olives

Technique is also as important as the ingredients (and I shall write further on this). I store the gin in the freezer so that the drink is as cold as possible when served, and ice is occasionally omitted during the combining stage if it will taint the overall flavour. Occasionally I add a few drops of olive brine.
The mixture is stirred (or swished as I prefer), but occasionally on a hot day I will shake with ice.

So, the preference has been stated, and now we can get into the hard work of discussing technique, ingredients and variations.

A short history of the Martini

The Martini is possibly the most iconic of all cocktails, and it is fitting that its invention is mysterious and mythical.
Many attribute the Martini to an earlier, sweeter cocktail called the Martinez, containing sweet vermouth and Old Tom Gin (2:1) with 2 dashes of maraschino cherry liquid and 1 dash bitters, but even the true origin of this cocktail is readily debated so it does not provide a good point of reference.
Others suggest that the name comes from Martini & Rossi, a trade name for an Italian vermouth.
Another claim that it was invented by Signor Martini di Arma di Taggia, the bartender at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York in 1912 has been discredited.
Regardless of its invention however, the drink first started to enter the social subconscious in the early 1900s with the first listing in a bartenders book The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them in 1907. It was not until the prohibition years though that the drink soared in popularity as gin overtook whiskey as the favoured tipple (gin was quicker to make as whiskey had to be blended).

Traditionally, a Martini is Gin mixed with a lesser quantity of vermouth - the ratios varying considerably over the course of history (largely proceeding from a 'wet' martini - equal parts gin and vermouth - to a 'dry' martini - more gin and only a hint of vermouth). When the health conscious 70s swept the martini from the table, its resurrection in the 80s and 90s brought with it the vodka variation. Mixed in a similar fashion but replacing gin with vodka, this drink is often decried as an abomination by purists who prefer to call it a vodkatini rather than by the martini monicker.