Cocktail Icons, series 1
(set of 10)
2 oz. gin
1 oz. dry vermouth
Start with cold gin and vermouth
Stir ingredients with ice
Strain into chilled martini glass
Express lemon peel over the drink or garnish with olive
IBA Recipe¹
60 ml Gin
10 ml Dry Vermouth
Other Notes
A Dry or Extra Dry Martini uses less vermouth (as little as 1:10 with gin)
A Wet Martini uses more vermouth (usually 1:1 with gin)
A Sweet Martini uses sweet vermouth instead of dry
A Medium or Perfect Martini use equal parts dry and sweet vermouth
A Dirty Martini adds a barspoon of olive brine
A Gibson is a martini garnished with cocktail onions
Origin: mid-1800s in California
Creator: unknown
In 1849, a miner struck it rich in the California gold rush and stopped at a bar in the town of Martinez to celebrate. He was served a mix of Sauterne wine and gin called a Martinez Special which morphed into "Martini". This story is probably apocryphal, but the Martinez cocktail is believed to be the precursor to the Martini. A Martinez is also made with gin and vermouth, but adds orange bitters and maraschino liqueur.²
The earliest documented recipe for a Martini Cocktail is from Harry Johnson in 1888³
Fill the glass up with ice ;
2 or 3 dashes of Gum Syrup ;
2 or 3 dashes of Bitters; (Boker’s genuine only.)
1 dash of Curaçoa ;
½ wine glassful of Old Tom Gin ;
½ wine glassful of Vermouth ;
stir up well with a spoon, strain it into a fancy cocktail glass, squeeze a piece of lemon peel on top, and serve.
IBA Dry Martini. https://iba-world.com/dry-martini/
Brown, D. (2019). Spirits Sugar Water Bitters: How the Cocktail Conquered the World. Rizzoli International Publications.
Johnson, H. (1888). New and Improved Illustrated Bartender’s Manual: Or How to Mix Drinks of the Present Style. I. Goldmann.