Cocktail recipe Dry Martini

All cocktails a cocktail, all aperitifs an aperitif. This is the only way I can talk about a cocktail with such an interesting pedigree. And we will talk about the glorious Martini cocktail, which, I’ll make a reservation right away, has absolutely nothing to do with the world famous brand that produces vermouth. However, the basis of the cocktail is most often just the same Martini Dry from a well-known manufacturer. But more about that later, now let’s figure out where this cocktail came from and whose, so to speak, genius hand it belongs to.

History of the martini cocktail

Believe it or not, there are no 19% reliable sources (sarcasm). In general, according to the classics of the genre, hundreds of books and thousands of articles have been written, and no one knows for sure who created Martini. But a couple of versions, moreover, quite authoritative, can still be traced. The first version dates back to the middle of the XNUMXth century, when the legendary bartenders, whom I have already written about, hunted.

So, in those days, Jerry Thomas rose through the Gold Rush that swept across America, working in a bar at the Accidental Hotel in San Francisco. Yes, yes, this is the same “Professor”, who has more than one legendary cocktail on his account. But that’s not the point. In general, a boy wandered into his bar once, who had already enriched himself on gold and was going home, to the town of Martinez. He was bursting with pride in himself, and he promised a gold bar to Thomas if he surprised him with an unusual cocktail. This is how the Martini cocktail was born, which was a little different from today’s version. At that time, it was a drink made from gin, sweet Italian vermouth, Maraschino liqueur and bitter Boker. The professor, of course, became one gold bar richer.

Another version comes from the envious inhabitants of the town of Martinez. They claim that in 1874 there was a prospector from the mine who wandered into the town for a new portion of whiskey. However, for a bag of gold, he received only one bottle, which, of course, did not please the prospector very much. Then the bartender decided to sweeten the traveler’s bitterness and sorrow by preparing a cocktail for him, which he called “Martinez”.

Later, after 4 years, eminent bartender Harry Johnson published his “Illustrated Bartender’s Guide”, in which the Martine cocktail was first introduced. Where the letter “z” went is still a mystery. Nevertheless, the Dry Martini became a cult for the citizens of Martinez, and they decided in 1992 to erect a monument in his honor.

And finally, there is a version in which the Italians are involved. In New York, behind the bar of the Knickerbocker Hotel, the Italian immigrant Martini di Arma di Taggia worked, who for the first time in 1912 mixed 2 parts of gin with 1 part of dry vermouth, diluting this nobility with a drop of orange bitterness. This is how the Dry Martini was born.

martini cocktail recipe

In fact, making a good Dry Martini is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. There are connoisseurs who are ready to travel to another country to enjoy the perfect cocktail. In principle, good ingredients and precision of preparation are important here, which, for some reason, is fucked up all over the Internet. I will not spoil, but I will write a recipe according to the MBA version, while putting all my experience in making this cocktail into it.

Dry Martini (aperitif, stew)

• Xnumx gin ml;
• 10 ml of dry vermouth.

Preparation:

• pre-fill the cocktail glass with ice so that it cools well;
• while the glass is cooling, insert a bar spoon into the mixing glass and fill it completely with ice;
• then pour in the vermouth, gin and mix well with a circular rotation of the spoon;
• strain the drink into a cocktail glass through a strainer and a strainer so that small pieces of ice do not injure the oral cavity (fine strain);
• decorate with three olives on a skewer or twist (spiral) from the peel of a lemon (zest);
• drink in 2-3 large sips (this is how Short Drinks are drunk).

This is exactly the case when ingenious is not quite so simple. In general, I immediately post a video with my favorite cocktail recipe. True, here the bartender pours vermouth after it soaks into the ice. Well, that’s his thing. By the way, Churchill adored Dry Martini, while he described the cooking process as follows:

I pour gin into a glass and then glance at the bottle of vermouth in the farthest corner of the room…

Interesting Dry Martini Facts

• The word martini, according to the Oxford Dictionary, dates back to 1894. It was this name that was first used on the menu of one of the London clubs.
• During Prohibition, gin and vermouth were mixed in a 2:1 ratio, saving on gin, which was then difficult to obtain. This was the case until 1930.
• Richard Nixon loved the seasoned Dry Martini, which was prepared in a 7:1 ratio.
• Bond always asked to change the way the cocktail was made. In the shaker, ice gets into the drink, making it not so strong. By the way, the strain method is applied here for a reason. Thanks to this preparation, the cocktail is as transparent and clean as possible.
• There are a huge number of variations of the Dry Martini cocktail, but the most famous are Sweet Martini, Vodka Martini and Perfect Martini. I will write about them again. In addition, there are several new cocktails in the bar classics of the IBA, the name of which includes Martini.

Well, that’s where I’ll end today. I look forward to your feedback on this wonderful cocktail.