The martini. Elegant, clean, seductive but most of all, mystical. Today, there are thousands of variations of this cocktail and the origin of this classic is shrouded in mystery.
Some claim Professor Jerry Thomas invented the Martini. The 1887 edition of his Bartender’s Guide included the Martinez, the classic cocktail with gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, Angostura bitters and lemon twist garnish. Thomas claimed to have made the drink for the first time at San Francisco’s Occidental Hotel. One problem: that edition of the Bartenders Guide was published two years after Thomas died.
Others believe the cocktail was born from branding. Some believe the drink derived from the famous “Martini & Rossi” vermouth, first created in the mid-1800s. Apparently in the interest of brevity, the “gin and Martini” drink of the time eventually became known as the “martini.”
The last popular theory is that the modern martini has its roots at New York’s Knickerbocker Hotel where in the early 1900s, Martini di Arma di Taggia was behind the stick. He served a concoction to regular John D. Rockefeller with London dry gin, Noilly Prat Vermouth, and orange bitters. It’s possible the martini as we know it today was named after this bartending legend.
Whatever the real origin of the martini, today this classic is a favorite of many bartenders, and increasingly so of everyday customers. The popularity of the drink is following a similar boom as the Old Fashioned trend from a few years back.
In 1922 the martini was most commonly made with London dry gin and dry vermouth are combined at a ratio of 2:1, stirred in a mixing glass with ice cubes, with optional bitters, then strained into a chilled cocktail glass. The garnish has always been the drinker's choice of a green olive or a twist of lemon peel.
Over the course of the 20th century, the martini became progressively drier, in part due to the availability of higher quality gin in the US after the end of prohibition. During the 1930s the ratio was 3:1 (gin to vermouth), and during the 1940s the ratio was 4:1. During the latter part of the 20th century, 6:1, 8:1, 12:1, 15:1 or even 50:1 Martinis became commonplace.
The traditional martini comes in an infinite number of variations. James Bond usually asked for his vodka martinis to be "shaken, not stirred", following the advice from Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930). Some even argue that the martini should be made by throwing, which tends to put more accent on the vermouth in the martini. A martini can even be served on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass although I consider it personally to be sacrilege.
In our interview of Dario Comini for Drops Magazine, he had this to say about his favorite cocktail: “Both great technique and experience are needed to make a martini. Within a few seconds, you must correctly read your customer’s preferences. Then, you must artfully execute a martini well-suited to their palate. After all, we all have different tastes and ideas of what makes the perfect martini. Each martini is individual, unique, and impossible to repeat. As such, the variations of this classic cocktail are countless.“
It’s true that we all have our personal preferences for the martini cocktail. For me, it must be served bone dry and ice cold in a Nick and Nora glass. But I was curious, how do my bartender friends take their martini?
#thisismymartini
We started by interviewing Jared Brown, who was in Milano recently for a Sipsmith master class at PRIMA comfort food and bar.
“My martini? There is no short answer. Such simplicity requires many words.
Selecting a particular balance of ingredients is highly subjective, shaped by both internal and external forces. Not only has my preference changed over time, it changes with each hour of the day. A lunch martini differs greatly from a cocktail hour martini. An evening martini is yet again unique.
That said, the framework for my ultimate martini—evolved over the decades since Anistatia and I wrote Shaken Not Stirred©: A Celebration of the Martini—is simple. Simple because I truly believe the words of Antoine de St. Exupery: “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
Gone are the orange bitters and drop of absinthe and olive and twist submerged in the liquid. I prefer a clean style that rose in popularity in the 1950s.
For the ingredients, I worked very hard as part of a great team to produce the finest possible London Dry Gin, made in London without compromise on a copper pot still and balanced to my palate. But a classic dry martini is not straight gin. It also requires vermouth. There are many wonderful choices these days, but I am at heart a traditionalist and, like the legendary Sasha Petraske of Milk and Honey speakeasy fame, I prefer classic Italian dry vermouth. I prefer it to be as fresh as possible, so at home I keep dozens of mini bottles and open a fresh one for every round.
I combine these two ingredients, the gin and dry vermouth in an ice-filled tin. I would rather throw than shake or stir as throwing imparts fine aeration that remains in suspension much longer than the large bubbles in a shaken drink. These bubbles brighten the flavour and round out the mouthfeel without clouding the drink.
How many times you throw is dictated by the quality of the ice. Good ice takes longer, while bad ice will be very quick to chill and dilute the drink. There is no need to count throws. Watch the strainer handle shift as the ice melts. I find when it has moved about 45°, the drink has taken on the approximately 25% dilution I consider optimal for softening it and opening up the flavours.
The twist is the moment where I find some of the greatest bartenders trip up. Running the twist around the rim and down the stem before dropping it into the drink is riveting theatre, but it detracts from the flavour of the drink. Why do bartenders continue to do this? It is because their predecessors did, and theirs before them, much like we as a species ate raw meat before we discovered fire (and later discovered restaurants and good chefs).
The twist should be large and fresh and squeezed over the drink, to impart sweet citrus and floral aromas. It should never come in contact with the glass or the liquid. If it does, it makes the drink bitter and sharp and less pleasant. After it has been squeezed, the twist should be discarded.
I also prefer my martinis small in a very, very cold glass. If the glasses are kept in the freezer, it should not be put on the bar until the drink has been mixed. If the glasses are on the shelf it should be filled with ice and water before the gin and vermouth bottles are opened.
This, then is my martini: fiery frost in a velvet cloak, part gin and part vermouth, part insight and part reminiscence, part serenity and part festivity.”
Dry Martini
50 ml Sipsmith London Dry Gin
15 ml dry vermouth
Combine ingredients in an ice-filled Boston tin. Cover with a julep strainer. Throw as necessary. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze a lemon twist over the drink and discard it. Serve immediately to be consumed, in the words of Harry Craddock, “while it is still laughing at you."""
