Shaken, stirred, dirty, wet, dry, with a twist or something totally bonkers with onions, nothing says class like a Martini. What though actually is the difference between all these styles?
These days, there are over 200 variations on a theme of Martini with some barely resembling the ‘original’ version at all. Let’s go back to basics though and try make sense of some of the more classic recipes.
Over time, the Martini as we know it has become progressively drier, having morphed from sweeter drinks, namely the Martinez or the Marguerite. The dry Martini as we know it is most likely to have gained traction at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th, when London Dry Gin became a thing and there was a huge advertising campaign by the Martini & Rosso vermouth company who created a strap line saying ‘It's not a Martini unless you use Martini”. Genius. It worked though.
Shaken or Stirred
The point of shaking and stirring the Martini ingredients before serving is to cool and dilute the drink. Shaking does this faster than stirring but it also changes the texture slightly, creating tiny air bubbles that are held in suspension in the liquid, giving it a slightly cloudy look. Choosing which you prefer is a satisfying element of bespoking your own Martini.
Key styles of Martini
Classic Martini
The classic is a combination of London dry gin (2 parts) and dry vermouth (1 part), stirred with ice, then strained straight up into a chilled Martini glass and garnished with an unstuffed Spanish olive. If you use vodka instead of gin, this is simply a classic vodka Martini. Many prefer the classic ‘with a twist’, however, which is simply a slim twist of lemon peel.
Dry Martini
A less vermouth, the drier the Martini. A classic dry version will see the glass have a vermouth rinse before being topped up with gin, but it is still known as dry if there’s more like a splash of vermouth in there.
Wet Martini
A wet Martini is when you are upping the vermouth from more than a small splash, so that it can even be half gin (or vodka), half vermouth. This is also known sometimes as a 50:50.
Dirty Martini
A dirty Martini is when a splash of brine from the olive jar is added to the drink and is served with a stuffed olive.
Perfect Martini
A perfect Martini means the drink includes equal parts of dry and sweet vermouth.
The Gibson
Fun fact! If you swap out the olives for cocktail onions, the drink becomes a Gibson! Named after the famous London bar of the same name.
Other Styles of Martini
Really, you can substitute the gin or vodka for any spirit. You can also substitute the vermouth! One example is the saketini, where vermouth is replaced by sake, or the tequini, where the gin or vodka is substituted for un-aged tequila!
Tequini Recipe
90ml Tequila Blanco
15ml Dry Vermouth
1 dash Angustura bitters
Twist of lemon or olive as preferred.
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