How to make the Familiar Martini
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Time to read 2 min
There are cocktails that come and go with fashion, and then there’s the martini. The martini has somehow managed to be both impossibly glamorous and completely minimal at the same time. Two ingredients, sometimes three if you count the garnish, and yet it’s the drink that bartenders quietly judge each other on.
There are endless stories about the martini’s origin. Some say it evolved from a Martinez in the late 1800s. Others claim it was perfected in the early American hotel bars where guests expected absolute precision from their bartenders. Either way, it became the drink of writers, actors and anyone who wanted to look like they knew what they were doing at the bar.
What’s funny is that despite the martini’s reputation for being complicated, it really isn’t. The entire drink rests on just a few small decisions: the spirit, the vermouth, the temperature and the dilution. When those things are right, a martini feels effortless. When they’re not, it’s instantly obvious
At the distillery we hear the same comment over and over again after someone orders one: “That’s the best martini I’ve had.” It always makes us smile a little, because the truth is there’s no trick involved. The difference is largely down to the gin.
Our martinis are made with Butler’s Gin, which has an unusually smooth mouthfeel. The botanicals are clean and bright but the spirit itself is soft and rounded, so when it’s stirred with vermouth the drink doesn’t come across as sharp or aggressive. Instead it lands silky and cold, exactly the way a martini should.
Ingredients
60ml Gin or Vodka
15ml Blanco Vermouth
Your choice of garnish: An olive or lemon twist
Directions
In a mixing glass filled with ice, pour 60ml of Butler’s Gin (or Viscount Vodka if you prefer a vodka martini) and add 15ml of Blanco Vermouth.
Stir it properly, not a quick swirl, but a calm stir that chills the drink and softens it slightly with dilution.
Once it’s icy cold, strain it into a frozen Nick & Nora glass and finish with a few olives
That’s the whole drink.
The real magic is in temperature. The best martinis are extremely cold, almost viscous, and the easiest way to achieve that at home is to cheat a little. Keep your gin or vodka in the freezer so it’s already icy when you pour it. Do the same with your glass. When both the spirit and the glass are properly chilled, the martini holds its temperature beautifully and the texture becomes noticeably silkier.
Then there’s the garnish, which people tend to treat as decoration but actually changes the drink quite a bit.
An olive martini brings a savoury edge that works beautifully with gin. At the distillery we like using large Sicilian green olives because they’re firm and have a good crunch when you bite into them. If you add a small splash of olive brine you’ll end up with what’s known as a dirty martini — saltier, richer and very satisfying
If olives aren’t your thing, a lemon twist creates a completely different mood. Expressing the oils from the lemon peel over the surface of the drink releases a bright citrus aroma that lifts the botanicals in the gin. It makes the martini feel lighter and more fragrant.
There are plenty of debates about ratios, shaking versus stirring, or whether vodka even belongs in a martini at all. But once you strip away the arguments, the martini is really just about balance and temperature. Good spirit, good vermouth, lots of cold. Get those things right and the drink takes care of the rest. And that’s how we like it.
