Travel may be a little tricky these days, but you can still traverse the globe with these delicious drink recipes to try at home.
Today's cocktail hails from the USA – Martini.
What is it?
Clear, cold and bitingly strong, the Martini is a drinker’s drink and connoisseurs obsess over the details. Gin or vodka? Shaken or stirred? Wet, dry or dirty? And no, the Appletini is absolutely not one of the options.
Origins
The origin of the Martini is as hotly disputed as how it should be mixed. Some say it evolved in the late 1880s when customers would order a Martinez in a San Francisco hotel before taking the ferry to the town of the same name. A more likely story is that the Martini is called after the Italian vermouth brand. Back then a “gin and Martini” mixed in equal parts was a popular tipple, and over time the proportions changed but the name stuck.
You'll need (Serves 1)
ice cubes
1 ¾ fl oz (50ml) gin
¼ fl oz (5ml) vermouth
lemon peel or olives, to garnish
Method
Step 1: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
Step 2: Slowly pour the gin and the vermouth over the ice and let it sit gently until the outside of the shaker is frosted.
Step 3: Strain the liquid into a Martini glass.
Step 4: Garnish with a twist of lemon peel, or three olives skewered on a cocktail stick.
Tasting notes
The drama of this drink begins as you soon as you ask for it – ideally while dressed to the nines in a glamorous bar. Other cocktail orders simply get a nod, but the Martini drinker is fired a round of questions about their precise specifications. Officially it’s down to personal taste, but anyone who truly loves this drink always orders it with gin, bone dry and stirred. Martinis should never be shaken, as this dilutes the liquid and leaves it cloudy – sorry 007. Mr Bond was also partial to the vodka variety, but purists say a true Martini is made with gin.
There’s almost as much to smell in a great gin Martini as in a complex wine – herbal, floral and spicy notes all waft from the glass as it’s raised slowly to the lips. That first sip delivers an icy burn that slides from the mouth to the belly, and after that? Well, it’s just intoxicating on every level.
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This article was originally published in April 2020 and updated in September 2020.
