And where do you draw the line? Bartender Matt Linklater gives us a crash course on the history of this timeless cocktail.
For bartenders and cocktail fans alike, the Martini is the litmus test for any bar worth its salt – or brine. So, what exactly defines a Martini? Back in the ‘Golden Age’ of cocktails (1806–1919), it was all about the Classic Martini, when dry gin and vermouth were the latest liquors and ice was a luxury. In the rebellious 1990s, the term was co-opted to describe basically anything served in a V-shaped glass. Today, you’re more likely to have your arctic-cold Dry Martini made the day before and poured from a flask, or a Dirty Martini served with a literal tower of olives.
What seems like a simple question is layered with history, fashion, taste and trend, so let's trace the journey of the Martini the same way I always recommend them to be enjoyed – in four small sips.
The Martini was born of immaculate conception – that is, no one truly knows who created it first – but thank your god they did. It was a stunning marriage of recipes and ideas in an age where information was slow.
Perhaps the most recognisable of these recipes to our current palate is the Marguerite, which was first published in 1898 in a book called Cocktails: How to Make Them. It has all the foundations of the traditional Martini we know today.
The Marguerite recipe:
- Half fill a mixing glass with cracked ice
- Add 45mL gin (bold and citrus driven, such as Sipsmith), 45mL French vermouth (Noilly Prat works great here) and three dashes of orange bitters
- Stir the mix, and then carefully strain into a Martini glass and garnish with a single olive.
At first sip, this is an extremely refreshing 50:50 Martini, and while personally I’d be happy to stop here, let’s crack on with our Martini journey.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the heavenly concoction of gin and dry vermouth became a staple for cocktail bars as well as home cocktail parties, with each generation tweaking the recipe to their taste. But the first deviation from the traditional recipe came from an author in 1953. Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale starred The Vesper cocktail as 007’s drink of choice, thus spurring the neverending confusion for bartenders and punters alike over the proper technique for making a Martini: shaken or stirred?
James Bond’s Vesper recipe:
- Add to a shaker 40mL Gordon’s Gin, 20mL of vodka (Ketel One works great!), 10mL of Kina Lillet (or the modern version, Lillet Blanc) and ice
- Shake the tin really well until it’s ice cold
- Strain into a Martini glass and garnish with a large, thin slice of lemon peel.
Modern recipes (like our Vesper) sometimes use dry vermouth in place of the Lillet Blanc – use what you have at hand. For those interested, I much prefer my Martini to be stirred (the texture turns to silk), but if you prefer it shaken, or thrown, no shade to you at all.
Martini mania had truly hit by the 1990s – a time of wide shoulders, wide ties and wide glasses. The Martini wasn’t a drink, it was a feeling. If you could dream it (and find a V-shaped glass), you, my friend, had yourself a Martini.
This was the era of Appletinis, French Martinis, Breakfast Martinis, Pornstar Martinis and more, but the biggest icon from this era? It has to be the Espresso Martini, created by Dick Bradsell in London’s SOHO, combining vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso.
As with most Martinis, there is more than one way to whip up this caffeinated classic (see our version here) – even Dick had multiple versions, but his final version drinks as follows.
Dick Bradsell’s Espresso Martini recipe:
- Add to a shaker 50mL of quality vodka (like Belvedere), 5mL cane sugar syrup, 5mL Tia Maria, 10mL Kahlua and 25mL double-strength espresso (the better the coffee, the better the drink!)
- Add ice and shake the mix hard, before fine-straining into chilled V-shaped glass
- Garnish with three coffee beans on top
Now we have some pep in our step, onwards to sip number four!
Since the ’90s, the world has bucked the neo-Martini and moved to drinking more seriously. Bitter was encouraged (hello Aperol Spritz), fresh juice was revered (hiya Daiquiri), and the second Golden Age of cocktails hit its stride (welcome Paper Plane). Although gin boomed through the 2000s, you’d be more likely to find it in a G&T or Negroni than the classic Dry Martini.
But post 2020, something has stirred (not shaken), and the Martini is back in force. Whether it’s the ultra savoury Dirty Martini, or bracingly cold Dry Gin Martini with a twist, this current trend is driven by an appreciation of the classic style with big flavours and the ability to hyper-personalise your serve. Today, choices include everything from dry, wet, dirty, dusty and filthy to 50:50, lemon, olive, onion and orange. And of course, the age-old question, gin or vodka? For me, I’ll take it pre-batched and from the freezer door, with enough to share with friends.
Freezer Door Martini recipe:
- To a large freezer-safe bottle, add in 400mL of gin (I like Never Never Triple Juniper Gin), 150mL of dry vermouth (Dolin Dry Vermouth is a fail-safe) and 100mL of still mineral water
- Seal the bottle and store it in the freezer for at least 8 hours (ideally overnight)
- When ready to serve, pop your glasses into the freezer to chill for 20 minutes
- Pour 65mL of the mix into the frosty glasses and garnish with an olive, onion and lemon peel.
Pouring from one preprepared bottle doesn’t mean you can’t tailor those Martinis exactly to your (and your guests’) liking. Never fear! Here’s a full guide on how to tweak your Freezer Door Martini in any multitude of ways.
