The martini has been called “the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet”, (H. L. Mencken) as well as, “the elixir of quietude” (E. B. White). Today the martini is one of the most well known mixed alcoholic beverages. The greatness of the martini lies not only in its simplicity, but also its elegance.

Making the perfect martini is never going to be easy. Not only do you have to worry about which amounts of which ingredients to add, you also have to take into account individual taste. The cocktail that is a martini is one of refined sophistication. There are only a few key ingredients to a great martini, but the preciseness of the preparation and execution of the mixing will determine its true quality. Let’s get started…

Get the Right Equipment

When it comes to perfection, everything matters. If you are sincerely interested in making the world’s best beverage, here is what you will need:

Many of these items can be bought in a set from a variety of big box stores. We recommend purchasing separate pieces as you do not always get the same level of quality in a boxed set. This is especially true in the case of the glasses and the Shaker.

Get the Right Ingredients

A standard martini has only four ingredients:

There will always be a debate about the garnish, but the real issue here is the liquids. There is no substitute for premium-quality gin and good dry vermouth. Without these you have no chance of perfection.

Pre Mix Prep

As anyone will tell you, the perfect martini is always served ice cold. This is not attained by simply adding ice to your mix and shaking or stirring. Both Alcohols should be refrigerated for at least one hour prior to mixing. The glasses should be placed in the freezer for at least 10 min as well. This will ensure that your martini is served at the lowest possible temperature.

Mix it up

The particulars of mixing the perfect martini aren’t set in stone, but one age old question remains. Shaken or Stirred? The difference is simple. To shake a martini is to use a Shaker to mix the ice and gin and then strain the alcohol into your chilled glass over top of the Vermouth and garnish. To stir a martini is to mix both alcohols in a glass or jug with cracked ice until the glass frosts and then to strain it into a chilled martini glass. Because this is solely a matter of preference we will cover both methods.

Shaken:

Take your martini glass out of the freezer and pour ½ oz. of Dry Vermouth into it. Because the glass is chilled swirling the liquid around in the glass will create a film of Vermouth over the entire inside of the glass. Once you have coated the glass in the Vermouth discard the rest of the Vermouth (note: there should only be a few drops in the center of the glass). This may seem wasteful, but perfection is what we are after. Use your olive spear and spear your desired amount of olives (If you prefer lemon peel substitute now, or if you prefer nothing at all simply skip this step) onto it and place it in your martini glass that is now coated in Vermouth. Fill your shaker to the brim with your cracked or crushed ice. Pour 2 oz. of Gin over the ice. Cover the shaker with its top and shake vigorously. Spare no expense with this, as a martini should be cold, so should all of its ingredients. Once you have done this, simply strain the liquid into the glass over top of the preferred garnish.

Stirred:

Because the basic preparation is the same we will only go over the differences between the procedures. Instead of coating your glass in Vermouth you will take a large glass and fill to the brim with the crushed or cracked ice. Pour BOTH alcohols into the glass and slowly stir until the glass becomes frosty. The martini glass can remain chilled until this is done. Once frosty, removed the martini glass from the fridge or freezer, add required garnish, and strain liquid into the glass.

Conclusion

As expected there is much debate over the brand of alcohols to be used. If you have a favorite gin, feel free to use it instead, but if you are unsure of which brand to choose I recommend Beefeater Gin. As for the Vermouth the same applies. My choice is Martini & Rossi Dry Vermouth.

Here are a few key points that all makers should be aware of before we part: Regardless of the type of alcohol use choose or the type of garnish, KEEP IT COLD. There is no excuse for a martini served warm. This is also why I recommend crushed or cracked ice. The increase of surface area will allow the liquid to reach the coldest possible temperature the fastest.

Please enjoy responsibly!