Dry Martini Cocktail Recipe
Gin and dry vermouth, stirred and served crisp and cold. The most famous cocktail in the world.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Martini glass
- ABV: 30%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Gin60 ml (2 oz)
- Dry vermouth10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Add gin and vermouth to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir for about 30 seconds until very cold.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist or an olive.
Garnish
Lemon twist or olive
What it tastes like
The spirit is right out front and it hits hard.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
The conical martini glass. Made for drinks served without ice — the stem keeps your hand off the bowl and the cone funnels the aroma upward.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- Dry vermouth
- Dry white vermouth. Same rule as the sweet one: fridge, one month. When someone asks how dry a martini should be, this is the ingredient they are talking about.
The Story
Evolved from the Martinez in the late 1800s, becoming drier as gin quality improved.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Dry Martini mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a martini glass.
- How strong is a Dry Martini?
- Roughly 30% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Dry Martini be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Dry Martini hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.