Martinez Cocktail Recipe
The missing link between the Manhattan and the Dry Martini: gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino and bitters.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 26%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Gin45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Maraschino liqueur7 ml (0.2 oz)
- Angostura bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Express a lemon twist over the drink.
Garnish
Lemon twist
What it tastes like
The spirit is right out front and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
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
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
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.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- Maraschino liqueur
- A clear liqueur made from marasca cherries. It has nothing to do with the red jarred cocktail cherry — it smells of almond kernel and flowers, and it is dry, not sweet.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
The Story
Documented in the 1880s and sweeter than anything called a Martini today; the drink drifted drier decade by decade until the vermouth all but vanished.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Martinez mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Martinez?
- Roughly 26% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Martinez 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 Martinez hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.