Dry Martini (Gin, Vermouth & a Cold Glass)

The Martini is the original spirit-forward cocktail and the one every bartender is quietly judged on: good gin, a measure of dry vermouth, stirred long and served brutally cold. There’s nowhere to hide, which is the whole appeal.

Use gin you’d drink neat

A Martini is almost entirely base spirit, so the gin (or vodka) is the drink. Pick a bottle you genuinely enjoy on its own — the vermouth seasons it; it can’t rescue it.

Stir, don’t shake

Clear, boozy drinks are stirred so they stay silky and crystal-clear. Thirty to forty seconds over ice chills it and adds just the right dilution. Shaking clouds and over-aerates it — fine if that’s your taste, but it’s not the classic.

Cold glass, one garnish

With no ice in the glass, a chilled coupe is your only insulation. Garnish with an expressed lemon twist for aroma or olives for a savoury edge — never both. For its red, bitter cousin, try the Negroni. More in the Drinks guide.