The drink with two ingredients

A Dry Martini is gin, a splash of dry vermouth and ice. That is the whole list, so every small choice shows: how much vermouth, how long you stir, how cold the glass is. Get them right and the drink is silky, cold and clean. Get them wrong and it is either a glass of warm gin or a watery mess.

The International Bartenders Association (IBA) lists the official Dry Martini as 60 ml gin and 10 ml dry vermouth, stirred with ice, strained into a chilled cocktail glass, with lemon peel oil squeezed over the top and a green olive if you want one. That is a 6:1 ratio. It is a good starting point, not a law.

Why it is stirred

Shaking and stirring both do the same two jobs: chill the drink and add a little water from the melting ice. Shaking does them harder and faster, and it also whips in tiny air bubbles, which turn a spirit-only drink cloudy and a bit frothy. A Martini has no juice, cream or egg to benefit from that. So you stir: it stays clear, heavy on the tongue and smooth.

Water matters more than most people expect. A stirred drink typically gains somewhere around a fifth to a quarter of its starting volume in melted ice. That water softens the alcohol burn and lets the botanicals of the gin come forward. Skip it and the drink tastes hot and sharp.

Try the ratio

Slide the vermouth up or down and watch what happens to the glass and the strength. Older recipes often use far more vermouth than modern ones, close to equal parts; today most bars pour much less. Neither is wrong.

Method, step by step

1. Chill the glass. Put the cocktail glass in the freezer, or fill it with ice and water while you work. A warm glass undoes your stirring.
2. Fill a mixing glass with plenty of fresh, hard ice. More ice means less melting for the same chill, so the drink stays strong and clean.
3. Add the vermouth, then the gin. Measure both; this is a drink where a splash too much shows.
4. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds with a long spoon, smoothly, so the ice turns without clattering. The outside of the glass should feel cold and frosty.
5. Strain into the chilled glass, discarding the ice and any water from the cocktail glass first.
6. Garnish. Hold a strip of lemon peel over the drink, skin side down, and squeeze so the oils spray over the surface. Or drop in a green olive.

Why it works

Gin is built from juniper plus other botanicals such as citrus peel, coriander and angelica root. Dry vermouth is wine that has been fortified (a little spirit added) and flavoured with its own herbs and bark. Served alone, strong gin reads as sharp and one-note. A small amount of vermouth adds a thin layer of wine acidity and herbal bitterness, which joins the botanicals together. Chill and water then smooth it all out.

Because there are only two ingredients, there is nowhere to hide: use a gin you already enjoy and vermouth that is fresh.

That last point is the most common mistake. Vermouth is wine. Once opened, it oxidises, and a bottle left on the shelf for months turns flat and stale. Keep it in the fridge with the cap on and aim to finish it within a month or two.

Variations, including a lighter one

• Dirty Martini: add about 10 ml of olive brine to the mixing glass, and garnish with olives.
• Gibson: the same drink, garnished with a cocktail onion instead of an olive or lemon.
• Vodka Martini: swap in vodka. It is cleaner and plainer, since vodka has no botanicals.
• Lower-strength version: go the other way on the slider, 1:1 or 2:1. More vermouth and less gin lowers the strength a little (the slider shows by how much), and the drink turns softer and more herbal. For a no-alcohol drink, chill a dry alcohol-free aperitif or botanical spirit with a pinch of salt and a lemon twist; it will taste different, but it keeps the ritual.

Whatever you pour, remember that a Martini is a strong drink, roughly 28 to 30% alcohol by volume once stirred. One is plenty; take your time over it and never drive afterwards.