Martini

The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B. White called it "the elixir of quietude". By 1922 the martini reached its most recognizable form in which London dry gin and dry vermouth are combined at a ratio of 2:1, stirred in a mixing glass with ice cubes, with the optional addition of orange or aromatic bitters, then strained into a chilled cocktail glass. Over time the generally expected garnish became the drinker's choice of a green olive or a twist of lemon peel.

The traditional martini comes in a number of variations. The fictional spy James Bond sometimes asked for his vodka martinis to be "shaken, not stirred", following Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), which prescribes shaking for all its martini recipes. The proper name for a shaken martini is a Bradford; however, Somerset Maugham is often quoted as saying that "a martini should always be stirred, not shaken, so that the molecules lie sensuously on top of one another." A martini may also be served on the rocks; that is, with the ingredients poured over ice cubes and served in an Old-Fashioned glass. The exact origin of the martini is unclear. In 1863, an Italian vermouth maker started marketing their product under the brand name of Martini, after its director Alessandro Martini, and the brand name may be the source of the cocktail's name.

ice cubes
2 oz London dry gin or vodka (60 mL)
1 oz dry vermouth (30 mL)

Garnish:
pimiento-stuffed olives
lemon twist

Fill a shaker ¾ full with ice. Add gin and vermouth; cover and shake until condensation forms on the outside of shaker. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Garnish with a olives and lemon twist, if desired.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Tips:

It may be an old bar tale, but it's said that an even number of olives is bad luck.

As with any of the basic martinis, feel free to adjust the gin-vermouth ratio to your liking. The drink can also be made with your favourite vodka.