How to make a quality martini
If you were watching on IG stories a few weeks ago, you would’ve seen my dad and I (mostly my dad) making martinis! Joeys and Absolut Vodka sent me the COOLEST kit with everything you need to make martinis at home. It was way more than I ever needed so I gifted it to my dad for his birthday in September. My dad loves Joey’s and enjoys making cocktails at home so it was the perfect gift. We ended up creating a bunch of IG stories showcasing the martinis he made!
This blog isn’t sponsored by any means! It was just such a cool kit and so many of you responded to the stories that we did so I thought I would summarize how we made them.
The martini is a cocktail made with gin or vodka, and vermouth paired with some kind of garnish. Over the years, the martini has become one of most popular alcoholic beverages. The exact origin of the martini isn’t clear but martinis are thought to have originated in America somewhere in ‘Martinez’ California. A true martini only has 4 ingredients: an alcohol typically gin or vodka, ice, vermouth, and a garnish. The quality of the alcohol is super important. We used the supplies gifted to us for these particular martinis including bitters which is optional.
What does it mean when a martini is shaken or stirred?
Stirred is more gentle and delicate.
Shaken dilutes the alcohol more and cools off faster. It aerates the bubbles and makes it more opaque. You might recall my dad mentioning James Bond in the IG stories. Bond infamously orders his martini “shaken, not stirred”.
What does it mean when a martini is wet or dry?
Wet or dryness depends on the vermouth. The more vermouth you add makes it wetter. In the old days, it was half and half ratio (50/50 gin + vermouth). Nowadays, more people drink dry martinis which is less vermouth. A classical bar martini is about 5-6 parts alcohol to one part vermouth.
What do people mean by a dirty martini?
Dirty refers to adding a briny substance such as olive juice or pickled juice to give the drink a bit more of that saltiness.
How my dad made a vodka shaken martini:
Take a tall glass and put in quality ice. 2.5 oz vodka. Then add roughy 1/2 oz vermouth. Put the top of the shaker on and shake for about 30 seconds. This dilutes, cools, and aerates it. Then take the top off and strain it using a hawthorne strainer to strain into martini glass. Classically with vodka martinis, we use olives. However, onions in a martini is called a Gibson. Bartenders say it’s bad luck to put even numbers of olives in a drink so garnish with 1, 3, or 5 olives and voila!
How my dad made a gin stirred martini:
Again, starting off with adding good quality ice to stirring vessel and 2.5 oz of gin and 1/2 oz of vermouth. You can make it wetter or dryer depending how much vermouth you want to add. Then stir for about 30 seconds. After, strain with a tulip strainer into martini glass. My dad decided to add the orange bitters we were provided with to this one as it gives a nice flavor. Garnish with white pickled onions. He also peeled some lemon and put the rinds right in the martini.
And that’s all! Easy peasy!
Happy martini making! Tag me @jennaswetlikoff if you make any at home martinis!
-Jenna xoxo