Musing on the Martini

Few cocktails carry such cultural baggage as the Martini.

It can be seen as the epitome of sophistication, and has been used in books and cinema to say something about the character drinking them, both good and bad.  

It’s glamour and danger entwined in a glass.

For some, it’s the subject of a quiet obsession, seeking out the perfect Martini like some search the world for rare orchids, and just as elusive.

At it’s best a Martini is an experience, a moment of Zen. It’s pristine potency offers the opportunity for reflection, perspective, and a slight unmooring from our mundane concerns. It’s never just a drink.

The paradox is that it’s the simplest of cocktails to construct: some gin, some Dry Vermouth, stirred over ice, a garnish and poured into a chilled cocktail glass, voila. 

We can all recall our first Martini most likely, and chances are it wasn’t as enlightening or enjoyable as one had hoped, like a bad first kiss or worse.  

One has had Martinis with more ice than sank the Titanic in the glass, sans garnish, or served in a rocks glass with a black pizza olive floating at the bottom. It’s a jungle out there. 

So let’s be clear from the start, just because something comes in a cocktail glass, with ‘tini’ on the end of it’s name, does not qualify it as a Martini.

It’s also the only cocktail that’s made in collaboration with the maker, so if you’re in a bar, you’ll be asked what style, spirit, garnish, what ratio and so forth, it’s bespoke. With thousands of fine spirits and vermouths now available, the permutations are simply infinite.

Over time the style changed and there was less Dry Vermouth (usually French) added to the mix. An older style was the Perfect Martini, which is 50/50 Dry Vermouth and Gin.

So the less Vermouth you have, the drier the Martini.  It’s a matter of taste. My rule of thumb is that the more flavoursome the spirit, the less Vermouth I’ll use. No use competing, they’re mean to compliment.

There is an alchemy between the spirit and vermouth that is an essential part of the cocktail, it adds another dimension to the flavour profile.

There is also the matter of garnishes: the classic lemon peel, or olives (always an odd number) are the usual options.  Some work better than others in a particular gin, and provide both the essential visual beauty to the Martini, as well as tease out yet more complexity in the cocktail’s flavour.

Then there are the black sheep of the Martini family, the Dirty and the Gibson. 

The Dirty, which can come in a spectrum of intensities such as the Filthy, offers lovers of salty flavours sipping pleasure by adding several bar spoons of the olive brine to the cocktail.

 

Some civilised bars even offer additional brine in small jars and extra olives for adding more as you go. 

The Gibson Martini switches it’s garnish to a white cocktail onion for a savoury kick. Look out for a cameo appearance by this Martini in North by Northwest in the sultry train seduction scene with Kim Novak and Garry Cooper.

Notwithstanding the classics, a version from the 80’s has it’s fans today: the Espresso Martini. So popular now you can buy it pre-mixed in cans and bottles and on tap. This one you can shake. 

You’ll need vodka, some cold press coffee liqueur (and there some excellent Australian made versions now available) and a shot of espresso. In a shaker with lots of ice, and as Taylor Swift sings, shake it baby. Keep going. Then some.

The more you do the frothier it will be. Garnish with coffee beans, or perhaps some dusted nutmeg. 

If there is one thing that can make or break a Martini, it’s the temperature. A great Martini must be as cold as possible, otherwise it’s just a glass of warm booze.  To achieve this at home, keep your glasses and mixing glass in the fridge, and you can pre-chill your gin in the freezer a few hours before cocktail hour.

Pro-tip: keep your vermouth in the fridge too, it will extend it’s life as it will deteriorate over several weeks once opened.

The stirring over ice is also not just about chilling it down, some dilution is required to round out the alcohol, and open up the flavours in the spirit and vermouth.   Then once stirred to a suitably frosty temperature, strain into your chilled glass, add your garnish, and a few drops of Orange Bitters to lift the aromatics in a subtle way.

In Australia we’re well served by some first class bars with world class spirits that mean the days of poor Martinis are well behind us. 

Some are getting adventurous switching out garnishes for drops of tinctures such as lavender or rosemary, these can tease out some of the botanicals in a spirit in interesting ways.

There are over a dozen excellent vermouths such as Causes and Cures from the Yarra Valley which is semi dry, or from the Adelaide Hills Distillery or Maidenii offering a fresh take with native botanicals in the mix. 

With these, less is more, as their beautiful flavours can be very pronounced. 

So in a Dry Martini, use 5-10ml of Vermouth to 50-60ml of Gin of these.

And with over 620 makers of gin in Australia there’s no shortage of expressions to choose from, and I reckon there must be over 6000 gin brands existing now.

Traditionally, the Martini calls for a London Dry style gin, so some of the Australian options include the elegant Old Young’s 1829 from Western Australia, from South Australia Never Never’s Triple Juniper Gin for a intense and rich cocktail or the fragrant Applewood Distillery Gin. From Sydney Archie Rose’s Distillers Strength Gin offers great spice, perfect for a Dirty Martini and the Melbourne Gin Company’s Dry Gin offers complexity and a full mouth feel in a Martini.

My go-to house pour gin for a Martini is the classic Plymouth Gin, but for Vodka lovers, look out for Vestal from the UK via Poland.

For your Espresso Martini look out for Lawrenny’s luscious Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, or the release from Mr Blacks.

So it’s reassuring to know that we’re living in the golden age of craft spirits and for the Martini lover, there has never been a better time to seek that perfect cocktail moment.