Making a martini isn’t complicated — at its core the cocktail has just two ingredients (gin or vodka and dry vermouth). However the history and debates surrounding how to make it are very complicated. While the origins of the martini are somewhat hazy it became a popular drink around the turn of the 20th century. The cocktail has continued to evolve steadily straying from its origins becoming drier (i.e. less vermouth) with each passing decade.
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 Harper's BAZAAR | 2016-06-17 18:41:03 |  138,566 Views |
3 Classic Ways to Make a Martini
Today there are hundreds of variations on this classic drink but if you want an easy martini upgrade you should probably look back in time. We need to go back in time to the classic version of this cocktail from the 1930s to the 1950s before anyone had even thought of making a chocolate version of the drink. It’s a simple but delicious recipe that uses 2.5 parts gin to 1 part dry vermouth a dash of orange bitters and a slice of lemon to top it off.
Former NoMad Hotel bartender Matt Seigel makes his martinis with gin "a good amount of vermouth" and the aforementioned orange bitters. Dry vermouth a fortified wine with botanicals that pair well with the spirit once held equal footing with gin in this cocktail but vermouth has gradually become less of a factor. Some customers even ask their bartenders to simply swirl a few drops of vermouth in the glass and pour it out for their extra-dry martinis.
Seigel’s version calls for an extra dash of orange bitters (which he calls “the classic way to do it”). It’s added to a base of 1 ounce dry vermouth to 2.5 ounces gin which is then stirred in a frozen mixing glass full of ice. He serves this martini in a coupe with a lemon peel. Besides the deliciousness of upgrading your martini to this classic version the next time you’re at a bar or restaurant it has the added benefit of preventing you from making a cocktail-ordering mistake that might confuse the bartender.
