For lovers of aperitifs, the Martini cocktail is a point of reference: with a strong and dry taste, it is a drink known, in fact, also with the name of Martini Dry, or simply you can order it at the bar counter asking for a Martini. It is a pre-dinner cocktail based on Gin and Vermouth Dry that can be easily reproduced even at home without shakers, by means of the mixing and straining technique, that is, mixing the ingredients directly in the glass. In today’s guide, you will discover its history, ingredients, and cocktail variations.
How is the Martini cocktail born?
Choosing Martini as an aperitif is often considered a symbol of class and personality, without a doubt it continues to prove itself over time one of the most iconic drinks, present in the menu of any place: ok, but how is the Martini cocktail born? Who knows if behind the great uncertainty about its origins there is the fact that many have tried to grab the idea and the creation of the cocktail. The typical questions on the subject are always the same: where did they invent the Martini? And again, who created the Martini? We know that the drink could have been born in the nineteenth century or so, and then undergo some transformations that have made it gradually drier (dry).
Then there is the famous story of the bartender originally from Arma di Taggia, according to which he was the first to have prepared the cocktail in New York, for the Rockefeller entrepreneur. Or someone wants the Martini cocktail to derive from the Martinez, a drink created by the famous bartender Jerry Thomas, known as the professor, and again, there are those who claim that the Martinez is transformed into the real Martini by Julio Richelieu in 1870. Finally, especially considering the name, it is also thought that it was invented directly by the Turin company Martini & Rossi, producer of white Martini, red Martini and dry Martini which, however, today can no longer be considered Vermouth (one of the basic ingredients of the cocktail) but aromatized wines.
Certainly, the classic image refers to a cocktail with white Martini, served in the triangular cup, which also took the name of Martini cup, decorated with a green olive or a lemon twist. And it is immediately cinema: present in many films, the Martini, in one of its variants, has also become famous for being the favorite drink of James Bond. After this historical introduction, in search of the roots of the cocktail, we discover martini’s original recipe and variations, to be made at home to welcome guests and friends.
Which Gin for the Martini cocktail?
There are those who think that the secret to making the best Martini lies in every single ingredient, to be chosen in a very precise and maniacal way, so many people ask questions such as Gin for Martini cocktails? Which Vermouth is the best? In fact, the gurus of the bartender sector say that the strength of this drink lies exclusively in the myth and style it has generated and in the ritual represented by preparing and sipping it. All this provides us with the assistance to introduce what is the recipe of the Martini cocktail: given that we are talking about a drink obviously belonging to the International Bartenders Association, the following is the latest version of the Martini cocktail IBA recipe, updated to 2011. So, in the Martini cocktail the ingredients are essentially two: 6 cl of Gin and 1 cl of Dry Vermouth, to be poured into a mixing glass full of ice and to be mixed, to then be filtered with the strainer. White martini how to serve it? The Martini cup is a must, as well as the green olive in the glass or, alternatively, the lemon zest resting on its edge. In short, the recipe of Martini Dry is very simple, a bit like that of success, which has always distinguished the cocktail.
Martini cocktail variants
If the Martini Dry cocktail is the original matrix, as often happens in these cases, of the Martini cocktail the variations are numerous: from the Sweet Martini, a sweeter version of the cocktail with the white Martini because it is basic, instead, a cocktail with Martini Rosso, to the Martini Extra Dry.
Also very famous is the Martini cocktail Hemingway, also very dry, characterized by a greater percentage of Gin than Vermouth and served strictly with the lemon twist. Always for lovers of very dry drinks, let’s call them that, there is also the Martini cocktail In and Out, where the sweetness of Vermouth is reduced to a pass in the cup as if to rinse it and that’s it. For those who do not disdain more decisive turns from the original recipe, there is the Vesper, that is the so-called James Bond Martini, characterized by the presence of Vodka and Lillet Blanc, an aromatized wine, as well as Gin. Finally, we must not forget the Martini Rosso cocktail, an easier version of the drink, which can also be done using Gin and Campari and decorating with a slice of orange.
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