What makes a Martini, a Martini & a dry Martini, a dry Martini?!
What makes a Martini, a Martini & a dry Martini, a dry Martini?
Just curious as to the types of different alcohol product combos that make up these drinks.
Answers:
Well, a traditional martini is made up of 2 parts Gin and one part Vermouth. Some also make martinis with Vodka instead of Gin.
If it is a "dry martini", then it has less Vermouth -- probably just a splash instead of 1/3 of the drink. If someone asks for "Extra Dry", that's when you just wave the bottle of Vermouth over the Gin without opening the bottle...
Cheers!
A classic martini is gin and vermouth with an olive or two. You can also make the same drink with vodka.
A dry martini has no, or very little, vermouth in it. I like to keep a little tradition so I show the bottle of vermouth to the rest of the ingredients then put it away so the gin and vodka don't get scared.
They're good either way. Vermouth has a distinct flavor and some people like it, others don't.
the quantity of dry vermouth
A martini is traditionally made with gin or vodka. Dry refers to added dry vermouth. Straight up is no added vermouth. But in the past few years when martinis became popular (vogue) martini became a title for any drink served straight up in a martini glass regardless of the ingredients. p.s. a martini can also be served "on the rocks" (over ice) and then there is the ever-famous, shaken not stirred, which is the usual preferred method of preparation.
supposed to be gin with just a drip of dry vermouth in a martini. some like vodka instead. dry martini is less than a drip of vermouth. extra dry is no vermouth. (sounds backwards, huh?) ever heard of a dirty martini? olive juice instead of vermouth
all those fancy martinis out now are just the same thing we used to make when I was a bartneder in the 80's. We just called them shooters! We didnt need no fancy glasses to make us feel important in our libation liberation days.
A Martini is either done with Gin or Vodka. The original classic martini was done with Gin and a hint of white dry Vermouth.
The "dryness" is determined by the amount of white Vermouth put into the martini. The less vermouth the "dryer" the martini.
All these drinks they call "Martinis" today are not real Martinis they are just drinks that have been fancied up in a Martini glass.
A Martini is classically a mix of Dry Gin and Dry Vermouth (the white kind not the sweet red vermouth) that is chilled either by shaking over crushed ice or stirred over ice and thenpoured out into a broad conical martini glass and garnished with an olive, cocktail onion or twist of citrus peel.
A dry martini involves less vermouth. One classic way of achieving this in a shaken martini is that vermouth is poured over ice, mixed and then poured out. Then gin is added and shaken, flavoured only by the touch of vermouth coating the ice.
Vodka is often substituted for Gin. By the point that you are mixing a bone dry Vodka martini with no vermouth you are in fact drinking slightly watered down, chilled vodka. This is a much nicer beverage than a mix of gin and vermouth but you might as well call it what it is: Vodka.
If you like the idea of a Martini but find the combination of gin and vermouth to be a vile mix of bitter medicinal and gagging skunkyness , you might want to consider the Manhattan, American Whisky and sweet vermouth garnished with a cherry. Yum
A martini is preferrably gin and a little vermouth. I like mine six parts gin and one part vermouth. As others said, it can be made with vodka as well. Anything else is not a martini, it doesn't mean it isn't a good drink, but not a martini. If you pour straight chilled gin into a martini glass, then its really just a shot of gin. not a mixed drink. Waving the bottle of vermouth is funny, but in the end its a shot of straight booze and not a martini.