A Martini is gin (or vodka) and dry vermouth, stirred over ice and strained into a chilled coupe with a lemon twist or olive garnish. The drink probably evolved from the 1860s Martinez. Over decades it got drier, colder, and the name shortened. By the 1920s it was its own thing. By the 1950s it was the American business lunch.

Which is better, a gin Martini or a vodka Martini?

They are different drinks and both valid. A gin Martini has structure and aromatic complexity from the gin's botanicals playing off the vermouth's herbs. A vodka Martini is cleaner and colder, more about texture than flavour. If you do not know which to order, try a gin Martini first. Switch to vodka if the botanicals are too much.

The Martini: A Practical Deep Dive Into the Most-Discussed Cocktail on Earth

Q: What is the right ratio of gin to vermouth in a Martini?

There is no single answer. 50:50 is a wet Martini with vermouth genuinely tasting. 4:1 or 3:1 is the modern bartender's default. 5:1 or 8:1 is American hotel-bar standard, cleaner and gin-led. Very dry is essentially gin with a hint, vermouth rinsed and tipped out. Our default if you just say Martini is 4:1, stirred, with a twist.

Q: Should a Martini be stirred or shaken?

Stirred. Shaking aerates the spirit (cloudier), over-dilutes it (crushed ice melts faster), and bruises the gin by oxidising volatile aromatics. The Bond character orders shaken because Ian Fleming personally preferred it that way, not because it is standard. Most bartenders will stir by default. If you want shaken, ask for shaken.

No cocktail has had more written about it than the Martini, which is impressive for a drink with only two ingredients. The arguments are real and most of them resolve to personal taste. Here is the practical version of what each choice actually does to the drink.

Where it came from

The Martini probably evolved from the Martinez, a sweeter gin and vermouth cocktail served at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco in the 1860s. Over the decades the drink got drier (less vermouth, more gin), colder (stirred longer, served in a chilled glass), and the name shortened. By the 1920s the Martini was its own thing. By the 1950s it was the American business lunch. By the 2000s, somehow, the drink was almost gone, replaced by vodka martinis and flavoured "martinis" that were only Martinis in name. The cocktail revival saved it; the proper Martini is now back on serious menus everywhere.

The ratio: wet, dry, very dry

The whole argument is here. A Martini is gin (or vodka) and dry vermouth. How much vermouth is the question.

50:50 (a "wet Martini" or a "Martini with vermouth showing"): equal parts. The vermouth is genuinely tasting; the drink has herbal and floral notes from the vermouth's botanicals. Closer to how Martinis were made in the 1900s and 1910s. Some serious bartenders prefer this and so do we, on the right night.

4:1 or 3:1: the modern bartender's default. Enough vermouth that the drink reads as gin plus vermouth, but the gin is clearly the lead.

5:1 or 8:1: American hotel-bar standard from the mid-century. The vermouth is more of a wash than an ingredient. Cleaner, drier, more straightforwardly gin-led.

"Very dry" / "in-and-out" / "perfumed": a teaspoon of vermouth swirled around the glass and tipped out before the gin is added. Essentially gin with a hint. Often associated with Winston Churchill, who reputedly only glanced at a bottle of vermouth across the room while pouring his gin.

Our take: a 4:1 with a great London Dry gin and a fresh, refrigerated dry vermouth is the most-pleasurable Martini for most palates. If you order one and just say "Martini," that is what we will probably build. Tell us if you want it wetter or drier; we will adjust.

Gin or vodka

A Martini is a gin drink by default. A "vodka martini" is a different drink. Both are valid; calling them by separate names is honest.

Gin Martini: the original. The gin's botanicals carry the drink. The vermouth's herbs play off the gin's juniper. A Gin Martini has structure and aromatic complexity.

Vodka Martini: cleaner, colder, more about texture than flavour. The vodka contributes only mouthfeel and chill; everything else has to come from the vermouth, the olive brine if you go dirty, or the garnish. Easier to drink if you do not love juniper. Less interesting to dissect.

If you do not know which to order: try a Gin Martini first. If the herbal botanical character is too much, switch to vodka next time.

Stirred or shaken

We have a longer piece on stirred vs shaken generally. For the Martini specifically: stirred is correct.

Shaking a Martini does three things: aerates the spirit (making it cloudier), over-dilutes it (crushed ice melts faster), and "bruises" the gin (oxidises the volatile aromatics). The Bond character ordered shaken because Ian Fleming personally preferred it that way, not because it is the standard. If you want a shaken Martini, ask for it shaken and the bartender will build one. Most bartenders will stir if you do not specify.

Olive or twist

The garnish is functional, not decorative.

Lemon twist: the expressed lemon oil adds a bright citrus top note to the gin's botanicals. The most classical garnish. Our default for a Gin Martini.

Olive: the brine on the surface of the olive adds salt and umami. The olive itself is a small snack. Our default for a Vodka Martini, or for a Gin Martini if you want it saltier and more savoury.

Both: some drinkers want both. Fine. Tell us.

Onion (pickled cocktail onion): turns the drink into a Gibson. Tart, slightly savoury, harder to find a good onion locally. Worth trying once.

Dirty, filthy, and the salty Martini

A "dirty Martini" has olive brine added to the drink itself, usually a teaspoon. The drink reads saltier and more umami; the visual becomes slightly cloudy.

"Filthy" is colloquial for a Martini with a lot of olive brine. Not standardised; some bartenders use it for two teaspoons, some for three. Just tell us how dirty you want yours.

We use Castelvetrano olives or Spanish Manzanilla olives when we can; the brine from cheap supermarket olives has a vinegary character that fights the gin.

The vermouth question

The most-overlooked Martini ingredient. We have a full piece on vermouth but the Martini-specific takeaways are these:

Refrigerate your vermouth. Vermouth is fortified wine, not spirit. It oxidises within weeks of opening at room temperature. A Martini made with a six-month-old bottle of vermouth that has been sitting in a kitchen cupboard is a meaningfully worse drink than one made with fresh vermouth.

Use good vermouth. Dolin Dry, Noilly Prat Original Dry, or Mancino Vermouth Secco are the bottles we reach for. Martini & Rossi Extra Dry is the workhorse and will do, but a bottle that costs twice as much is a measurably better Martini.

Add orange bitters. A dash or two of orange bitters into a Martini is a tradition that fell out of favour in the mid-century and came back during the revival. The orange bitters complement the gin's citrus character and brighten the drink. Worth trying with your next one.

Temperature

A Martini must be cold. Genuinely cold. Cold glass, cold liquid, ice that has been spinning long enough to chill the drink to within a few degrees of freezing. A warm Martini is a tragedy.

How we do it: chill the coupe in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes before service. Stir the gin and vermouth in a mixing glass with plenty of ice for 25 to 40 seconds. Strain into the chilled coupe. Express the lemon peel over the surface. Serve immediately.

The first sip should feel almost too cold. The drink warms over the 10 to 15 minutes you spend with it, and the flavour shifts slightly as it does. The second half tastes more of the vermouth than the first half. Both are part of the drink.

How to order

If you just say "Martini," most bartenders will build a Gin Martini, around 4:1, stirred, with a lemon twist, no orange bitters unless they default to it. If that is what you want, you do not need to say anything more.

If you want adjustments, the language to use:

"Wet, please" (more vermouth).
"Very dry" (almost no vermouth).
"Vodka, not gin."
"With an olive" or "twist" or "both."
"Dirty" (with olive brine) or "extra dirty."
"Stirred" (default; only worth saying if the bar is known for shaking).

One sentence covers almost any variation: "Gin Martini, slightly wet, with a twist, please." We will build it exactly.

How to drink it

Slowly. A well-made Martini at proper cold is meant to last 10 to 15 minutes. Knocking it back in two sips is missing about 70% of what the drink does.

If your Martini gets warm before you finish it, that is a sign you ordered something else than what you wanted. Try a smaller drink next time (a 75ml pour rather than a 90ml pour) so you stay in the cold zone the whole way through.

If you would like to try a properly-stirred Martini at our bar, reserve a quiet seat. It is the kind of drink that benefits from the room being settled.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Martini?

A Martini is gin (or vodka) and dry vermouth, stirred over ice and strained into a chilled coupe with a lemon twist or olive garnish. The drink probably evolved from the 1860s Martinez and got drier and colder over the decades. By the 1920s it was its own thing.

What is the right ratio of gin to vermouth?

No single answer. 50:50 is a wet Martini with vermouth genuinely tasting. 4:1 or 3:1 is the modern bartender's default. 5:1 or 8:1 is American hotel-bar standard, cleaner and gin-led. Very dry is essentially gin with a hint. If you just say Martini, we will build 4:1 with a twist.

Which is better, a gin or a vodka Martini?

They are different drinks. A gin Martini has structure and aromatic complexity from the botanicals playing off the vermouth. A vodka Martini is cleaner and colder, more about texture than flavour. If you do not know which to order, try gin first. Switch to vodka if the botanicals are too much.

Should a Martini be stirred or shaken?

Stirred. Shaking aerates the spirit, over-dilutes it, and bruises the gin by oxidising volatile aromatics. The Bond character orders shaken because Ian Fleming personally preferred it that way, not because it is standard. Most bartenders will stir by default. If you want shaken, just ask.

Where can I drink a properly stirred Martini in PJ?

Dissolved Solids at 43-1 Jalan SS20/11 Damansara Kim keeps Dolin Dry and Noilly Prat in the fridge with a quality London Dry gin. WhatsApp +60 11-4008 7607. Soluble Solids at 50-1 Jalan SS2/24 will build a Vesper or Gibson on request; WhatsApp +60 11-1682 8651.