Dry Martini
The original power move
The undisputed monarch of cocktails. Ice-cold gin with a whisper of dry vermouth — austere, elegant, and revealing of every ingredient's quality. Perfection demands precision.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Gin
- 1/3 oz Dry Vermouth
Method
Pour gin and dry vermouth into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir gently for 20-30 seconds until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist or an olive.
Evolved from the sweeter Martinez (c.1884) and Marguerite cocktails through progressive vermouth reduction. The earliest recipe explicitly titled "Dry Martini Cocktail" appears in Frank P. Newman’s 1904 American-Bar: Recettes des Boissons Anglaises et Américaines (Newman worked at the Ritz, Paris), calling for equal parts gin and dry vermouth; John Applegreen’s 1904 Bar Book ("Martini Cocktail, Dry") may have preceded it, and Louis Muckensturm’s 1906 Louis’ Mixed Drinks also carried a "Dry Martini Cocktail." Per Difford’s Guide (Martini history); IBA (The Unforgettables list). Notes: no single creator — the modern dry form is the endpoint of a progressive drying from the sweeter Martini/Martinez; Martini & Rossi vermouth marketing helped popularize it in the early 1900s.