Gibson
The onion Martini
A Dry Martini in a tuxedo with one rebellious detail: the olive is swapped for a pickled cocktail onion. That single onion lends a faint savory, briny edge that sets the Gibson apart from its sibling — same austere gin-and-vermouth backbone, different finish.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 oz Gin
- 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
Method
Add gin and dry vermouth to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir for 20-30 seconds until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail onion.
First documented in Edward W. Townsend's *New York World* article (February 13, 1898). Earliest published recipe in William Boothby's *The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them* (1908). The Gibson's origins remain contested: one account credits San Francisco businessman Walter D. K. Gibson at the Bohemian Club (1890s); another credits Charles Dana Gibson (the Gibson Girl illustrator) and bartender Charley Connolly at The Players Club, New York. Boothby's 1908 recipe makes no mention of the now-signature pickled onion garnish; cocktail historians date the onion garnish to the 1920s. Per Difford's Guide #830.
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