There are almost as many martini recipes out there as there are martini drinkers. This drink may have more variations than anything on the menu, so it’s good to know a little about martini specifications before ordering one. You can check last week’s post for my preferred martini specs, but when ordering your own, you might want to consider these:

Dryness-
Dryness can be controlled by the proportion of spirit to vermouth. The less vermouth, the dryer the martini. Over the years, the recipe has evolved to feature less and less vermouth, going from a 1-to-1 ratio (classic) to 1/2 an ounce (dry) to 1/8 of an ounce (extra dry) to leaving it out entirely. The balance of sweet and dry vermouth also affects how you describe the drink. Ordering a martini “perfect” means having equal parts dry and sweet vermouth. My Old Tom recipe is technically also a perfect martini, but calling one of a my favorite drinks “Perfect Old Tom” just felt a little too grandiose.

Dirtiness-
Dirtiness has to do with the amount of olive brine you put in the martini. A dirty martini contains a splash of olive brine, but add more, and you’ve got a filthy martini. Beyond that, you’ve got a nasty martini, and no, that’s not an official drink name; it’s just a description of how it would taste.

Dirty Martini
– 2.5 oz gin or vodka
– .5 oz dry vermouth
– 1/4 oz olive brine
Stir gin/vodka, vermouth, and olive brine and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with olives.

Garnish-
Whether you garnish with olives or a lemon twist is all a matter of personal preference. I’m not an olive guy, so I go with the lemon twist unless someone orders it dirty or requests olives. When in doubt, go ahead and ask. One other variation (the Gibson) substitutes cocktail onions.

Size-
The size of a vodka martini has become something of a joke in recent years. Somewhere in between Don Draper’s heyday and the premiere of Sex and the City, martini glasses became comically large. A 3-Martini Lunch with today’s 9 oz martini glasses would be a fast track to alcohol poisoning, so be conscious of how much you’re taking in!

Shaken of Stirred-
Oh, come on! We covered this last week! Get it stirred. If you ask for it shaken, I’ll still do it because bartending is about hospitality, but you and I both know this drink is intended to be stirred!

Appletini/Chocotini/Espresso Martini/Etc.-
Strictly speaking, a martini is gin or vodka with vermouth and optional bitters. Anything else is a different drink being served in a martini glass. That being said, vodka is a very neutral spirit, so it’s possible to get all sorts of flavors into a vodka drink. Through the use of flavored vodkas, syrups, and liqueurs, the sky’s the limit on possible flavors. Classic cocktail enthusiasts may give you the side-eye for ordering one of these non-martini martinis, but everyone’s palate is different, and bartenders are here to help you explore, not to judge.

The martini has probably undergone more evolution than any other drink. It’s got a rich history and has earned its place in popular culture. When it comes to martinis, make sure to experiment. Try the traditional and modern recipes. Play with garnishes and flavors. Have fun with it! After all, what’s more whimsical than adopting a goofy Sean Connery impression when ordering a drink?