How dry do folks like their martinis?

[The Knize]

We could have a thread devoted to various ingredients and other aspects of martinis. But I wanted to focus on the proportion of vermouth folks like in theirs. I think I am, to be honest, and therefore perhaps uncool, at 4 to 1 or even 3 to 1 ratio. I have read up a little bit about how the dry or extra dry martini became more fashionable. Some of it does not make sense to me. I would think that back in the day vermouth of truly high quality may not have been as available as it is now. I like good vermouth.

If folks were just going for strength, they did not turn to, say, naval strength gin, and it seems to me the proof of London dry and similar gin and maybe of vodka, too, has gone down over the years. Seems to me gin used to be 90 proof and is now frequently 80 proof.

 

[Multum in parvo]

I rarely have one but mine is a actually a botched Vesper

2oz Gin - Cadenhead‘s Old Raj regular
1oz Vodka - Smirnoff
1/2oz Vermouth- currently Burschik dry or Alfred dry
3 Olives instead of the lemon spiral - now it’s basically Tapas in a glass

Edit: having a glass of chilled Vermouth on its own is much more common for me…

 

[MoreArtful]

...with Tatiana Romanova, aka Daniela Bianchi, seated next to me. And stirred, not shaken.

 

[Tirvine]

I am pretty set on three to one using Dolin and Tanqueray or any other juniper and citrus forward gin. The other night I was at some friends' home and was asked my preferred ratio. I did not query them on the ingredients. I was served a 3:1 with Martini and Rossi and Hendricks and a twist. 6 or 7 to 1 might have been better with that vermouth. Wow. I like my 3:1 with other vermouths, chiefly Vya, for pairing with softer and more modern gins like Bluecoat.

 

[The Knize]

I was served a 3:1 with Martini and Rossi and Hendricks and a twist. 6 or 7 to 1 might have been better with that vermouth. Wow.

Yeah, I hear you there. If I am limiting the amount of a cocktail ingredient because I do not like its flavor/quality, maybe I should not be using the ingredient at all. Hendricks and Bluecoat both seem modern to me. Nice to see Bluecoat get some love!

 

[Tirvine]

Yeah, I hear you there. If I am limiting the amount of a cocktail ingredient because I do not like its flavor/quality, maybe I should not be using the ingredient at all. Hendricks and Bluecoat both seem modern to me. Nice to see Bluecoat get some love!

I agree both are modern but Hendricks seems to have a tad more of that classic martini sharpness. If I were rich I might drink more Isle of Harris in martinis.

 

[The Knize]

Isle of Harris is a new one to me. One local store here seems to have it. I think that is a fair take on Hendricks and Bluecoat. Of course, regular Hendricks has that cucumber, and, I guess, rose, thing going on, which does not seem old school to me. Although I have no idea what gin was like way back!

 

[TexLaw]

It does depend on the gin and the vermouth, but my favorite is a true "dry" martini at 5:1. I usually order it "medium dry," though, because nearly every bartender hears "medium dry" as "dry" and "dry" as "extra dry."

I know I should order with a ratio rather than a term, but up to 3:1 usually works for me, and I sometimes like to be surprised. No bartender ever will overdo it on the vermouth, especially at that level.

 

[Hms123]

I used to use 7:1,

 

[Hms123]

I used to use 7:1, but at some point switched to 4:1. I think it had to do with changing from Dolin’s vermouth to Anitica Carpano. We rotate through lots of different gins: Tanqueray 10, Hendricks, Highclere, Plymouth, St. George Terroir, Sipsmith, Bombay Sapphire, The Chemist…and anything else that catches my attention.

 

[Tirvine]

A couple of years ago my wife and I embarked on a lengthy experiment, trying a wide array of gins and experimenting to find good vermouth pairings and ratios. We used the more common vermouths like Dolin, M & R, Vya, Noilly, etc. The gins included classic London Dry gins like Tanq, Beefeater, Bombay white (much preferred to Sapphire in martinis), and St. George Botanivore. They also included some less traditional ones like St. George Rye and Terroir, Plymouth, Boodle, Brokers, Hendricks, Aviation, Death's Door, Seersucker, Bluecoat, The Botanist, Caorunn, and, of course, Provision, made by my son in law and only available at the Milam and Greene distillery. There were others, but these were among the most memorable. The very soft gins like Plymouth, were the hardest to pair. Boodles needed the most herbal augmentation. Vya helped. The traditional gins like Tanq, Beefeater, and Bombay white all worked well at 3:1 with Dolin. That formulation is also spot on with The Botanist, Isle of Harris, and Caorunn, allowing their amazing subtleties through. Vya worked well with Bluecoat and Aviation. Nothing worked with Death's Door. The three St. George offerings, though each unique, worked with most anything. Terroir is Christmas in a bottle and mows down most vermouths with its marvelous fur tree note. M & R was just not right in martinis, but YMMV. Noilly was always good but hard to balance the ratio.

 

[TexLaw]

M & R was just not right in martinis

That's so very true, but it's EVERYWHERE. Drives me kinda crazy, but I suppose that's because it's so cheap. Like @Tirvine, I prefer to go with a drier martini when they're using M&R.

My favorite vermouth for a martini is Noilly Prat Original Dry (the Extra Dry doesn't really do it for me). Unfortunately, that's hard for me to find around here. A close second (and what I tend to keep around) is Dolin Blanc. Dolin Dry also works nicely if that's the vermouth on hand.

Martini & Rossi vermouth (in any form) has not crossed my threshhold in a very, very long time.

 

[Tirvine]

That's so very true, but it's EVERYWHERE. Drives me kinda crazy, but I suppose that's because it's so cheap. Like @Tirvine, I prefer to go with a drier martini when they're using M&R.

My favorite vermouth for a martini is Noilly Prat Original Dry (the Extra Dry doesn't really do it for me). Unfortunately, that's hard for me to find around here. A close second (and what I tend to keep around) is Dolin Blanc. Dolin Dry also works nicely if that's the vermouth on hand.

Martini & Rossi vermouth (in any form) has not crossed my threshhold in a very, very long time.

I like your take. I have only two vermouths on hand these days, Dolin Dry for martinis and Punt e Mes for Negronis and Manhattans.

 

[The Knize]

Great posts, especially yours, Tirvine. Thanks for sharing the research.

Bombay white (much preferred to Sapphire in martinis)

Yes! So true.

I had not thought of Plymouth as soft, but I think you are right. I think of myself as really liking it for some reason.

 

[camjr]

5oz Tito's vodka (I have big martini glasses)
1oz olive or Claussen pickle brine
Vermouth stays in the other room (although I use it in my Gibsons with Boodles gin).

 

[Moondancer]

Let me begin my screed by stating unequivocally that a martini is made with gin and vermouth. No other spirit can be used if it's called a martini. I will grudgingly allow the use of the word "vodka" paired with the word "martini", but that's as far as I'll go. Anything else is an abomination before God.

A few years back, maybe even ten years ago, I embarked on a quest to find the best vermouth and gins and then the preferred ratio for a martini.
I ended up with Beefeater (#1) and Tanqueray (#2) as the best gins (I really, really like traditional London Dry gins) and Dolin Blanc as the best vermouth.
I tried 3:1 to 8:1 in even number increments. 7:1 (3.5 ounces of gin, 1/2 ounce of vermouth) was my winner. 3 olives used as garnish, typically pimento stuffed but I'll occasionally use blue cheese stuffed olives instead. Also, sometimes I'll add a tablespoon of olive brine to make it somewhat dirty.

FWIW, gin has been my alcohol of choice since I was legal to drink at 18 in 1971 and at 69 years of age, I don't foresee that changing anytime soon.
I limit myself to three nights of gin per week and usually have a couple martinis on Sunday night and G&Ts on two other nights in between.

 

[sentrydriver]

I splash a half ounce of dry vermouth (prefer Noilly-Prat) over the ice. Give a vigorous stir then drain. Follow with 3-4ozs of Bombay Sapphire. Stir for twenty seconds and strain into glass.

 

[DrStrange]

As an example of DRY humor,

I like the mixing instructions from The Kingsman movie:

"... while looking at a bottle of vermouth."

 

[Abz88]

I tend to go with 80ml gin, 10ml dry vermouth, 10ml of olive brine and garnesh with olives (I prefer them dirty).

But I would happily drink a classic 4:1 as well.

Happy to experiment with the gin choice (as long as it's a dry style and not flavoured) as I am a member of the Craft Gin club and get a new gin sent to me every month

 

[Tirvine]

I am fascinated that several people like Dolin blanc. It is great as an apertivo, but I find its sweetness misplaced in a martini.