Martini

Martini Glass

Shaker Tin

Ice

Gin 1 1/2 oz

Dry Vermouth 1/2 oz

Bitters dash

Olive

Add ice, gin, and vermouth to shaker tin. Stir for roughly 30 seconds and strain into a martini glass. Add a dash of bitters and one olive.

If you think that a cocktail consisting of only two main ingredients is a simple drink to make, you're mistaken. Martini enthusiasts will argue for hours about the proper gin to vermouth ratio, whether it should be stirred or shaken, even about how the olive should be prepared. Purists will complain that a vodka martini is not in fact a martini and are offended by the word combination. Bring up just about any aspect on how to mix a martini in front of those that hold a passion for the drink, and you'll likely have started an argument.

Like the margarita, there are many different stories regarding the origin of the martini. One thing is for certain, the drink has gotten consistently drier over the years. The drink is a descendant of the Martinez, a sweet cocktail with more sweet vermouth in it than gin.

As the drink aged it became progressively drier. The classic martini had a ratio of roughly 2:1 (gin to sweet vermouth). The modern drink is roughly 3:1 and can go as low as 5:1. Often times patrons will ask for just a splash of sweet vermouth. I've heard of customers requesting that a drop of vermouth be rolled around in the glass and then poured out before the gin is added.

Winston Churchill, according to stories would order a martini without any vermouth at all. The closest he'd come to sweet vermouth was to stare at the bottle from across the room while sipping his drink. Whether or not a drink with only ingredient can actually be called a cocktail is debatable.