Recipes
The Half-Dirty Martini
Two half-dirty martinis on a white background.
Makes 2 Half-Dirty Martinis
Ingredients
4 1/2 oz London Dry gin, such as Bombay Sapphire or Beefeater
3/4 oz olive brine, such as from a jar of Mezzetta Martini Olves
3/4 oz dry vermouth, such as Noilly Prat
Directions
Combine ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Shake or stir until the outside gets frosty, around 30-60 seconds depending on your method.
Strain into two chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with an olive.
The Martini
Calling cocktails “martinis” is like calling all comedians Lenny Bruce. Sure, we’d all like to be him, but there can be only one.
A Martini contains only gin and dry vermouth (orange bitters is optional) and is garnished with olives or a lemon twist. Never vodka (that’s called a Kangaroo). Never onions (Gibson). And if you like it “bone dry, like Winston Churchill liked it,” you’re really just drinking chilled gin (and I judge you).
That said, if you’re looking for a dirty martini recipe, I’ve got you covered.
Making a Martini can be intimidating. A drink with so few ingredients leaves no room for error. Over-pour, under dilute, stare too long at your guests with your mouth gaping and you’re asking for trouble (and a lot of uncomfortable guests).
Some people will (ridiculously) claim that shaking bruises the gin. They are wrong. Shaking accelerates dilution. Shaking drinks that contain sugary ingredients can lead to cloudy cocktails. They’ll look disgusting, but they won’t taste any different.
Makes 1 martini
Ingredients
2 ounces (70 mL) good gin, such as The Walter Collective (my personal favorite)
3⁄4 ounce (20 mL) dry vermouth, such as Noilly Prat
1 dash of orange bitters (optional), such as Angostura
Directions
Put all ingredients in a glass with ice. Any glass will do. Stir for 60 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. I use a julep strainer and think you should too. You could use two forks, as I’ve suggested before. The goal, once again, is to separate ice from the liquid. Garnish with an olive or two. Your other alternative is a lemon twist. Not a slice, a wheel, or wedge. A twist. (See page 10 if you want to know more about why I’m adamant this should be a twist and nothing else.)
The Donna Rosa
This is a riff on the Jasmine cocktail, and by "riff" I mean "I added an egg white and called it something completely different.
This is a riff on the Jasmine cocktail, and by "riff" I mean "I added an egg white and called it something completely different." I named it after the Pink Lady cocktail [just to be confusing, I guess?]. Except in Italian, because...Campari. Does Donna Rosa translate to Pink Lady? Google says "yes", but Google's shifty, so who knows. Whatever you call it, it's wonderful. Give it a try and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ingredients
1 oz gin
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz Cointreau or triple sec
1 egg white
Recipe
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake for at least 30 seconds. 60 seconds is better. You want that egg white completely emulsified and frothy. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Enjoy!
