Top 3 Most Popular Martini Recipes

From modern roof-top bars to the world’s favorite secret agent, the Martini is one of the most popular and famous cocktails in all of mixology. Originally, this cocktail was made with hefty parts of both gin and vermouth. Little by little, the cocktail started ignoring the vermouth part of the cocktail and becoming more gin heavy. Recently, the term Martini also started describing drinks that aren’t explicitly Martini’s per se, rather “Martini-style” cocktails.

In any case, the world of Martini cocktails is diverse and one that everyone can get to know! Here are our choices for some of the most popular Martini recipes.

The Classic

Shaken, stirred, dirty, perfect, with a twist—there are loads of ways to order a traditional Martini. All of these come from a timeless, classic archetype of the rich drink. This is the classic Martini. It has no flashy gimmicks, no extra ingredients. Gin, vermouth, and style are all you need. 

The ingredients for a classic Martini:

• 3 ounces of gin
• 1 ounce of vermouth, preferably dry
• Olive and a toothpick (or lemon twist) to garnish

How to make a classic Martini:

1. Crack some ice into your stirring glass 
2. Pour your vermouth into your serving glass of choice, rotating the glass to coat the walls completely
3. Pour the vermouth from the serving glass and then the gin into the ice-filled stirring glass and stir until very chilled 
4. Strain the liquids into your serving glass
5. Garnish 

The world’s favorite secret agent deserves an equally tough cocktail, right? But, how do you make an already spirit heavy cocktail even tougher? Add more spirits, of course! James Bond’s drink of choice is an even stronger Martini that is, of course, shaken and not stirred. Some might advocate against shaking your Martini, claiming that it dilutes and froths up your drink too much. While this might be true, it’s also likely the least of a secret agent’s worries.

Bond’s drink of choice is a Vesper Martini, which is a Martini that takes both gin and vodka. To make one for yourself, you’ll need:

• 3 ounces of gin 
• 1 ounce of vodka 
• ½ ounce of vermouth 
• Lemon peel to garnish 

To make a Vesper Martini: 

1. Pour the vermouth into your serving glass and coat the whole surface
2. Fill a shaker with ice
3. Pour in the vermouth as well as your vodka and your gin
4. Shake until very chilled 
5. Strain into your serving glass 
6. Garnish with the lemon peel 

Manhattan

We mentioned the term Martini becoming less of a specific drink and more of a cocktail style, and the Manhattan is a good example of that. Just as with the classic Martini, the Manhattan is a cocktail mixed with only a few simple ingredients. Also like the classic Martini, this cocktail can easily be modified in loads of different ways, from a few extra ingredients to creative garnishes.

The Manhattan is a classic in its own right. Here’s what you need to make one yourself:

• 2 ounces of whiskey, rye or bourbon 
• 1 ounce of sweet vermouth 
• Angostura bitters 
• Cherry for garnish 

To put this together:

1. Fill a mixing glass with ice
2. Pour in the whiskey, vermouth, and 3 dashes of bitters
3. Stir until very chilled 
4. Strain into your serving glass 
5. Garnish with the cherry 

Pick up liquor and ingredients for these cocktails to make at home at your local Zipps Liquor store!

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