Find & make your perfect Martini

Drink Responsibly

We must warn you to drink responsibly, but especially so with Martinis.

Martinis are spirit-forward drinks, often with 85% or more of pure spirit and a full-sized Martini being at least 3 units, they are most certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Please drink Martinis responsibly.

The Martini is known as the King of Cocktails for several reasons: it’s without doubt the most famous of all gin cocktails; it’s one of the oldest cocktails; it’s led to so many variations and other cocktails. But it’s also because of its notoriety for creating more arguments and opinions than any other cocktail.

This guide is about explaining the what and the why of the Martini to get you started on the journey to finding your perfect Martini and how to make it. The aim is in part so you can understand the terms to say when a bartender asks 'Wet or Dry' or any other question relating to how you like your Martini, but mainly it’s for you to learn how to make Martinis at home and experiment.

We all have to start somewhere. While you’ll find lots of examples of other people finding their perfect Martini, everyone’s tastes are different. Therefore, the first thing to understand is that Martinis are entirely personal to you, and only you.

The reason is despite it only having two ingredients – gin (or vodka) and vermouth – the preparation, method, garnish, ratios, gin & vodka, vermouth and finally the style of Martini all have a part to play in the cocktail. It’s no coincidence we’ve structured our guide with these as our section headings.

Next Page: Preparation