A chilled gin martini served up in a graceful cocktail glass is one of the most elegant drinks you can order out—but the truth is, it’s remarkably easy to make one at home. The recipe for a classic martini is fairly straightforward, just gin and vermouth, plus an olive or lemon twist if desired. The key is to stir the drink with lots of ice until it is very, very cold (forget what James Bond said about shaking it), then pour it into a chilled cocktail glass (we like a coupe) to keep everything as cold as possible.

This dry martini recipe calls for five parts gin to one part dry vermouth, which gives the drink a lovely aromatic quality. If you prefer an even drier cocktail, you can lower the proportion of vermouth to ¼ ounce—but don’t leave it out altogether or your drink won’t be a martini at all (just a glass of icy cold gin). That said, there’s no wrong way to enjoy this drink. Over the years people have come up with a long list of martini cocktail variations that are all delicious: You can add a dash of orange bitters to the above ratio to compliment the citrus notes of the spirit, use equal parts gin and vermouth for a Fifty-Fifty, use a combination of dry and sweet vermouths for a “perfect martini” or a combination of gin and vodka for a vesper, add some olive juice to the mix for a dirty martini, or swap the olive for a cocktail onion to make a Gibson.

Vodka martini drinker? This way, please →

Recipe information

Total Time
5 minutes
Yield
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients

2½ oz. London dry gin

½ oz. dry vermouth

Green olive or wide strip of lemon peel for garnish

Preparation

In a mixing glass or cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes, combine 2½ oz. London dry gin and ½ oz. dry vermouth. Stir until well chilled, at least 30 seconds, then strain into chilled martini glass. If garnishing with a green olive, thread olive onto a cocktail pick and gently lower into glass; if garnishing with a lemon peel, pinch the peel over the drink to express its oils, then brush the rim of the glass with the peel and drop peel into glass.

Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed online in February 2007. Head this way for more classic cocktail recipes →

TagsCocktail Alcohol Beverages Martini Vermouth Gin Quick Easy 5 Ingredients or Fewer Dairy Free Soy Free Nut Free Gluten Free Epicurious

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Reviews (50)

fine martini ratios and some of the corniest reviews ive ever had the pleasure to read
- rosemary
- 1/7/2023
Awesome
- Anonymous
- 2/22/2023
My olive of choice is double stuffed with garlic and jalapeño.
- Anonymous
- 4/3/2023
I grew up in a martini forward household. My parents shared their ritual every evening prior to dinner. I watched as over the years their concoctions changed from gin and dry vermouth. Olives for mom and onions for dad to eventually straight vodka. This last wholly uninspiring. My own has evolved from Bombay Saphire through Kirkland original gin formulation (it was actually quite good), to our current gin of choice; Tanquery. As far as vermouth I have gone from atomizing Noilly Prat through Cmoz blanching my latest find LoFi dry from Napa. The proportions have also increased from atomizing to the now classic 2/1. The better the vermouth the more it enhances the gin. As for accessories; Kirkland garlic and jalapeño stuffed queens can’t be beat. I have also moved from shaken to stirred. I believe the right way to make a proper martini is to make the one you like to drink.
- Bob
- San Diego
- 9/20/2023
My standard order is a Bombay Sapphire martini straight up with three olives, shaken as cold as it can get. To me, the last part is the most important. Shake your martini to get it icy cold. Ideally the glass is chilled, as well. In my experience, stirring can never get the martini as cold as shaking. But stirring is much easier, which is why I think people gravitate to stirring over time when making martinis at home. Go to a bar, and get a bartender to do the work. The results are worth it. As for the gin, Sapphire to me is best because it has a very clean flavor. I can’t stand all these botanical gins, at least not for a martini. Vermouth is important too, and I confess that I have an affinity for the classic Martini and Rossi, because of the name. Despite many different origin stories, I choose to believe that Martini and Rossi deserve credit for adoption of the cocktail as a marketing ploy. Noilly Prat is great and higher end vermouths are very good as well. I have never had a martini with sweet vermouth. Always dry, which I believe is the original meaning of the phrase “dry martini” since the earliest martini-like recipes from the 1880s used sweet vermouth. Three olives are for beginning, middle and end. Almost any green, stuffed olive will do as long as it’s fresh. There’s nothing worse than soggy old olives.
- Charles Ripley
- 12/31/2024
Martini's are absolutely delicious!!! There is no substituting a dirty martini(made with olive juice) on a wonderful evening with friends! This recipe will not only satisfy your quench but will make the evening even more enjoyable!!
- epdecker355
- Katonah, NY
- 3/1/2007
The Martini is my choice before dinner. I used Vodka for years, and yes sans vermouth eventually. I am not a Gin and vermouth Martini lover. This recipe is excellent...stirred.
- gabulldog66
- Reno
- 3/3/2007