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The Dry Martini is cocktail number 52 on the Swank Cocktail Guide.

The battle of the Dry Martinis

We drink a martini every other day. Literally (correct use of the word) – and we have for years. So, we have an idea of how we like our martinis. We prefer extra dry martinis, made somewhat close to the manner preferred by Winston Churchill.

“I would like to observe the vermouth from across the room while I drink my martini.”

Attributed to Winston Churchill

So, for this cocktail, we decided to make three versions:

Martini #1: The Swank Dry Gin Martini

The first martini in the battle was a gin martini using the Swank recipe, which includes quite a bit of vermouth:

4 parts Dry Gin, 1 part Dry Vermouth, 1 dash Bitters (optional). Stir with ice. Serve with Olive or Lemon twist in chilled glass.

Martini #2: Extra Dry Gin Martini

For our extra dry martinis, a tiny bit of vermouth is added to ice cubes in a mixing glass, then completely poured off. The gin or vodka is added to the ice, stirred, and then strained into the martini glass.

We used this method for both of the extra dry martinis, except we also added 1 dash of bitters to the gin martini when stirring to make a middle of the road version between our version and the Swank recipe. We’d never added bitters to a martini before and wanted to test it out without all. the vermouth.

Martini #3: Extra Dry Vodka Martini

Using the same method described above, an extra dry vodka martini with two Greek olives and one cocktail onion served in a Waterford Martini glass. The olives must Greek. We have sipped vodka martinis around the world – Singapore, London, Toronto, Paris, Vancouver, Dublin, Venice, Athens, and across the US, and the one thing we swear by are Greek olives. We do sometimes disagree about the quantity of olives vs. onions, but whatever the combination, it always totals three.

Ingredients used:

Dry Martini cocktail review

Our ratings (1-5 🍸)

Not surprisingly, we preferred the extra dry martinis, whether vodka or gin. We both liked the gin with the bitters too; it was an interesting addition.

Next up… Cocktail # 53, Martini on the Rocks

Swank Cocktail Guide: 80 cocktails in 80 days