Martinez
The Martini's ancestor.
Gin and sweet red vermouth in equal parts, enriched with maraschino and orange bitters. Smooth, aromatic and slightly sweet, it is the historical bridge between the Manhattan and the Dry Martini.
- IBA · The Unforgettables
- Aperitif
- Stirred
- Glass
- Cocktail glass
- Method
- Stirred
- Strength
- Strong
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Gin
45 ml
-
Sweet red vermouth
45 ml
-
Maraschino liqueur
1 barspoon
-
Orange bitters
2 dashes
Garnish
- Lemon twist
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a cocktail glass.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice.
- Pour the gin.
- Pour the sweet red vermouth.
- Add a barspoon of maraschino.
- Add two dashes of orange bitters.
- Stir well.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a lemon zest.
The story
Origins
LegendA story passed down, not confirmed by the sources.
The origins of the Martinez are uncertain. Two popular stories credit Jerry Thomas, who supposedly mixed it at San Francisco's Occidental Hotel for a traveller bound for the town of Martinez, or a bartender at a saloon in Martinez, California itself; neither is documented. What is certain is the first printed recipe, in O.H. Byron's Modern Bartenders' Guide of 1884, which describes it as a Manhattan with gin in place of whisky. In 1887 it appears in the posthumous edition of Jerry Thomas's manual, with Old Tom gin, vermouth, maraschino and bitters. Historians see it as an evolution of the Manhattan and an ancestor of the Martini.
Taste profile
- Strong
- 4 out of 5
- Sweet
- 3 out of 5
- Herbal
- 3 out of 5
- Bitter
- 2 out of 5
