Sweet Martini
The Martini's original soul.
Gin with a touch of sweet red vermouth, stirred and served ice-cold. Rounder and spicier than the Dry Martini, it recalls that the Martini was born sweet, before dry vermouth changed its character.
- Aperitif
- Stirred
- Glass
- Cocktail glass
- Method
- Stirred
- Strength
- Very strong
- Time
- 2 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Gin
55 ml
-
Sweet red vermouth
15 ml
Garnish
- Maraschino cherry
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a cocktail glass.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice.
- Pour the gin.
- Pour the sweet red vermouth.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a cherry on a pick.
The story
Origins
DocumentedOrigin attested by written sources of the time.
The Martini was born sweet. The first known recipe under that name appears in Harry Johnson's 1888 bartender manual, combining Old Tom gin, sweet vermouth, curaçao, syrup and bitters; the same year Theodore Proulx's guide also printed a Martini. Only when London Dry gin and dry vermouth spread around the turn of the century did the Dry Martini take over, and the version with Italian vermouth became known as the Sweet Martini. The origin of the name remains uncertain: some link it to Martini & Rossi vermouth, already widespread in America. The Sweet Martini appeared on the IBA lists of 1961, 1993 and 2004 before being dropped in 2011.
Sources (6)
- Cocktail Kingdom Library — Martini (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Dissapore — Martini cocktail (Sweet Martini doses) (opens in a new tab) recipe
- Difford's Guide — Sweet Martini (opens in a new tab) recipe
- Wikipedia — List of IBA official cocktails (historical lists) (opens in a new tab) recipe
- IBA — All cocktails (current list, pages 1-6 checked) (opens in a new tab) recipe
- Difford's Guide — Martini history and evolution (opens in a new tab) history
Taste profile
- Strong
- 5 out of 5
- Herbal
- 3 out of 5
- Sweet
- 2 out of 5
