Vodka Martini
Clear, dry, essential.
The Martini made with vodka: just two ingredients, stirred long and served ice-cold. Neutral vodka leaves room for the herbal notes of dry vermouth and the lemon twist or olive.
- Aperitif
- Stirred
- Glass
- Cocktail glass
- Method
- Stirred
- Strength
- Very strong
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Vodka
60 ml
-
Dry vermouth
15 ml
Garnish
- Lemon twist
- Green olive (optional)
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a cocktail glass.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice.
- Pour the vodka.
- Pour the dry vermouth.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Express the lemon twist over the drink and garnish, or add an olive.
The story
Origins
LegendA story passed down, not confirmed by the sources.
The Vodka Martini appeared in the United States after Prohibition ended, as the Smirnoff brand set out to introduce Americans to vodka. The earliest known printed recipe is in a 1935 Smirnoff promotional pamphlet, calling for three parts vodka to one part French dry vermouth. The first cocktail book to include it was Lucius Beebe's The Stork Club Bar Book (1946). In the early 1950s Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up printed a "Vodkatini" and credited its invention to Jerome Zerbe, society photographer and Town & Country editor, a claim undercut by the earlier recipes. The drink's fame grew with the vodka boom and with James Bond.
Sources (5)
- Difford's Guide — Vodkatini / Vodka Martini (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Cocktail Kingdom Library — Vodka Martini (Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails) (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Cocktail Mag — Vodkatini (opens in a new tab) recipe
- IBA — All cocktails (page 5) (opens in a new tab) recipe
- Wikipedia — Jerome Zerbe (opens in a new tab) history
Taste profile
- Strong
- 5 out of 5
- Dry
- 5 out of 5
- Citrus
- 1 out of 5
