I didn’t ask for a Churchill, I asked for a *martini*. Get it right.

It is a preference drink as to how dry it is, this is up to you to experiment on. It does however have to fall into certain peramenters otherwise it is not a martini…I think the author covered this fairly well.

-I’ll weigh in on the vodka issue….its a vodkatini, a drink in its own right, not a martini. I’m not sure why this ever seems a problem to some.

- Some have expressed a preference for Plymouth gin and I have to say i agree with this. Greenalls London dry works well too. I would NEVER use Bombay Sapphire as it is far too botanical, leave it for your perfect G&T.
I the bar industry it ‘sapphire’ makes you out as an unsophisticated martini drinker…it also has the advantage of predicting you will get a poor martini while out if the bartender reaches for sapphire…he’ll most likely get the delicate mix wrong…move on…or just avoid hotel bars in the first place.

- The ‘bruising’ argument is strange (we find it in the world of single malts and ice v water etc debate too).
I think the culprit is the word as we think different things when we hear it. I like to think of it as being a bit harsh or rough on the drink, I neither find that good or bad, its a preference…however we can all agree it does make a difference to taste.

- Room temperature gin. Chilled Noilly Prat

- Odd number olives…this is tradition and I like tradition, however I think you can be somewhat of a racontour. If you have style and can sell it like Sinatra then why not…a bit of individuality never hurt…its a connoisseurs drink and ‘owning’ your preference within its strict guidelines is the act of a confident man of understanding.

- Along those lines I understand the authors point re a suit and Sinatra. Im not going to say wearing jeans is out however…each to their own I say, but atmosphere is important…its a human trait. You will never have a better martini than the perfect one in a setting of style and sophistication that compliments this drink.

- I personally like to ice the glass and deposit the vermouth in there…the timing of the time its left there before its swirled and emptied is all part of the art and makes an enormous difference to the drink. As does the time the gin is left over ice and stirred before the two ingredients are married.

This is the art…this is what makes a great martini maker over a man who mixes gin and vermouth…its wonder and its standing as the greatest of all cocktails comes from the opposing facts that it is so beautifully simple YET getting it perfect is one of the most subtle and difficult and complicated things in the world.
There is NO hiding a bad martini behind some sugary syrup or fruit pulp.

Lastly a note about ice…its been covered here, ALWAYS fresh ice.
A point that maybe hasn’t been covered though is to be very careful chilling your glass in the freezer. A chilled glass is essential but be careful it doesn’t pick up the odours of food and freezer burn from your freezer.

To all the lovers of this fine drink out there…get out there and find your own preference, revel in it. The best thing about it is that you get to drink a lot of martinis whilst finding the perfect one for you.

Get the basics straight, understand the rules (and bend a few if you must) and accept no substitute. The man with a perfect martini is a man who knows himself…no questions.

3 parts gin (preferably Godon’s), one part vermouth, and one olive. The traditional method of preparation is to pour gin and dry vermouth into a mixing glass with ice cubes, stir, strain into chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a green olive.

If vermouth is not handy, the brine from the olives is a good substitute.

You take a shot of vermouth, chuck it into the Colorado River. Then you have someone scoop up a cupful of the river water a mile downstream. Add it to ice in a shaker. Dump out most of the water. Add G or V. Garnish, etc.

If we were purists about drinking milk, then we’d be only drinking milk from the tits of a cow in our back yard, like the pioneers used to do. Now we have other ingredients that keep it pure, and it is still milk.

So, enjoy your martini the way you like-vodka or gin.

Lastly: I have also followed the rule of “only odd numbers” of olives. I usually do 5, and I once threatened to a lady that I might well go for 7 if she invited me over. We never got together.

I suspect, though, that too many olives does degrade the taste, and mine have been essentially “dirty” martinis anyway, which is a whole other discussion!

O.k., tonight it will be gin, and I’m following this article to a T.

Party on guys!