I won’t make you read through my story just to get to the recipe, but if you’d like to learn more about vermouth — did you know it’s technically wine? — jump past the recipe!

My Favorite Martini Recipe

1.5 oz Vodka

.75 oz Dry Vermouth

.5 oz or to taste Olive “juice”or dirty Martini mix

1 or 3 green olives (not 2 nor 4; an even number is considered bad luck)

Fill a martini glass with crushed ice; allow it to sit and chill the glass.

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice and add all ingredients except the olives. Shake like your life depends on it — the drink should be so cold you see ice chips forming in the liquid. Dump the ice from the glass, and strain the drink into it. Garnish with olives on a stick. Cheers!

My First Martini Story

The bartender who served me my very first martini was working the cash bar at a friend’s wedding reception; I was 25. I suppose I was at that point in my adult life that I began to think about drinking something more “sophisticated” than screwdrivers and amaretto sours. (Of course by the time Charlie was 25, he was already a wine connoisseur, but that’s another story). I took the cool triangular glass from the guy, picked my way back to my table, took a sip and immediately thought, “Ugh!”

Forget sophistication, then. Amaretto sours it is!

Luckily I’m an adventurous spirit when it comes to food and drink, so I didn’t let that initial experience turn me off of the idea of martinis. So many people enjoy them, there must be something to it, right? I’m not sure exactly what went into that wedding-level drink (probably cheap booze, which will do it every time), but after years of playing with ingredients, ratios and methods (shaken or stirred, Mr. Bond?), I’ve finally figured out the martini that suits me.

What’s the Secret Ingredient? Wine.

Ok, ok. I’m misleading you, deliberately. Technically wine has been the secret to my favorite martini, but this is really a post about vermouth. And here’s what you may not know: vermouth is wine. Or made from it, at least.

Vermouth is a red or white wine that has been fortified — alcohol added, usually in the form of brandy, and aromatized — flavored with botanicals and sugar. Red vermouth is sweet and used for the classic Manhattan cocktail, while white vermouth tends to be dry and is an essential ingredient in my perfect Martini. There’s also a white vermouth known as “blanc” that is sweeter, but I’ve never had it and it’s not as common as the other two.

It’s easy enough to find your basic vermouth in the wine section at your local grocery, but honestly that stuff is barely worth having. I highly suggest visiting a wine store and exploring the different vermouths they have available. Even better if you can talk to someone who is knowledgeable about them and who can make recommendations. Pick up a bottle or three and just try them out, alone or mixed, and see if one stands out for you.

The Truth About Vermouth

Why should you trouble yourself with vermouth, though, anyway? Does it really make that much difference?

Charlie will tell you unequivocally yes. As a restaurant owner, he takes great pride in stocking his bars with quality ingredients; but he also looks to save money if he can do so without sacrificing quality. One day he decided to do an experiment: which is more important to the quality of a martini, the main spirit or the vermouth?

So he made two drinks: good gin (he prefers a gin martini)/cheap vermouth and cheap gin/good vermouth. He marshalled a number of willing volunteers to taste test, and guess what? Cheap gin and good vermouth won out every time. He could get away with his lower level gin as long as he used a high quality vermouth, and no one would suffer! Everyone was happy! Turns out the flavor profiles imbued by a good vermouth simply matter more than the slightly less-than qualities of a mid-tier gin.

At our house, we use both good quality vermouth and a decent gin — or vodka, if that’s your preference (it’s mine). Our freezer contains both Tito’s and Ketel One, but use whatever you like.

As for the Vermouth, Mancino is our standby and is perfect for my dirty martinis, but it is fun to play with others from time to time. The photo above shows the bottles that were in our refrigerator when I wrote this — which brings me to an essential piece of advice that I shouldn’t leave out — REFRIGERATE YOUR VERMOUTH! It will go bad if you leave it on the shelf with your other spirits, but kept cool it will last for months. After upping your martini game, though, you may use it way before then!