There Are Only Six Cocktails (Part 2) - The Martini

Last time we broke the rather surprising news that, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there are only six cocktails. 

Well, we're back on our journey of cocktail discovery, and this month, it's the turn of perhaps the most iconic cocktail of them all.

The Martini. 🍸

The distinctive shape of the martini glass has come to represent all cocktails in general. It adorns milestone birthday cards, and martini-shaped confetti covers party tables the world over, often reappearing days later in surprising places.

This boozy little number is a firm favourite of the Rusty Barrel team, especially when living out our 007 fantasies.

Yet despite its complex flavours, the martini is surprisingly simple to make, and at its core, contains just three ingredients.

• A spirit
• Vermouth
• A garnish

That's it.

Out of these three ingredients, there is almost infinite variety, and serious cocktail connoisseurs have very set ideas of how they like it.

Wet or dry?

Gin or vodka?

Olive or lemon?

So let's start with how to make the perfect martini.

The Classic:

• 50ml spirit
• 25ml vermouth
• A twist of lemon

The How 

• Fill the bottom tin of your Rusty Barrel Mayfair Cocktail Shaker ¾ full with ice, then add the spirit and vermouth.
• Stir with your bar spoon for about 15-20 seconds.
• Pop the hawthorn strainer onto the tin, and pour it into a chilled martini glass.
• Express the lemon twist over your martini, and balance it on the side of the glass.
• This 2:1 ratio is a great place to start, but the beauty of the martini is in experimentation.

With gin, you get a punchy botanical profile that you can enhance by adding more vermouth to create a "wet martini." Vodka, on the other hand, is often a little more nuanced in flavour, so you may want to dial back the vermouth to bring out the spirit. You now have a "dry martini."

And then there's the garnish. 

By expressing lemon over the glass, the oils lift the drink with a hint of citrus. Substitute the lemon for an olive, and the martini takes on a salty edge.

If you're feeling adventurous, a pickled onion adds a more sharp vinegar flavour.

One word of caution—the longer you leave the garnish in the drink, the more flavour it adds. Take control by balancing the twist on the edge of the glass or popping the olive on a cocktail stick.

So, how do you like yours?

For us, it's a dry gin martini stirred with a twist.

The Curveball

There's no need to stop your experimentation there.

With one simple addition, your martini becomes a whole different cocktail.

Introducing the Negroni. The bitter cousin of the martini family.

The negroni carries on the 2:1 martini ratio, but this time, it's one part gin and one part Campari added to the vermouth.

• 25ml Gin
• 25ml Campari
• 25ml vermouth
• Half an orange wheel

The How

Fill the bottom tin of your Rusty Barrel Bloomsbury Cocktail Shaker ¾ full with ice, then add the gin, Campari and vermouth.

Stir with your bar spoon for about 15-20 seconds.

Pop the hawthorn strainer onto the tin, and pour it over a large ice cube into an Old Fashioned glass.

Add half an orange wheel, sip, and enjoy this bitter, Italian creation.

Next month, rum takes centre stage as embrace the daiquiri. 

Sometimes sour, sometimes frozen, but always tricky to spell.