In the film The Philadelphia Story, Jimmy Stewart describes whisky as a slap on the back and champagne as heavy mist before the eyes. I’ve always thought of a good Martini as having your socks pulled up. From your inside.
But, a good Martini can be hard to find. A good Martini in congenial surroundings even more so. Simpsons- in-the-Strand’s Knights Bar can provide the former and does so in bath size measures. I’m hoping the new Martini trolley service at the Connaught will provide the latter but if that’s a let down there is always the option of making the perfect Martini at home.
And for that you need the perfect recipe.
I went to a book launch at the legendary Colony Room in Soho a year ago and was lucky enough to find celebrity bartender Dick Bradsell in residence. We fell to chatting about vintage cocktail books as he mixed me an Old Fashioned and he asserted there is only one book you really need which is The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David Embury.
The Colony Room bar
This explained a lot. I’d been trying to get hold of a secondhand copy as it was out of print but the prices were astronomical (1970’s editions on ebay fetch over £100…). Fortunately an American publisher is now reprinting it, so my copy is on order but in the meantime the lovely wikipedia has a helpful condensing of its contents, including an excellent recipe for a Martini.
This is now my foolproof method, though depending on the gin I may omit the vermouth, or simply swill some round a glass before pouring away. What gin or vermouth you use is a matter of individual taste but I tend to stick to Noilly Prat and Tanquerey as I like the kick these provide. I will sometimes plump for Plymouth gin to give a more rounded drink but anything more expensive tends to be either too soft (Tanquerey 10 for instance is overpowered by vermouth) or too flavoursome (eg the floral notes of Hendricks) for my taste.
David Embury’s Martini- 7 parts English gin
- 1 part French (dry) vermouth
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass [see the image on this post for the perfect size glass – small enough so your drink stays cold to the end and you can consume two or three without endangering your liver -LCG], twist lemon peel over the top and serve garnished with an olive, preferably one stuffed with any kind of nut.
Personally I would leave the lemon and the nut out of it but otherwise his ratios are bang on for a lethally dry sock pulling.
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