The Martinez Cocktail

[evo-lution]

For me, pretty much the perfect drink;

60ml Both's Old Tom

30ml Noilly Rouge

2 Dashes Luxardo Maraschino

2-3 Dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Boker's Bitters

Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, fill with hand-cracked block ice and stir 15 20 seconds

Glass: Frozen vintage cocktail

Garnish: Fat strip of lemon peel, snap over drink and stem, wipe rim and drop into drink

Ice: N/A

Every so often I'll aromatise the glass with a spray of absinthe, and I have been known to add a teardrop of Grand Marnier or sugar syrup if I want something a little sweeter.

[eje]

Perhaps more importantly, which sweet vermouth? Whether the light Dolin or a heavier Cocchi VdT or Cinzano, the drink should work. In my opinion, Carpano's Antica, as a vanilla vermouth, overwhelms this drink every time whichever the gin.

"Cocchi VdT"?

"Cocchi Vermouth de Turin", maybe?

Am I to understand that Haus Alpenz will soon be bringing in another Italian Vermouth, perhaps in the Turin style?

I was unaware that Cocchi even made a Vermouth.

[KD1191]

Perhaps more importantly, which sweet vermouth? Whether the light Dolin or a heavier Cocchi VdT or Cinzano, the drink should work. In my opinion, Carpano's Antica, as a vanilla vermouth, overwhelms this drink every time whichever the gin.

"Cocchi VdT"?

"Cocchi Vermouth de Turin", maybe?

Am I to understand that Haus Alpenz will soon be bringing in another Italian Vermouth, perhaps in the Turin style?

Indeed, I now see three Cocchi products on the Hauz Alpenz site:

Cocchi Americano, Cocchi Barolo Chinato & Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

[Katie Meadow]

What can we call this? Last night we made a cocktail of 2 parts gin, 1 part Bonal Gentiane, and a dash of rhubarb bitters. It was delicious. I totally love Bonal.

Basically I was trying to make a Martinez, but we don't have maraschino anything. I subbed the rhubarb for angostura, since it's pretty sweet, tastes like cherries to me, and I can't figure out what to do with it anyway.

So gimme a name for my drink if it isn't a Martinez.

[Sunny&Rummy]

The Martinez is probably my favorite non-rum cocktail. It was one of those revelatory moments for me when I had one done right. I think KP Rick had a Martinez roundup a year or two ago in which he and several others settled on a tweak of Jamie Boudreau's formulation as being the perfect ratios of ingredients. The final iteration from that discussion is basically what I have settled on as the perfect Martinez.

1.75 oz Old Tom gin (Hasyman's)

1.25 oz sweet vermouth (Noily Pratt)

2 tsp. maraschino liqueur (prefer Luxardo, settle for Maraska)

2 dashes Ango

Stir/Ice/strain/up/no garnish

If I use Put e Mes instead of Noily Pratt I dial it back to 0.75 oz and up the gin accordingly.

[tanstaafl2]

Although admittedly fairly new to the Martinez I have found my favorite so far to be the following based on a recipe from a local restaurant with a strong bar tradition.

2 oz Ransom Old Tom gin

1 oz Carpano Antica

1 tsp Luxardo marschino

1 dash Regan's Orange bitters

Not sure if that is the exact formula of the restaurant but it is where I have ended up and I like where I am at the moment!

[FrogPrincesse]

I made different versions of the Martinez with the St. George dry rye gin recently. There was no Old Tom in the house and I thought that the dry rye gin would be interesting, like a cross between a Martinez and a Manhattan.

I started with the Bartender Choice's app version with 2 oz gin, 3/4 oz sweet vermouth (I went with vermouth di Torino), a barspoon of maraschino, and dash of Boker's bitters (the app specifies orange but I like Boker's as per the Jerry Thomas recipe).

I took a first sip and did not love it. The gin was just too dominant. I then remembered that I prefer more vermouth in my Martinez.

So I made another one a few days later with the PDT ratios since the recipe had worked well for me in the past. 1.5 oz each gin and sweet vermouth, 1/4 oz maraschino, 2 dashes Boker's bitters. I also switched the vermouth to Dolin as the Torino was getting bullied by the gin.

Martinez craving finally curbed.

[lesliec]

Your first orange twist was prettier, though

[Rafa]

I need to get my hands on that dry rye gin. I want to try it in drinks that emphasize ye's herbaceous/forest-y qualities, like the Doe's Path and the Teenage Riot. And of course in Old Tom/genever cocktails like the Martinez.

[EvergreenDan]

I bought the St George aged rye gin. Alas, for the the botanicals are too far from classic juniper for my taste. I was hoping to use it like a London dry, but I think it needs to be manhandled like Ransom. Mighty well be your thing, Rafa.

[tanstaafl2]

I bought the St George aged rye gin. Alas, for the the botanicals are too far from classic juniper for my taste. I was hoping to use it like a London dry, but I think it needs to be manhandled like Ransom. Mighty well be your thing, Rafa.

Interesting, I don't as much Old Tom as I get a high malt jenever. I suppose it could be a bit of a cross between the two perhaps?

[brinza]

I tried a bottle of M&R Rosato out of curiosity. I admit I'm not that crazy about it, but the other day I was looking at the bottle, and felt to need to use it in something. It's very floral and doesn't work well with whiskey, but I thought it might work with gin, so I used it in the Martinez recipe and it wasn't bad at all. I'm not suggesting anyone go out and by a bottle just for this purpose, but if you've got some and don't know what to do with it, this is a good way to use it up.

[sbumgarner]

I haven't made a Martinez in awhile but last night's (very) slight variation was good enough to put them back in the rotation.

 

2.25 oz Barr Hill Old Tom

.75 oz Punt e Mes

.25 oz Luxardo Maraschino

A dash of Bittermens Burlesque

Lemon twist

 

The Burlesque bitters provided just enough balance to balance the syrup-iness of the maraschino. I'm really enjoying the Barr Hill Old Tom too, it's definitely on the pricey side compared to Ransom or Hayman's but I like how it seems to meld the sweeter profile of the Hayman's with the drier oak profile of the Ransom.

[hathor]

Our recent riff on the Martinez...a San Martin!  You must pronounce San Martin with a French accent or it will not taste the same.

2 oz. gin (House Spirits, Distiller Reserve...boutique distller in Portland Or. Pitty we only have a small bottle.)

1 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica Formula)

1/4 oz St. Germaine

2 dashes orange bitters

 

Bonne boisoon!