Wondrich on proportions: The Secrets to the Best Dry Martini You’ll Ever Have
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New or current favorite gins for a classic martini? I recently made one with Ford’s and really liked how clean and simple, yet delicious it was. I’ve made a few with the new, crazy Hendrick’s variations in the market now, but they’re just too much.
Navy strength Hendricks or Japanese Ki no Bi (sp) with a high proportion of Gonzalez Bypass La Copa Extra Seco. Basically the Wondrich formula I posted 4 years ago. We use frozen Nick and Nora glasses cuts down on spillage but they’re no longer cool.
My current gins for martinis are Beefeater, Botanist and Plymouth. I will occasionally venture out to a martini made with Monkey 47, St. George or some others, but basically I generally prefer a London Dry gin. I’ve gone to a 3 or 4 to one gin to dry vermouth ratio.
Despite feeling like I should experiment more with various gins, but everytime I come back to the tried and true.
2.5-3 ounces Tanqueray
1 ounce Dolin Dry
2 dashes Miracle Mile Orange Bitters
.5 ounce water
Batched and multiplied. Place in capped bottle and throw in freezer overnight. Serve with a twist.
I can’t seem to get away from the London Dry profile.
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I was all in on the Nick and Nora, but I’ve become a huge fan of the Glasvin Martini Glass. Shorter stem and a more vertical shape than wide mouth.
That looks attractive. Our alternate are Riedel cocktail glasses (some people mistakenly call them martini glasses). The last thing I need is more glassware.
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Proper. I leave out the water. Batched martinis are the way to go.
No dillution? Damn! But yes, freezer martini’s are so much better. Some sort of voodoo magic occurs and you pour yourself an icy cold drink that has a syrupy texture.
You, me, and Gary Regan agree that orange bitters are required.
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Would this actually work
Maybe with gin but definitely not vodka. 
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Wondrich agrees as well. Only have the MM aperitivo bitters tho.
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For a few years my favorite martini gin has been Old Raj Navy Strength, which I do maybe 6-8:1 with vermouth and a twist.
Was at Veau d’Or in NYC over the holidays and they use the same gin, with some sort of Spanish vermouth. But then they also use the martini ice to make a vermouth and soda (Vichy Catalan) to accompany it, adding the lemon peel after expressing it over the martini. I liked this a lot so now I’m doing it at home.
Another idea I stole from a restaurant is the Christofle Graphik martini glass, which I think is perfect but they’ve been impossible to find for a few years (I assume discontinued), and I’m down to one.
I’ll add to my next gin order. I won’t be using an 8 to 1 ratio.
The glasses have arrived, not that much different than the Riedel glasses. I’ll report back.
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In my opinion, orange and grapefruit bitters really brighten a martini.
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I like them because they’re not as tall as many martini glasses and the the angle that the glass expands from base of bowl to mouth is more more upright rather than shallow. I find martini glasses to be clumsy in general so when they have a taller stem and wider mouth it can really lead to spillage.
I hope you like them!
We use orange bitters
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