Drinks · New York and San Francisco, by competing claims
Martini
Gin and dry vermouth, stirred until very cold: the drink where dilution and temperature are most of the recipe.
What makes it martini
Gin (or vodka) and dry vermouth
Stirred, never shaken, until very cold
A twist of lemon or an olive
Where it comes from
Its origins are argued over — a California gold-rush town called Martinez and New York hotel bars both claim it — but by the early twentieth century gin and dry vermouth had settled into the drink we know.
The modern version is often batched and frozen: water measured in ahead of time, so it pours from the freezer exactly as diluted as stirring would make it.
How it varies
Freezer martini
Diluted ahead, bottled and kept in the freezer — London's Tayēr + Elementary serves its One Sip Martini this way, vodka and Ambrato vermouth with a blue-cheese olive.