Cocktail Spotlight: The Martinez

Cocktail Spotlight: The Martinez

Cocktail Queries is a Paste series that examines and answers basic, common questions that drinkers may have about mixed drinks, cocktails and spirits. Check out every entry in the series to date.

Cocktail anthropology has a tendency to be arduous, confusing and (naturally) thirsty work. Historians studying the field of mixology–of which I am absolutely not one, merely an outside observer–often have their work cut out for them thanks to constantly contradictory examples in the printed history, when it comes to when and how drinks were created, and how they were consumed at various points. They end up having to piece together the most probable narrative, while combating in many cases entrenched stories that have no real historical basis, but continue to be repeated because that’s exactly what they are: Good stories. It’s why we have no definitive origin for so many of the classic cocktails of yore that remain standards today, but when you look at the development of various classics such as the Manhattan or the Martini, you’ll eventually encounter other drinks that stand out as probable “missing links” in the evolutionary tree. And there’s no denying that the Martinez is one of those links, just as there’s no denying that this is still an excellent cocktail today.

The Martinez is, as its heart, something of a Manhattan riff. That’s indeed how it was described in the earliest example of the drink in writing, an 1884 cocktail guide by O.H. Byron, which called it “same as a Manhattan, only you substitute gin for whisky.” There we run into confusion, however, as the the book didn’t include a full Martinez recipe after stating this, and it included two recipes for the Manhattan. So how do you actually make the Martinez?

Earlier recipes split on this point, each favoring the inclusion of different ingredients. Some made the Martinez with dry vermouth, while including the citrusy infusion of curacao. Others used red/sweet vermouth, as in the Manhattan, along with a small measure of maraschino liqueur and aromatic bitters. It was the latter recipe that legendary “father of American mixology” Jerry Thomas included in his 1887 edition of The Bar-Tender’s Guide, calling for Old Tom gin, sweet vermouth and Maraschino. And although there was a whole lot of variation in the decades to follow, this ended up being the Martinez recipe that most accurately reflects how the drink is still made today. Which is to say:

— 1.5 oz gin of choice
— 1.5 oz sweet vermouth
— .25 oz maraschino liqueur
— 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail tin/shaker with ice. Stir well until well chilled–like the Manhattan and Martini this is a stirred drink–and then strain into a chilled Martini, coupe or Nick & Nora glass, ideally chilled. Garnish with a lemon or orange twist.

The resulting drink wonderfully bridges the gap between other classic stirred drinks. The base of gin rather than whiskey results in a drier and more herbaceous, botanical flavor profile, but it’s still softened by the vanilla and fruitiness of the sweet vermouth, and given another layer of complexity by the nutty, floral notes of the maraschino liqueur. It’s a less decadent drink than the Manhattan, but more luxurious than the dry and crisp Martini. It’s like a martini-drinker’s Manhattan, or a Manhattan-drinker’s Martini, in fact. And it works with most any gin–use a dry, juniper-forward London dry classic gin if that is your taste, or a boldly citric and sweeter New Western gin if you prefer that profile. The Martinez is happy to accommodate.

In the 1890s and beyond, the growing popularity of French (dry) vermouth, and the arrival of more London dry gins phasing out the sweeter genever and Old Tom styles, subsequently led to the evolution of what we would now recognize as the birth of the more modern dry Martini. The cocktail blossomed into widespread popularity in the years leading up the prohibition of alcohol in the United States, and then became even more visible as a symbol of illicit enjoyment during the 13 years of the “Noble Experiment.”

The Martinez, meanwhile, receded somewhat into the background of the Martini’s long shadow, but it never really fell out of favor entirely. Gin geeks and cocktail wonks kept its distinct nature alive, and in recent years the Martinez has enjoyed another resurgence as a cocktail cognoscenti favorite–familiar and versatile enough to be at home in most any bar, but exotic enough to retain a little street cred at the same time. If you know both the Manhattan and the Martini but have never sampled their missing link, do yourself a favor and stir up some of these pre-Prohibition classics at home tonight.


Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.

 
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