How to Make a Dry Martini

The classic, elegant martini has undergone quite a resurgence lately. The most important thing about a martini is that all the ingredients be very cold. These instructions are for one martini.

Things You'll Need

• 3 or 4 ice cubes
• cocktail shaker
• cocktail strainer
• 1 1/4 oz. gin
• dash of extra-dry vermouths
• cocktail olives
• martini glasses
• Cocktail Olives
• Dash Of Extra-dry Vermouths
• Cocktail Shaker
• Cocktail Strainer
• Martini Glasses

Instructions

1. 

   Pour gin and vermouth over ice.

2. 

   Shake or stir well.

3. 

   Strain into a martini glass.

4. 

   Serve straight up with an olive.

Tips & Warnings

• For a less dry martini, use more vermouth - up to 2 parts gin and 1 part vermouth.

• Some people use a twist of lemon (a small piece of lemon zest) instead of the olive, but this isn't as traditional.

• Use vodka instead of gin for a vodka martini.

• Use a pickled onion instead of an olive for a Gibson cocktail.

• It's become trendy to call many different cocktails a kind of martini, so beware. Some of these drinks bear little resemblance to the real thing.