The Martinez: The Classic That Tests Your Fundamentals
- thedoublestrainer
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Before the Dry Martini became the icon of hotel bars and three-piece suits, there was the Martinez: richer, sweeter, and unapologetically aromatic. If the Martini is a razor blade, the Martinez is a fountain pen—slower, more ornate, but incredibly satisfying when you give it time.
This article is for both sides of the bar:• bartenders and bar professionals who care about specs, balance, and storytelling• cocktail lovers and curious beginners who want to understand why this drink matters, not just how to stir it.
A Brief (and Debated) History
Like most classics, the origin story of the Martinez is messy.
Some credit Jerry Thomas, “the Professor” of American bartending, who included a Martinez-style recipe in late-19th-century editions of his bar guide. Others point to the town of Martinez, California, where a gin–vermouth–liqueur combination was supposedly mixed for a gold miner on his way to San Francisco. Around the same time, 1880s cocktail manuals show recipes using Old Tom gin, Italian (sweet) vermouth, bitters, and maraschino liqueur—very close to what we pour today.
In practice, remember just this:the Martinez sits between the sweet, vermouth-driven Manhattan and the drier, sharper Martini. It is one of the evolutionary links that explains how we moved from heavy, sweetened gin cocktails to the bone-dry Martini culture of the 20th century.
When you serve a Martinez, you’re not just pouring a “Martini with sweet vermouth.” You’re pouring a chapter of liquid history that still drinks beautifully in a modern bar.
The Modern Martinez: A Working Recipe
Here’s a modern, reliable spec you can use as a house Martinez—easy to execute, easy to explain, and flexible enough to tweak for different guests.
Spec (Stirred, Up)
45 ml (1 ½ oz) Old Tom gin
45 ml (1 ½ oz) sweet Vermouth (Italian-style)
7.5 ml (¼ oz) maraschino liqueur
2 dashes aromatic bitters (Angostura or similar)
1 dash orange bitters (optional but highly recommended)
Method
Chill a coupe or Nick & Nora glass.
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with quality ice.
Stir until well-chilled and properly diluted (around 20–30 seconds, depending on ice and technique).
Fine strain into the chilled glass.
Garnish with:
a lemon twist expressed over the surface and discarded, or
an orange twist expressed and placed on the rim for a rounder, slightly sweeter aromatic profile.
This is your baseline. From here you can push it drier (more gin, less vermouth and maraschino) or richer (more vermouth, a touch more maraschino) depending on your guest and your house style.
Tools You Actually Need
Nothing exotic—just the classics, done properly:
A jigger for consistent measurements
A mixing glass with good weight and enough space for ice
A bar spoon long enough for smooth, controlled stirring
A strainer (Hawthorne or julep) – fine strainer optional
A chilled coupe or Nick & Nora
That’s it. The difference between an “OK” Martinez and a great one is rarely about the equipment; it’s about your ice, your ingredients, and your attention to dilution.
Ingredient Deep Dive
1. Gin: Why Old Tom Matters
Historically, the Martinez was made with Old Tom gin, a lightly sweetened style that sits between rough 19th-century gins and today’s dry, juniper-forward London Dry.
Using Old Tom gives you:
a softer, rounder mouthfeel
a subtle sweetness that integrates with vermouth and maraschino
a bridge between botanicals and the wine-like notes of vermouth
If you can’t source Old Tom, you can:
use a softer London Dry and add a touch more maraschino or a barspoon of simple syrup, or
choose a gin with a rounder profile instead of something ultra-dry and aggressive.
Good entry-level references
Hayman’s Old Tom – classic, reliable, widely used in cocktail bars.
Ransom Old Tom – darker, sometimes barrel-aged, with malt and spice notes; pushes the drink toward Manhattan territory.
2. Sweet Vermouth: The Backbone
In the Martinez, vermouth is not a modifier—it’s half the drink.
You’re looking for:
good acidity to avoid a flabby, syrupy profile
layered aromatics (herbs, spice, subtle bitterness)
enough structure to stand up to gin and maraschino
Solid options to start with
Carpano Antica Formula – rich and spice-driven; gives a more decadent, dessert-like Martinez.
Cocchi Vermouth di Torino – balanced and versatile, with bright aromatics and a slightly lighter body.
If your vermouth smells flat or cooked, it will drag the whole drink down. Store it in the fridge and treat it like wine, not a spirit.If you want to dive deeper into vermouth care and storage, it’s worth having a dedicated guide on The Double Strainer about how not to kill your vermouth—because dead vermouth quietly kills a lot of “classic” cocktails.
3. Maraschino Liqueur: Seasoning, Not Base
Maraschino brings dry cherry, almond, floral notes, and a little funk. It is powerful and easy to overdo.
At 5–10 ml, it:
adds complexity and high-toned fruit
ties gin and vermouth together
gives the Martinez its signature cherry-almond echo
Beyond that, it becomes sticky and perfumed in the wrong way. Think of maraschino like salt: essential, but lethal in excess.
Benchmark reference
Luxardo Maraschino – the standard in most classic specs; if you can control this one, you’re already where you need to be.
4. Bitters: Small Dashes, Big Impact
Bitters quietly define the style of your Martinez.
Aromatic bitters (e.g., Angostura): Add spice, warmth, and a touch of dryness.
Orange bitters: Lift the nose, add brightness, and play well with citrus garnish.
A great modern approach:
1 dash Angostura + 1 dash orange bitters
This keeps the drink anchored while avoiding monotony on the palate.
Common Mistakes with the Martinez
Even experienced bartenders can trip over this drink. Tre errori classici:
Too much maraschino: Over 10 ml and the drink becomes cloying and perfumed. Start low and only increase if your gin and vermouth are very bold and can handle it.
Over-dilution: Stirring too long with wet, broken ice gives you a thin Martinez that dies after two sips. Aim for cold and silky, not “cold and gone.”
Tired vermouth: Oxidised or low-quality vermouth makes the drink feel muddy and flat. If you wouldn’t sip the vermouth on its own, don’t expect it to shine in a 50/50 classic.
These mistakes are easy to avoid and immediately noticeable in service—both at home and behind a professional bar.
How To Tune the Martinez to Your Guest
The Martinez is a great canvas for micro-adjustments. Small changes let you align it with what your guest already likes without betraying the drink’s identity.
For Martini drinkers
They want something drier and cleaner, but still aromatic.
Try:
45 ml Old Tom (or a softer London Dry)
25–30 ml sweet vermouth
5 ml maraschino
aromatic + orange bitters as above
Same build, but more gin-forward and closer to their comfort zone.
For Manhattan or Negroni lovers
They’re used to richer, bolder flavors with clear vermouth presence.
Keep:
the 1:1 ratio of gin and vermouth
the maraschino at 7.5–10 ml
a structured vermouth like Antica Formula or Cocchi, depending on how rich you want it
For these guests, the Martinez reads as an aromatic, gin-based cousin of what they already enjoy.
Service Notes: For Bartenders and Hosts
A Martinez is a slow drink. How you present it shapes the guest’s expectations.
Position it as a bridge: “If you like Negroni or Manhattan but want something a bit lighter and more aromatic, try the Martinez. It’s one of the ancestors of the Martini.”
Use storytelling, not lectures: One quick line about its pre-Martini history is enough. The goal is to intrigue, not to deliver a history exam.
Use it as a training tool: The Martinez is excellent for younger bartenders:if they can balance Old Tom, vermouth, maraschino and bitters without oversweetening or over-diluting, they’ve understood texture, temperature and restraint.
Final Thoughts
The Martinez is the classic that quietly tests your fundamentals: ingredient quality, dilution, glass temperature, and your ability to not overdo it with liqueur and garnish.
If your menu jumps straight from Negroni to Martini with nothing in between, the Martinez is probably the classic you’re missing.
It’s a drink that forces you to pay attention: to vermouth storage, to how your ice behaves on a busy night, to how much maraschino is too much. Get it right, and you don’t just serve an old recipe—you show your guest that the “pre-Martini era” still has a lot to say in a modern bar.
If You Remember Only This…
The role: The Martinez is a historical bridge between Manhattan and Martini—rich, aromatic, and slightly sweet, not a “weird Martini with vermouth.”
The key levers: Old Tom + quality sweet vermouth + controlled maraschino + balanced dilution; if one of these is wrong, the drink tells on you.
The opportunity: On a menu, it fills the gap between Negroni and Martini and doubles as a perfect training drink for bartenders learning texture, temperature and restraint.
Written by: Riccardo Grechi - Head Mixologist | Bar Consultant & Trainer
For more articles about signature & classic cocktails visti the following page: Classic Cocktail Recipe
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