Around the world in 10 Martinis

To celebrate World Martini Day (15 June) and raise a toast to the ‘king of cocktails’, we’ve rounded up 10 Martinis from some of the world’s best bars.

Originally taking place on 19 June every year, during the pandemic World Martini Day was moved to the third Saturday of June (this year being 15 June) to help support the struggling on-trade.

Thought to have been created as an evolution to the Martinez in the 1860s, the Martini’s popularity perhaps stems from its simplicity – made with just gin or vodka and vermouth, or sometimes with vodka and gin (thanks James Bond).

Over time, however, many bartenders have adopted their own forms of the drink. On menus globally, you can see Martinis made with all kinds of variations and ingredients. Here, we’ve asked some of the pros how they serve their Martinis  – shaken, stirred, or otherwise.

For Tequila fans, we also rounded up 10 recipes for World Paloma Day last month.

---

Milady’s Martini at Milady’s, New York

Julie Reiner, co-owner of Milady’s: “The Milady’s Martini is made with gin, vodka, rosé vermouth and fino Sherry. It has all the classic flavours of a great split Martini, but with a bit of brightness from the vermouth and Sherry. It’s also slightly pink – which is very signature of Milady’s!”

Ingredients:

• 57ml Ford’s Gin
• 28ml Lustau Rose Vermouth
• 28ml Tío Pepe Sherry
• 7ml Santoni Amaro

Method: Stir the ingredients and keep in the freezer as a ready-to-serve. The glass is a Nick & Nora with a Sidecar. Garnish with a purple olive and expressed lemon and orange oil.

---

The Pesto Martini at Moebius Milano, Milan

Giovanni Allario, head bartender at Moebius Milano: “It’s an entry into Martinis for people who aren’t used to drinking Martinis, but it’s also a good way for people who enjoy Martinis to get out of the usual recipe. It’s a nice halfway point.

“The idea was to have something really Italian from my region – I come from Genoa, the birthplace of pesto. It represents my background.”

Ingredients and method:

For 100g pesto

• 30g Italian basil
• 30g Pine nuts
• 15g Pecorino
• 20g Parmigiano
• 200g-250g extra virgin olive oil

Method: Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Pesto-infused vodka:

• 700ml vodka
• 50g Pesto

Method: Add the ingredients in a sealed container, let infuse for three to four hours at room temperature then store in the freezer overnight. Filter through a fine mesh and a coffee filter.

Pesto Martini batch

• 70ml Vodka pesto
• 10ml Dolin Dry vermouth
• 5ml Dolin Blanc vermouth
• 2 dashes Salt solution (1 part salt: 10 part water)
• 0.4 ml White balsamic vinegar
• 30ml Filtered water

Method: Add to a container and store in the freezer overnight with 1g fresh basil.

---

The Pony Martini at Jigger & Pony, Singapore

Adrian Foo, principal bartender at Jigger & Pony: “Served strong, fast and cold, the Pony Martini is a perfect Martini that’ll turn heads. With a silky mouthfeel, it is as boozy as expected, and aromatic with floral and citrus accents for a refreshing lift. We also add homemade fruit vinegar infused with cherry blossoms for a subtle floral note, additional complexity, and a touch of sweetness.”

Ingredients:

• 60ml Roku Gin
• 10ml Dolin Dry
• 5ml Lillet Blanc
• 5 dashes Sakura vinegar
• 18ml water
• Lemon peel, for garnish

Method: After blending the ingredients, the cocktail is kept cold in the freezer at -20ºC so as to reach its ideal serving temperature when it arrives in front of the guest – perfectly chilled without the risk of over-dilution from melting ice. Garnish with lemon peel.

---

The Connaught Martini, The Connaught, London

Agostino Perrone, director of mixology at the Connaught Bar: “One of the most important aspects of the best Martinis is that they are personal expressions. They are as unique to the mixer as a painting is to an artist. While most seasoned Martini drinkers tell the bartender exactly how they would like their cocktail made, there is an adventurous group who put their faith and trust in the bartender. By saying, ‘as you prefer’, you taste the bartender’s personality and their true talent.

“When I first came to London, I experienced Martini cocktails at the hands of the masters: Peter Dorelli at the Savoy, Salvatore Calabrese at 50 St James, Alessandro Palazzi at Dukes, Giuliano Morandin at the Dorchester. These masters of effortless hospitality each had their style. I wanted to create the same when I arrived at the Connaught Bar.

“Whether it is the gin or vodka version, The Connaught Martini is an aromatised Martini that has been served following the same ritual since the day we opened the newly refurbished bar. It’s a distillation of the Connaught Bar ethos – it’s about approaching our guests.”

Ingredients:

• 2ml Bitters of choice
• 15ml Vermouth blend
• 75ml Gin or vodka of choice
• Lemon twist or green olive

Martini with a twist: Using a dropper, gently pour the bitters around the rim of a frozen Martini glass or coupette. Combine the vermouth and spirit in a mixing glass filled two-thirds with large ice cubes and stir until well chilled. Strain into the prepared Martini glass, raising the mixing glass high to add aeration to the drink and squeezing the lemon twist into the drink as the liquid passes into the glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Martini with an olive: Using a dropper, gently pour the bitters around the rim of a frozen Martini glass or coupette. Prick the olive three times with a cocktail stick and let a little juice run out into the glass. Combine the vermouth and spirit in a mixing glass filled two-thirds with large ice cubes and stir until well chilled. Strain into the prepared Martini glass, raising the mixing glass high to add aeration to the drink. Garnish with the olive skewered onto the cocktail stick.

---

Juniper, The American Bar at Gleneagles, Scotland

Michele Mariotti, head of the beverage programme at Gleneagles: “Considering the diversity that one can achieve through a single ingredient when producing spirits like whiskies, vodkas or brandies, we asked ourselves: ‘Do you really need all those botanicals to achieve diversity?’

“We wondered if there is a way to go back to basics and focus on juniper, a botanical that oddly enough is often not the focal point of gin. So, to really shine a new light on the king of all cocktails – the Martini – we wanted to pursue the path of purity and hero diversity through simplicity.

“To truly honour the Martini, we have partnered with South Loch Distillery to showcase how different junipers can enhance the taste of this ultimate classic. We have created three bespoke gins, each with only one botanical – juniper: Italian vapour-infused juniper (which is crisp and aromatic); a macerated and distilled Serbian juniper (rich and creamy); and a navy-strength gin with Macedonian juniper (peppery and spicy).”

Ingredients:

• 50ml Juniper distillate
• 10ml Dry Sherry

Method: Fill the mixing glass with plenty of ice and stir until the liquid is ice cold. This helps to add dilution to your drink. Strain into a Martini glass and garnish with a Nocerella olive.

---

Mirror Martini, Mirror Bar, Bratislava

Stanislav Harcinik, bar ambassador for Mirror Bar: “The cocktail is dedicated to Heinrich Prüger, who came to Bratislava from the legendary Savoy hotel to open the Hotel Carlton.

“The Martini cocktail was one of his favourites and this Slovakian twist on the timeless classic incorporates local dry vermouth, pickled cheese and a touch of verjus to give it a fresher taste with a local essence.”

Ingredients:

• 50ml Star of Bombay
• 15ml Balance White Aperitíf
• 2.5ml Verjus
• 2 dash Mirror citrus bitters
• Local pickled cheese and citrus perfume, to garnish

Method: Shake all ingredients together with ice, strain into cocktail glass and serve.

---

The Churchill, Sastrería Martinez, Lima

Sastrería Martinez’s Diego Macedo: “This serve is inspired by a Dry Martini. We named it Churchill because Winston Churchill was a lover of Martinis – he was a very important person during the era that our bar is inspired by.”

Ingredients:

• 45ml Dill-infused pisco
• 15ml Blend of white vermouths
• Mamey fruit
• 7.5 Cocchi Americano vermouth
• 10ml Copoazú fruit
• 5ml Elderflower liqueur
• 1ml Cress flower oil
• 1ml Saline solution

Method: “We infused the pisco with dill and sous vide for one hour at 60ºC. Our blend of white vermouth is made with Mancino Bianco, Noilly Prat Dry and Lillet, which we sous vide with Mamey (a fruit) and copoazú (a fruit from the cacao family that’s a little bit more sour). We batch all the ingredients together, filter and store in a freezer. In a mixing glass, we stir it, pour and serve.”

---

Shadrach at Mimi Kakushi, Dubai

Manja Stankovic, bar manager of Mimi Kakushi: “The concept is in the style of a Kori Kakushi Martini, which means hidden in ice. The ice-carving ritual includes a special table-side service on the trolley by our bar team, who carve the cocktail out of the ice block and serve the Martini. Guests can personalise the experience by choosing their own garnish, from conventional olives and lemons to more.

“Shadrach is the name of a song by famous Japanese piano jazz musician Toshiko Akiyoshi. It is an audio-pairing experience – every time the team opens up the Martini, this song is played in the background.”

Ingredients:

• 60ml Botanist Gin
• Japanese ume
• 20ml Mancino Secco

Method:  The Botanist Gin is slowly dripped through Japanese ume, with a touch of Mancino Secco vermouth. The mixture is poured into bespoke bottles and stored in ice at -20ºc until it is served.

---

Birdbath Martini at Library Bar, Fairmont Royal York, Toronto

James Grant, director of beverage at Fairmont Royal York: “The Birdbath Martini has a long history at Library Bar, having been on the menu for decades. What makes it special is that it’s changed with each head bartender or beverage director. I’ve always thought that, for bartenders, Martinis are like fingerprints – everyone’s is a little different.

“When it was my turn to create a version of the Birdbath Martini, I wanted to create something approachable and classic. We worked with a local distiller to create a gin and a vodka specifically for the Martini, specifying the botanical profile and the material being distilled (in our case, grape and rye).

“The resulting spirits are really silky and luxurious, with the gin having a classic London Dry profile with a hit of citrus.”

Ingredients:

• 64ml Quill vodka or gin
• 21 ml Vermouth blend*
• 2 dashes orange bitters

*Vermouth blend

• 750ml Tío Pepe Fino Sherry
• 1.25l Martini Dry
• 750ml Cocchi Extra Dry
• 125ml Bergamot liqueur
• 125ml Umami gin

Method: “The Martini itself is 3:1, with a house vermouth blend of dry and extra dry vermouths, fino Sherry, and bergamot. Our orange bitters are infused with green cardamom and sweetgrass. We pour it tableside from a custom mixing glass made for us by Jakobsen design and serve it with house-pickled onions, olives, and a twist of lemon.”

---

The Green Mango Martini at Superbueno, New York

Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Jimenez, founder of Superbueno: “The Green Mango Martini was inspired by the subway vendors that sell mangos. In this cocktail, we wanted to feature the freshness of the mango so we infused Patrón Tequila with green mango for 24 hours and paired that with a mango distillate from Mexico, finishing off with Sauternes and honey.

“Lastly, we garnish the drink with chilli oil, which makes this cocktail surprisingly refreshing, round and smooth.”

Ingredients:

• 71ml Green mango-infused Patrón Silver*
• 14ml Tosba Mango eau de vie
• 21ml Sauternes
• 7ml Honey syrup (50:50 ratio)
• 2 Dashes of saline
• 2 Dashes of mango vinegar
• Costeño chilli oil, for garnish

Method: Combine the ingredients with ice, stir until cold and strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with an eyedropper of costeño chilli oil.

*Patron mango infusion

• 1 litre Patrón Silver
• 350g Small peeled green mango

Method: Infuse overnight, up to 24 hours. Strain and bottle.