A clean, spirit-forward variation on the classic Martini that swaps gin for vodka, yielding a softer, more neutral profile lifted by a whisper of dry vermouth. Its early history is murky — a 1935 Smirnoff brochure, Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up (1952), and David Embury's 1948 cocktail encyclopedia all stake a claim — but it surged into prominence during the Absolut-fueled vodka boom of the late 1980s. Stirred cold and served straight up, it is finished with an olive or an expressed lemon twist; James Bond, of course, took his shaken.
Garnish: Olive, Lemon Peel
Stirred · Martini · None
add
Add the vodka and dry vermouth to a mixing glass filled with ice.
stir
Stir well until thoroughly chilled and diluted.
strain
Strain into a chilled martini cocktail glass, served straight up.
garnish
Garnish with an olive, or express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in.