Martinez

I’ve posted about the Martinez Cocktail on my blog before, but I decided to return to this cocktail for detailed investigation. The Martinez Cocktail is one of my favorite classic cocktails.

The Martinez Cocktail is a very old cocktail. Some peoples think that the Martinez is the precursor of the most famous cocktail of the world – The Martini Cocktail. The author of the Martinez Cocktail is legendary Jerry ‘Professor’ Thomas.

Some imbibers-bloggers pay attention for this cocktail too. You can find more interesting information about Martinez on the one of my favorite blog Oh, Gosh! (by Jay Hapburn) and, of course, on wonderful Spirits And Cocktails (by Jamie Boudreau).

First I’ve discovered an old-style version of the Martinez Cocktail, which is closer to the original recipe by Jerry Thomas.

Martinez Cocktail in an antique crystal glass

Martinez (Old Style)

60 ml sweet vermouth
30 ml gin (Old Tom gin is preferable)
1 tsp maraschino liqueur
1 dash bitters
Stir. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a quarter of lemon wheel.

It’s an amazing cocktail with right and elegant taste. It is a little weak as for my taste, but rich complex taste of this version is very good for me.

Next step of my investigation is the recipe of the Martinez from the CocktailDB. In that Martinez we can try an orange curacao as substitute of a maraschino liqueur and a dry vermouth instead the sweet.

Martinez Cocktail garnished with a cocktail cherry

Martinez (Dry Style)

35 ml gin
30 ml dry vermouth
7 ml orange curacao (or maraschino liqueur)
1 dash orange bitters
Stir. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

This Martinez is pretty close to the Martini Cocktail. It has so dry, aromatic taste (I use MB Orange Curacao 30%). This cocktail is a very good aperitif, but this version is still not my choice.

This version of the Martinez but with maraschino liqueur has beautiful light sweet aromatic taste with a lot of floral undertones. This palate is more preferable for my understanding of the Martinez Cocktail.

And of course I’ve tried a modern version of the Martinez Cocktail by Jamie Boudreau. It is one of my favorite cocktails.

Perfect Martinez Cocktail

Martinez (Modern style)

45 ml gin
45 ml sweet vermouth
2 tsp maraschino liqueur
2 dash orange bitters
Stir. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon slice.

Undoubtedly it’s a magnificent cocktail! It’s a smooth and very aromatic drink. Sometimes I use Angostura aromatic bitters instead orange bitters, and, in my opinion, it works well.

And finally I’ve tried my own version of this classic cocktail. I like to use a sweet citrus vermouth by Cinzano in my Martinez.

Beauty Martinez Cocktail garnished with a lime wedge

My Martinez

35 ml gin
35 ml sweet citrus vermouth (I prefer Cinzano Limetto)
2 tsp maraschino liqueur
2 dash Angostura bitter
Stir. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon slice.

It is a beautiful cocktail with smooth aromatic citrus taste.

4 Replies to “Martinez”

  1. …I’ve fallen in love with the Martinez Cocktail. Despite being from the land of Beer and Cheese (Wisconsin) there is a growing resurgence in classic cocktails that has been lead in large part by a micro-distillery in Madison, WI – Death’s Door Spirits. Their gin, a pre-prohibition style gin (sweeter gin) mixes as well as any Gin I’ve tried in classic cocktails.

    Aside from the Gin in this cocktail, utilizing a high quality Sweet Vermouth makes all the difference in the world. If you can find it – Carpano Antica is the best in my opinion and will amaze you when mixed in all your favorite cocktails. Aside from the Carpano Antica, the Punt e Mes is a nice choice as well.

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