Naked Martini
INGREDIENTS
- 3 oz premium-quality gin
- Garnish: Lemon twist or green cocktail olive (optionally infused with dry vermouth)
INSTRUCTIONS
Stir or shake the gin in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Run the lemon peel around the rim, twist it over the drink, and drop it in, or simply drop in the olive.
VIDEO HOW-TO
NOTES
For those who insist on drinking straight gin and calling it a Martini, whose idea of an extra-dry or bone-dry Martini includes such posturing as a Winston Churchillesque bow toward France, or simply letting the sun shine through a bottle of Noilly Prat onto a cocktail glass of straight gin, this is the Martini for you. There is, however, a variation even for this, which redeems its Martini standing by infusing the olives with dry vermouth before dropping it in.
Icy coldness is a must, so store both the gin and glasses in the freezer. Stir your liquid ingredients with cracked ice or ice cubes (never crushed ice) in a glass martini pitcher or a metal mixing cup (part of a metal cocktail shaker). Stir gently for a few revolutions, until the glass (or metal) turns frosty, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with either an olive or a small spiral of lemon peel, which should be twisted over the drink to disperse the tart bitter oil from the rind into the Martini.
