Fraters Libertas

How Dry I Am

Permit me to return, for a moment, to the Martini debate sparked by the fellows at Infinite Monkeys and joined by Atomizer and myself . Further research seems to indicate that the "dryness" of a Martini is indeed relative and has flucated over time. From The Cocktail: The Influence of Spirits on the American Psyche by Joseph Lanza:

There are valid reasons for at least retaining the recipe for a Martini that is both dry and unadorned. Of all drinks, the Martini (with its pure, undiluted alcohol) is the most pristine high any drink can offer. It has a different impact on the body's blood sugar with a longer-lasting stimulus than most other concoctions sullied by juices, sugars, and cream. But the laws for dryness have themselves proven relative and transmutable.

It today's aficionados who favor a thirty-to-one ratio of gin to vermouth were to time travel back to when Martinis first emerged as the supreme sign of urban elegance--the thirties--they might be surprised by what were then customary proportions of three to one. The rebellion against the "wet" Martini (some may call it vermouth-phobia) was more gradual. By the late 1950's the House of Schenley took the dry fever to absurd extremes by recommending a Martini consisting only of a glass of chilled gin.

That's a house Atomizer would feel quite comfortable in. Speaking of Atomizer:

There was also the "Vermouth Atomizer", which emitted discreet gusts that hovered over the glass with no direct contact.

Personally I prefer the thirty-to-one ratio while Ben at Infinite Monkeys has come out in favor of three-to-one and Atomizer agrees with Kyle Hadley (played by Robert Stack) in the film Written on the Wind :

"The secret is not to pour the vermouth, just to pretend you're pouring it."

So how dry should your Martini be? As dry or as wet as you want it. After all it's still a Martini.

UPDATE: Ben actually prefers a 3.7-to-1 ratio, usually rounding to four- to-one.