The Perfect Martini

Published on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, by Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith / Edit Post

The Perfect Martini

By Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith

Esquire drinks correspondent (and Beard Award–winning author) David Wondrich profiles his perfect martini, the Pegu Club’s Fitty Fitty, which features equal parts vermouth and gin. Pegu Club co-owner Audrey Saunders adds her thoughts as she pours.

The unparalleled. The best in show. We call it The Perfect: our video series on how something so very good gets to be that way.

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POST A COMMENT |13 Comments

COMMENT

  • That was actually part of a song from "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying", I believe, though it sure sounds like something Lehrer would've written if he'd thought of it first.

  • Fabulous cocktail, but what I really want is those glasses. Martini glasses, in contrast, are generally too big and their geometry practically ensures you'll spill your drink. Count me a detractor.

    I first saw the glassware shown in the video at Pegu Club and more recently at Heaven's Dog in SF. Erik Adkins at Heaven's Dog told me that they call them Nick and Nora glasses and get them from...+READ

    Fabulous cocktail, but what I really want is those glasses. Martini glasses, in contrast, are generally too big and their geometry practically ensures you'll spill your drink. Count me a detractor.

    I first saw the glassware shown in the video at Pegu Club and more recently at Heaven's Dog in SF. Erik Adkins at Heaven's Dog told me that they call them Nick and Nora glasses and get them from Minners Designs in NY, but I don't see them listed on the Minners site. The search continues ...

    P.S. I love how Saunders says the cold "emits" from the ice.-COLLAPSE

  • Hearts full of youth
    Hearts full of truth
    6 parts gin to
    1 part vermouth!

    (Per Tom Lehrer)

  • I am organizing a White Party for an event at work and need a recipe and name for a fun White Martini. Any suggestions?!

  • I've been making the occasional Fitty-Fitty since I first read about it, using Hendrick's gin and Angostura bitters (a little heavier on the bitters for me, please). What I need to improve, I see from these comments, is my vermouth - I've been making martinis with Gallo forever, but I guess it's time to grow up some more!

    The late, great bon vivant Lucius Beebe rendered one of my favorite...+READ

    I've been making the occasional Fitty-Fitty since I first read about it, using Hendrick's gin and Angostura bitters (a little heavier on the bitters for me, please). What I need to improve, I see from these comments, is my vermouth - I've been making martinis with Gallo forever, but I guess it's time to grow up some more!

    The late, great bon vivant Lucius Beebe rendered one of my favorite pronouncements concerning martinis: "Anything drier than five to one is just iced gin!"-COLLAPSE

  • J. Boissiere dry vermouth.

  • I somewhat enjoy the Vesper from time to time, however vermouth and bitters instead of the Lillet is a nice twist too:

    'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'

    'Oui, monsieur.'

    'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'

    ...+READ

    I somewhat enjoy the Vesper from time to time, however vermouth and bitters instead of the Lillet is a nice twist too:

    'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'

    'Oui, monsieur.'

    'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'

    'Certainly monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

    'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.

    Bond laughed. 'When I'm...er...concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I think of a good name.'

    — Casino Royale, Chapter 7: Rouge et Noir[5]-COLLAPSE

  • It looks like she's using Noilly Prat vermouth in the clip; it was my standard until Chowhounds turned me on to Vya.

    I've always made my martinis 3:1 (using either Tanqueray or Plymouth with Vya) but for the first time today I tried the Fitty Fitty. Wow - what a beautifully balanced drink. I'm never going back.

  • I alway use a heathty dose of Noily in my Sapphire Martini's (6 gin to 1 verm) and 2 drops of Pernoid, blue chees olive. This sounds very good, I'll try one tonght.
    I've never understood the elimination of the vermouth, a natural herbal complement to the gin. If I want just gin I'll take it on the rocks with a twist.

  • You wish is our command! http://www.chow.com/stories/10816

    Actually, this story was published in November. Nonetheless, I think you'll be interested to read Jordan's findings...

    Meredith

  • Yes yes! A vermouth piece!

  • Chow should take a look and tell us about some of the high end vermouth's that are out there. She mentions the gin, but doesn't seem that interested in the vermouth that she's using. We found Vya a couple years ago on a visit to California. It turned us right around on vermouth.

    There must be others premium vermouths.

  • I'm so glad to see old school martini making saluted...so BORED with the "wave the vermouth in the direction of the glass" school of cold gin lovers, and downright angry at the thankfully fading apple-choco-poma-tini. I do generally prefer a 75-25 split myself, a little more vermouth with a more floral gin, but without the mix, it isn't a cocktail!