Here’s the big secret most people miss. “Dry” doesn’t mean “no vermouth.” Wait, what? I know, it’s confusing.
In the old days, a “dry” martini meant you used dry vermouth (the pale, herbal kind), not sweet red vermouth. But somewhere along the line, we got dramatic.
Now, “dry” usually means very, very little vermouth. Like, a whisper of it. Some bartenders just wave the vermouth bottle near the glass. Is that enough? Maybe.
The Legendary “In-and-Out” Method
Here’s a move for the purists. You rinse the glass with vermouth, then pour it out. Poof. Gone. Then you add straight, freezing-cold gin.
Then there’s the Churchill method. Winston Churchill supposedly just looked at the vermouth bottle while pouring the gin. No joke. That’s a dry martini to him.
Is that absurd? Absolutely. Is it also kind of awesome? You bet.
