Sipping in Season: the Martinez Cocktail

The Martinez cocktail is an ideal autumn sipper, and here are the gins to make it with

Almost exactly a year ago, I was in Berlin for Bar Convent, which, sadly, can only take place digitally in 2020. I met up with some friends at a hotel bar on a somewhat chilly autumn evening, and I was in the mood for gin cocktails, but something a little less... clear... than my usual Martini. I decided to order my first Martinez in what seemed like ages, and was so glad I did. The combination of gin, sweet vermouth and the earthy bite of maraschino liqueur with bitters was exactly the way to go.

I ordered a second one, you know, just to be sure. Yup. That was the right call.

Turns out hotels have historically been a good place to order a Martinez. In his updated Waldorf Astoria Bar Book, author and bar manager Frank Caiafa includes several variations on the Martinez, a once popular order at the Peacock Alley bar that was located in the hotel lobby (olav ha-shalom). In the book he states that the original recipe was first found in print in 1884 in O.H. Byron’s The Modern Bartenders’ Guide as “an enhanced gin-based Manhattan” where it was made with genever or Old Tom style gin.

Even though it’s often considered the precursor to the Martini, I also made the Martinez-Manhattan connection when I was writing New York Cocktails, and included it in the Manhattan section of the book. I mean, it’s made with gin, but it’s a red, stirred and sweet-bitter (not bittersweet) drink, right?

The OG Martinez recipe:

1.5 oz Old Tom style gin or genever
1.5 oz sweet vermouth (use a very classic style, nothing too herbaceous or earthy to allow the gin and maraschino to do their thing)
.25 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur
2 to 3 dashes aromatic bitters
Garnish: lemon or orange twist

Combine in mixing glass, stir with ice until well-chilled and diluted, strain into coupe or cocktail glass of choice. Express citrus oils over the drink. I prefer to discard my citrus rather than plonk it into the drink, since I find the pith makes it too bitter, but that’s up to you.

The version I ordered in Berlin was not made with Old Tom or genever, but instead, Sipsmith London Dry gin, which neatly carried the other ingredients, resulting in a refreshing, yet flavorful texture. According to Caiafa, Harry Johnson preferred this slightly lighter style too when he published his recipe in his 1990 Bartenders’ Manual, calling simply for “gin”, which at the time would have translated to London Dry or possibly Plymouth gin.

Now, I like genever and Old Tom gin, but I prefer those in different drinks. Instead, I prefer Harry Johnson’s method with dry style gin. I also prefer more of the gin, less of the vermouth. And since we’re using cherry liqueur, why do all the recipes insist the correct garnish is a citrus peel??? If there was ever an excuse for a cocktail cherry, this is it.

Martinez Casa Schuster

(somewhat akin to the Bridal Martinez in The Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book):

2 oz. dry gin (doesn’t have to be London dry, but it shouldn’t be a sweet fruit-flavored gin or gin liqueur, more on that below)
1 oz sweet vermouth (my most recent venture, with excellent results, was with Del Professore Vermouth di Torino rosso, a modern classic style that plays well with other ingredients)
.25 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
2 dashes orange bitters or aromatic bitters
Garnish: an odd number of cocktail cherries (1 or 3), because even numbers in a garnish is bad luck, and this year, let’s not take our chances, right?

Prepare using the same instructions as above.

Gins to mix with

While there are just a couple of simple methods to preparing your own Martinezes (Martines? Martinae?), there are many ways to choose your own adventure when it comes to the gin.

If you’re a purist for the classics, by all means, use genever (I like the ones from Rutte) or an Old Tom style (Hayman’s and Ransom are good ones).

Since the drink is just a couple of degrees from being a Manhattan, a barrel aged gin would work well here.

Barr Hill Tom Cat ($45, 43% ABV, Silver Medal winner, 2020 NY International Spirits Competition)
Rabbit Hole Distillery Bespoke Gin is lightly aged in the distillery’s Boxergrail rye whiskey barrels ($44.5% ABV, $50)

If you want a gin with a good weight to it that will also add floral or spicy aromatics to complement and enhance the earthy-fruitiness of the maraschino liqueur, I suggest these:

The new Castle & Key London Dry Gin from the revived Kentucky distillery is made from a whiskey-esque mash bill of corn, rye and malted barley, and has a spice mix that includes cardamom, caraway, licorice and rooibos tea (53% ABV, $30).
California’s Sipsong Spirits Indira gin includes botanicals like lavender, hibiscus and Morrocan sweet orange, which deftly compliment the juniper for a cozy, autumnal, tea-like finish ($40, 45% ABV). I also love this gin in a Negroni and its variations.
If you’ve ever been confused by a tasting note that includes “heather” in the description, the subtly floral Grace O’Malley Irish gin (Gold medal, 2020 NYISC) is a good way to gain understanding of that flavor profile, and will be excellent in a Martinez (43% ABV, $37).

For a dry-sipping, higher proof gin that kicks up the drink without too much of a pine foresty finish, try these:

Junipero London Dry from San Francisco is one of the first American craft gins in the country, and just got a packaging reboot without sacrificing the mixability the brand was built on in 1996 (49.3% ABV, $30)
J. Rieger & Co. Midwestern Dry from Kansas City is strong in substance, but light on the palate, with a subtle mix of botanicals. (46.1% ABV, $30)
Freeland Spirits Dry Gin is a citrusy, clean-tasting navy strength style hailing from Portland, Oregon that manages to fire things up without torpedoing the other ingredients in the drink. For this gin, I would recommend the OG 50-50 ish recipe since the gin is so high octane. (57% ABV, $36)

For a more refreshing, straightforward, classic sipping experience use these gins as a base, or use these as a 1:1 split with any of the gins above to round out the botanical notes: