The Martini: Perfection in a Glass

Enjoy over 35 recipes for one of the most popular cocktails of all time

Harry's Bar Martini: Harry's, New York, New York, and Venice, Italy

To call me impatient is an understatement, and nothing is more frustrating than waiting an excessive amount of time for a drink to be set in front of me. Luckily, this is not a problem at Harry’s Bar, where the martinis are premixed and poured into frozen short glasses in record time. Everything proceeds quickly, in one fell swoop. The only way to experience a delay is to hesitate on your choice of garnish.

Martinez: Antidote, Asheville, North Carolina

Some say it all began with the Martinez. Sometime around 1849, a Gold Rush–era miner walks into a bar in Martinez, California, northeast of San Francisco, and the bartender offers him a drink he calls the Martinez Special. The miner returns to San Francisco and spreads the word of the cocktail to other bartenders. The original drink is far less dry than the standard martini, with the sweet triple threat of Old Tom gin, sweet vermouth, and maraschino liqueur. The Martinez served at Antidote in Asheville, North Carolina, suits modern palates far better than the original.

Smoked: Russ and Daughters, New York

This recipe transfers one of the key flavors of Russ & Daughters—smoke—from the appetizing platter to the cocktail glass. The glass is rinsed with Laphroaig, an especially smoky Scotch, then filled with a combination of spirits, chief among them Perry’s Tot “Navy Strength” gin. Distilled in Brooklyn, the gin is named for an early commandant of its historic Navy Yard (now home to another Russ & Daughters Cafe).

Learn about some of the best places in the world to grab a drink

Dante, New York, New York

Matt Hranek is a fan and regular patron of Dante in New York City, both the legendary spot on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, which has been in operation since 1915, and the latest outpost, on Hudson Street in the West Village. They are famous for their multiple variations on the Negroni, but they have inspired selection of martinis as well.

Dukes Bar, London, United Kingdom

Alessandro Palazzi, the current bar manager of the famed Dukes in London’s Mayfair neighborhood, is an undisputed master of his craft. He’s known the world over for his signature drinks—the Vesper and the namesake Dukes martini—as well as the tableside service, which is, in the author's opinion, second to none in the world.

Bix, San Francisco, California

A San Francisco institution, this dreamy, jazzy place down an alley in Jackson Square is named for its proprietor, Doug “Bix” Biederbeck. It’s famous for its martini, which is always served in a classic Nick & Nora glass.

Immortalized in film and television, the martini is the drink of choice of Hollywood's biggest stars

Sean Connery as James Bond, cinema's most famous martini enthusiast

Bette Davis and Ronald Reagan sip martinis in Dark Victory, 1939

Alan Alda as martini-enjoying army surgeon Hawkeye in M*A*S*H