DOW: Martini

We've been doing our "drink of the week" series for eight months now, and we have yet to feature a martini, one of the most well-known drinks in the English-speaking world.

Nowadays, a "classic" martini has a ratio of 5 parts gin (or vodka) to 1 part dry vermouth, and a "perfect martini" is 1 part gin to 1 part vermouth. Interestingly, Julia Child was known to favour an "upside-down" martini with 5 parts vermouth to 1 part gin.

While in current parlance, a dry martini means a higher proportion of gin to vermouth, the origin of the term "dry martini" referred to the use of dry vermouth versus sweet vermouth. Despite this, we are firmly in the "if you don't want to taste the vermouth, just drink straight gin" camp. Our recipe, in our opinion, is more balanced.

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• 2-3 olives for garnish

Stir gin and vermouth with 6-10 ice cubes. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with green olives.