Use a chilled glass, add expensive lemons and always stir NEVER shake: William Hanson says Bond is wrong as he reveals how to make a proper martini

  • A proper martini should always be made with gin and vermouth not vodka
  • It should always be served in a chilled, tall, funneled flute
  • The garnish is extremely important so don't use cheap olives
  • William visits Dukes Hotel, London, to recreate the perfect martini 

With the release of Spectre, perhaps you may wish to switch from your regular glass of sherry as an aperitif to a martini to mark the occasion?

I hate to pour shade on the film franchise but those transatlantic producers have somewhat confused how the book’s Bond intended to have the drink.

My guide, with the help from Bar Man Alessandro Palazzi, from Dukes Hotel, London (where Ian Fleming is thought to have taken inspiration for his character’s drinking habit), will set the record straight as how best to serve your martini the traditional, and proper, way.

The Glass

The gods of mixology would not have named an entire genre of glassware after the martini had they not intended us to use it when consuming the classic cocktail.

A martini glass is a tall, funneled flute referred to by many (incorrectly) simply as 'a cocktail glass'.

This remains the standard vessel for gin mixed with vermouth.

Serving it any other way is sacrilege.

A Chilled Glass

The glass should be chilled.

You can either do this by popping them in a freezer for an hour or two before you want to make the drink, or, for those who don’t plan that far ahead, by leaving a few ice cubes and a little bit water in the glass for 15 minutes or so.

Resident etiquette expert William Hanson explains how to serve the perfect martini in a chilled glass with gin, vermouth and expensive olives

Resident etiquette expert William Hanson explains how to serve the perfect martini in a chilled glass with gin, vermouth and expensive olives

Don't get confused, gin and vermouth are the main ingredients of a classic martini not vodka as many think

Don't get confused, gin and vermouth are the main ingredients of a classic martini not vodka as many think

It's Gin, Darling, Not Vodka

In Ian Fleming's original Bond novel Casino Royale, his brooding protagonist orders simply a 'martini', not a 'vodka martini' with which it has since become confused.

The difference here is crucial.

The traditional (and therefore the best) recipe uses a strong, dry gin as the base ingredient.

Vodka is a supplement for the Sainsbury's Basics generation and is to be avoided at all costs.

Don't Forget The Vermouth

A cocktail, by definition, must have more than one ingredient.

As such, to treat dry vermouth as an unwanted imposter is a scandal.

Nowadays ordering a 'dry martini' will often result in the bartender doing little more than rinsing the glass in the merest layer of vermouth.

However, this is to replace the classic recipe with what is essentially a glass of neat gin.

Vermouth is a marvelous invention.

Hanson says that the drink should actually be served stirred, NOT shaken so it isn't diluted by the broken ice

Hanson says that the drink should actually be served stirred, NOT shaken so it isn't diluted by the broken ice

A fortified wine, now back in fashion among the hipster class, I suggest you use the French brand Noilly Prat for best effect.

Although personal tastes vary, a good rule of thumb is to add one part of vermouth for every three parts gin.

For those insist on having a vodka martini then note that you should use a tad more vermouth than when making a gin-based one – you want to taste the botanicals of the gin, not the vermouth.

Stirred NOT Shaken

Yes, you read that correctly.

Contrary to the whim of Commander Bond, the traditional way to prepare a martini is by stirring the ingredients, not shaking.

Aside from the fact that every bartender will roll their eyes the moment you utter the words 'shaken not stirred', shaking serves merely to break the ice, thus overly diluting it.

 In Ian Fleming's original Bond novel Casino Royale, his brooding protagonist orders simply a 'martini', not a 'vodka martini' with which it has since become confused

As Martin Sheen’s President Bartlett from The West Wing aptly noted, "James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it".

Sorry Bond - on this, you're just wrong.

Those Better Not Be Cheap Olives

A martini has a certain style, a certain look; often this is defined by its garnish.

An olive on the end of a cocktail stick or a twist of lemon have become the default accompaniments and remain the classic benchmarks.

When picking your lemons, get unwaxed lemons or else you won’t taste any citrus.

If opting for olives, whatever you do, don't buy cheap ones.

The whole point of the olive is not only to add flavour to the alcohol, but also to provide the perfect ending to the drink when one bites into the gin-covered fruit after draining the glass.

If it's been bought in one of those faddy, downmarket German superstores, a discerning drinker will be able to tell, so choose wisely.

A pearl onion is also an acceptable garnish.

A ‘dirty’ martini (with a splash of olive brine) is not to be encouraged. Many years ago if you asked a reputable barman for one you would have been taken out and shot in Berkeley Square.

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER CLINK GLASSES 

  • The habit of clinking wine or cocktail glasses together is the reserve of those who are not used to drinking from fine glassware and is best avoided.
  • The legend goes that men in alehouses many years ago would smash their pewter tankards together so their drinks exchanged.
  • Any man who was reluctant to do this may well have popped something nasty into the other man’s tankard so would be unwilling to have any of that enter his own vessel.
  • Like the handshake (to show a man had not drawn his sword) the clinking of tankards was a sign of peace.
  • Today, when drinking from delicate glassware it is best avoided unless you don’t much care for your wine glasses.

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