The Dry Martini is the world’s leading appetizer with a spirits base. Recipe guides and such still advise you to make your Martini with 1 part Vermouth and 2 parts gin, but the average Martini drinker appreciates the drier flavor of a 3-to-1 ratio. Since a drink as simple and satisfying as the Dry Martini was just too good to leave well enough alone, there have appeared through the decades literally hundreds of recipes that were, in effect, Martinis with a dash of this or that added. A Sweet Martini merely substitutes Italian vermouth for French vermouth, and, consistently enough, substitutes a sweet maraschino cherry for the dry olive as a garnish. Add half an ounce of Green Chartreuse to your Sweet Martini and you’ve got what is known as a Bijou cocktail.
Watch master “mixstress” Alberta Straub demonstrate professional techniques for stirring your cocktail to chilled perfection.
To summarize: In a cocktail shaker 3/4 full of ice, combine 1 jigger gin and ½ ounce each of sweet vermouth and green Chartreuse. Stir for about 20 seconds, adding more ice if the ice becomes submerged. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.
