Featuring St. George Terroir Gin & Noilly Prat Extra Dry Vermouth
So, I’m not a huge fan of martinis, but I love gin, and I enjoy vermouth, so I figured it must be a matter of not knowing what ratio I personally like best so here goes, quick notes of various ratios all garnished with a lemon twist because I am not a fan of olives. 😅
1:1
Stirred. Smells of lemon, botanicals, and just a hint of white wine. Tastes lightly bitter with citrus and dry white wine flavors up front, slowly fading into the gin botanicals and oak in the finish. Not bad, but not something I’d necessarily order.
2:1
Stirred. Smells of lemon and baking spice. Tastes balanced with citrus and cinnamon up front, fading into cinnamon, pine, cardamom, and bitter herbs. I’m honestly shocked at how much the botanicals in the gin pop out suddenly, and would order this; plus it’s easy to remember as I prefer Manhattans at this same ratio.
3:1
So I’m following this list of common ratios and for whatever reason it specifies a dash of orange bitters for this ratio. Stirred. Smells of lemon and a hint of pine. Tastes bright with lemon, orange, and cinnamon up front, fading to pine, rosemary, bitter herbs, and oak. I like the added notes from the bitters, but the finish is a little too intense and somewhat muddled.
5:1
Stirred. Smells of lemon, pine, and cardamom. Tastes fresh and green with pine, lemon, and dill fading into a cardamom, cinnamon, and rosemary finish. Surprisingly I really like this ratio as well, and it showcases completely different flavors in the gin as the 2:1. Most intriguing…
7:1
Stirred. Smells of lemon, pine, and bay leaves. Tastes crisp and dry with pine, juniper, and white wine fading into rosemary, even more juniper, and subtle oak. Also enjoyable, bracingly bitter but still pleasing in a manner reminiscent of Campari or a West Coast IPA. Noticeably different from the 5:1, with paradoxically a bit more vermouth presence.
10:1
Stirred. Smells of lemon, pine, and juniper. Tastes crisp and very dry with pine, juniper and rosemary fading into rosemary, pine, bay leaves, and lemon peel. Very dry, very bitter; not undrinkable, but I prefer 5 and 7 more.
15:1
Shaken per Difford’s recommendation. Smells of lemon, pine, and rosemary. Tastes crisp and herbaceous with juniper, Pinot Grigio, and prosecco fading to rosemary, bay leaves, and subtle oak. Overall, it’s amazing how much of a difference the shaking makes, and this really is more vermouth forward than the 10 and more enjoyable to my palate.
Naked 5:1
So I’ve decided I like a wet 2:1, as well as both the 5:1 and 7:1 dry martinis, and thought this “naked” (no ice, just chilled gin/vermouth; neither shaken nor stirred, and therefore undiluted) might be a happy medium. Smells of lemon, apple, and orange. Tastes crisp and floral with lemon, apple, pear, and white wine fading into juniper, rosemary, pine, and spices. Overall, the spices are cut back, but the fruitiness is more forward than a stirred 5:1, I really am amazed at how such minute differences in preparation can make a huge difference in the final drink. I think this is my favorite dry martini.