How Drink Pros Mix Their Martinis

For our May/June 2025 issue, we celebrate the iconic Martini, exploring the drink’s history, examining how it’s navigated its place in the modern bar world, and sharing some of our favorite takes on the classic. As with many classic cocktails, like the Manhattan and the Margarita, personal preferences come into play with the Martini, from how to garnish it, to which glassware to use. With this in mind, we tapped some drink pros to find out how they like to mix Martinis for themselves.

Jackson Cannon, beverage director of Eastern Standard, Boston

“When I have a day to plan ahead, I love to get a batch going in the freezer,” says Cannon. “The texture of a properly made freezer Martini is beyond compare.” He batches together 2 parts Ford’s gin or, for a warm-weather Martini, a citrus-forward gin; 1 part dry French vermouth; dashes of Regan’s orange bitters; and a half part of Filthy olive brine for a savory and slightly dirty version. After pouring into an ice-cold glass, he drops in an olive and expresses and discards a lemon twist.

Julian Cox, VP of Beverage Operations for Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, Austin

When Julian Cox set about creating his “World’s Best Martini (No Pressure)” for a restaurant he consulted for, he tasked himself with finding the perfect gin and vodka combo. “Mixing gin and vodka produces a fantastic combination if the gin and vodka have synergy in flavor,” he says. The result became his new favorite frozen Martini. For a 1 liter batch, Cox combines 11 oz. of Japanese gin, 7 1/2 oz. of vodka, 6 oz. of filtered water, 4 oz. of Dolin Dry Vermouth, 2 1/2 oz. of manzanilla sherry, 4 dashes of orange bitters, and 4 dashes of yuzu bitters. Cox notes that manzanilla or fino sherry adds just the right amount of salinity.

Dale DeGroff, Imbibe 75 alum and author of The New Craft of the Cocktail, New York City

For years, DeGroff’s favorite Martini was the one he made for the famed Rainbow Room: 3 parts Beefeater Gin (original proof) and two solid dashes of Noilly Prat dry vermouth, stirred to a slow 30 count, and garnished with an olive and a lemon twist. But that all changed when he first tasted Audrey Saunders’ Fitty-Fitty Martini. “I have been casting about for the perfect 50/50 recipe, and I have arrived at my final final,” he says. Now his go-to specs are 1 1/2 oz. of a high-proof London dry (over 90 proof), 1 oz. of Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth, and 1/2 oz. of Martini & Rossi Ambrato Speciale Vermouth di Torino. He fills a mixing glass to the top with Kold Draft ice, stirs, then strains it into a chilled 5 1/2- to 6-oz. coupe. To finish, DeGroff spritzes the cocktail with his Pimento Aromatic Bitters and garnishes it with a lemon zest and 3 bright green Castelvetrano olives. “It is delicious. And, at 76, exactly the strength that is age appropriate.”

William Elliott, Maison Premiere bar director/managing partner and co-author of The Maison Premiere Almanac, Brooklyn

Since William Elliott says he’s grown “increasingly simple” in his tastes, he only requires 3 oz. of chilled Old Raj gin for his Martini with about a quarter to a half an ounce of blanc vermouth. He doesn’t add it for the sweetness but rather its viscosity. However, Elliott does allow for a bit of luxury for a Martini at home. A friend gifted him a pair of expensive Martini glasses, and upon first use, he found they genuinely elevated the cocktail. “I became obsessed with this idea that it was outstanding in the same way that drinking wine for the first time out of nice stemware is,” he says. He attributes this to how the thinness of the glass’ lip punctuates the sharpness of an ice-cold Martini in your mouth.

Linden Pride, principal of Dante, New York City

Linden Pride leans into the brightness of the Martini by adding a splash of limoncello. For a batched version, he combines 10 oz. of vodka, 5 oz. of Ford’s gin, 5 oz. of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth, 5 oz. of Dolin Blanc Vermouth, 3 1/3 oz. of mineral water, and 1 1/2 oz. of limoncello. “This Martini is a celebration of all things citrus,” he says, adding that the lemon liqueur wonderfully highlights those citrus notes.

Julie Reiner, co-owner of Milady’s, New York City

When batching her freezer Martini, cocktail legend Julie Reiner dilutes the mixture with 20 percent Fiji water. “It has a creamy texture,” she says. “And I love the way that it keeps my Martini silky.” For garnish, she prefers her cocktail with a lemon twist while her wife likes both the twist and olives, so she always keeps both on hand.  

Brynn Smith, Bar Director of Bar Next Door, Los Angeles

“I love making fun Martini variations at home using different liqueurs I have on my back bar—especially amari,” says Brynn Smith of Bar Next Door, one of the 100 best bars in the world. She uses the Poet’s Martini as a template and plays with different liqueurs, bitters, and citrus peels. “Nine times out of ten, it works—just a slight tweak (like changing a 1/4 oz. measurement) can totally transform the drink.”

Dan Smith, general manager at Queen Mary Tavern, Chicago

Dan Smith, the man behind one of Chicago’s best Martini service, never fixes a Martini for himself drier than a 5:1 gin-to-dry vermouth ratio, often drinking his 3:1 (2 1/4 oz. gin, 3/4 oz. dry vermouth) with a dash of orange bitters to complete it. That bit of dry vermouth he uses is often French—”after all, that’s the homeland of the style.” The Noilly Prat Original Dry works best for cold-weather Martinis for its “richer wine character, heavier and more savory botanicals, and a touch of oxidation from its outdoor maritime barrel aging.” Meanwhile he uses Dolin Dry for spring and summer for its cleaner, more delicate flavors.

And while he usually expresses and adds a lemon peel into the glass, depending on the gin, he’ll also add an olive. The extra garnish serves as a “salty-savory counterpoint to the delicate wine-and-botanicals focus of the drink itself—a delightful contrast.”

Keith Waldbauer, bar director of The Doctor’s Office, Seattle

After tasting over 300 variations of a gin and vodka Martini, Keith Waldbauer and TDO owner Matt Powell settled on the ratio of 4 parts gin, 1 part dry vermouth, and 1 part water; a recipe that Waldbauer enjoys at home. But he adds that since the Martini is a personal drink whose “intensity is measured in fractions,” you should use whatever ratio of vermouth and gin you prefer. For gin, he favors Tyler’s City of London gin, “a delightful, workmanlike London style gin that doesn’t break the bank.” And since the average home bartender may not have ice as good as the ones at high-end cocktail bars, Waldbauer recommends freezing the cocktail, which skips having to use that freezer ice entirely.

Takuma Watanabe, owner of Martiny’s, New York City

Co-founder and beverage director of Martiny’s, one of the 50 best bars in the world, Takuma Watanabe prefers his Martini simple. The only prerequisite is to use quality ingredients. “Making a Martini does not need to be intimidating,” he says. “Focus on using good gin and vermouth and you can make a delicious and balanced Martini.” He prefers 3 oz. of dry gin and a 1/2 oz. of dry vermouth with an olive and lemon twist garnish.