The correct way to make a martini

[waterj2]

As far as I'm concerned, to make a martini correctly, you must make it with both gin and (dry) vermouth. Some people maintain that a martini is better without vermouth. I don't consider gin shaken (or stirred) with ice, strained into a cocktail glass, and garnished with olives to be a martini. It's cold gin. The vermouth is an essential ingredient, as gin by itself is quite vile.

Some people substitute vodka for gin, calling it a vodka martini. Since the vermouth only accounts for about a quarter of the drink, I don't see how this qualifies as any kind of martini.

Then there are the numerous other martinis, such as the black martini and the lemon drop martini, which generally contain neither gin nor vermouth, and aren't even garnished with olives either. The only claim to the name of martini that these drinks have is that they are served in a cocktail glass (which the people that drink them probably call a martini glass). A far better term for these drinks would be "cocktail".

The rest is a matter of taste, as far as I'm concerned. Whether the drink is shaken or stirred has only a minor effect on the finished product. The amount of vermouth to use is also a matter of taste. I happen to like them about four to one, but as long as there's a few drops in there, it can still be a martini.

But, true to the nature of this forum, this is all just my humble opinion.