# Why does no one ever order a "wet" martini?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 31, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271 "2001-03-31T17:27:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![drollman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f04885/32.png) [@drollman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drollman)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271/1 "2001-03-31T17:27:56Z")

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…like the boid said…  
Why does no one ever order a “wet” martini?

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**Author:** ![dublos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f08c70/32.png) [@dublos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dublos)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271/2 "2001-03-31T17:36:39Z")

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[WAG]

because like wine, the opposite of a dry martini is a sweet martini.

[/wag]

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**Author:** ![drollman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f04885/32.png) [@drollman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drollman)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271/3 "2001-03-31T17:40:47Z")

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OK. I’ve never heard of anyone ordering a sweet martini either. My local makes dry martini’s by wiping the martini glass with a Vermouth soaked cloth, then filling the glass with gin. Why not just drink straight gin? Since I’m a tried and true beer drinker, I don’t understand the idea…does the vermouth make that much of a difference?

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271/4 "2001-03-31T17:52:23Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by drollman \*  
> \*\*Why not just drink straight gin? /B]

Exactly. There was a pretty good thread related to this several months ago. I made this exact point. Check it out here for several diverse opinions.

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46932](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46932)

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271/5 "2001-03-31T18:59:26Z")

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The answer was in an American Heritage article a few months ago.

When the martini as we know it was concocted, it went by a variety of names. There already was a combination called a martini, and eventually the newer version was called a “dry martini” to differentiate. Eventually, the older martini went out of fashion, leaving the origin high and dry.

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**Author:** ![Bawdysurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/90db22/32.png) [@Bawdysurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bawdysurfer)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-no-one-ever-order-a-wet-martini/60271/6 "2001-04-01T12:53:33Z")

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_ **"Why don’t we get you out of that dry bikini, and into a wet martini?"** _

Nope, just doesn’t ring quite true, not at all the same, but net results would appear equal in the end.  
Regardless, nine out of ten boulevardiers still prefer:

_ **"Let’s get you out of that wet bikini and into a dry martini, without further ado!"** _