This is the correct answer. I usually go for Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire. But close enough. Yeah, I know, it’s a Gibson, not a Martini.
Also not a Martini and also lovely is Hendrick’s gin over ice with a slice of lemon. No vermouth, nuthin.
I just like cocktail onions and don’t really care for olives, is all. I find it’s actually fairly uncommon that any non-upscale bar even has cocktail onions, and if the local corner watering hole has them, the jar is likely so old you don’t want them anywhere near your drink.
Yes, I’m glad I’d already read some of these and I picked one last night that turned out quite well.
As JRDelirious alludes the basic structures for all these is similar with brands, portions and garnish differentiating. I already had Bombay, New Amsterdam and Tanqueray on hand. I’ll grab some Hendrick’s, Noilly Prat, maybe Belvedere and a thing or two more today.
The wife asked if I needed anything from the grocery store. I surprised her when I said yes… some lemons. She looked at me funny but will think me exceptionally wise later.
1&2 are correct, especially the Gin part. But any kind of fruit or vegetable other than a tiny bit of lemon peel is just not on.
I once stayed at a pretty fancy hotel that was famous for their martinis and g&t’s and apparently, Pres. Bush Sr went there for fly fishing and when he asked for a dirty martini, he was told that he might be the leader of the free world, but their standards did not allow them to put an olive in his martini. 
Sort of on-topic, I bought some New Amsterdam gin recently to make martinis, unaware that it’s infused with some kind of citrusy shit that was quite vile in a dirty martini. Beware!
Dude, I gotta get to Houston. Martinis and smoked meat. Mmmm.
I agree entirely, good with a twist or in a gin & tonic but so wrong for a dirty.
With some additions to the cabinet I’ve got to say I’m quite taken with Hendrick’s, in fact after sampling a .75 I went right back out and picked up another 1.75. It’s so good I’d never dirty it up with anything but the most subtle of companions in a martini.
The Original Bombay surprised me too. While a Sapphire’s brighter and more complex aromatics are in a class by themselves, the Original might become my default go to and what it also does for a G&T is not to be dismissed.
I’m working my way through the suggestions made so far, they’re all much appreciated. Beefeater and Belvedere are next.
Eta: Oh yeah, Noilly Prat… I can’t find that anywhere. Bummer.
Fill martini glass entirely with ice, set aside.
Put a splash of vermouth in the cocktail shaker. Immediately pour out. Now fill with ice, add vodka or gin of choice and shake vigorously.
Empty martini glass of ice (now perfectly pre chilled!), add a dash of olive juice, them immediately pour off, and/or wipe rim with fresh lemon twist (twist it hard to release the oils first!), now strain liquor into chilled and prepped glass.
Garnish with lemon twist or olives on a skewer, and serve.
You will not be disappointed!
(If it’s got cocktail onions in it, it’s no longer a martini, it’s a Gibson!)
Yes and yes. I weep for the generations who have been tricked into believing that a martini is just vodka poured over ice. Of course they add olive juice and any other thing behind the bar to try to give it some flavor, its just alcohol and water otherwise.
If I want to drink vodka, I drink vodka. I don’t call it a martini.
(I never want to drink gin - vile stuff).
nm
Ice into metal shaker. 3 parts Hendrick’s or Tanquery 10 gin, 1 part dry vermouth ( I like Noilly Pratt or Martini and Rossi extra dry), swirl, not shake 50 cycles (It works). pour into chilled glasses. I garnish mine with three jalapeno or blue cheese stuffed olives, SWMBO gets a coffee bean or lime zest twist as she hates olives and onions so a Gibson is out.
Notes: According to a documentary I saw, shaking bruises the botanicals and dulls the flavour. This is probably snake oil but since I started swirlling the martinis taste better. They also coated the glass with the vermouth vice adding it to the shaker, but I’ve found I like it added. They also taste better in our Mikasa crystal glasses versus the cheaper glass ones we have. This may be due to the shape of the glass but prettier makes it work better; I stand by this for most things in life.
Vodka has other, better places to be than in my martini.
3 measures Hendrick’s Gin
1 measure Crater Lake vodka
1 measure Lillet Blanc
Shake very well with lots of ice
Pour into a chilled cocktail glass, add 3 almond stuffed olives.
Sit back, relax, sip.
Best enjoyed with the beautiful music of Beethoven.
. . . Oh. I may have forgotten to mention that the gin is stored in the freezer. Saves some time and dilution.
I had no idea this was a thing until recently, but I’ve enjoyedReverse Martinis for many years. Apparently it was a favorite of Julia Child and Queen Elizabeth I and II, as well!
My take:
4 oz. of vermouth or similar (I like Dubonnet Blanc, Lillet is good)
shot of gin (not picky, as long as it doesn’t taste like PineSol. Zubrovka – and other grass-infused spirits – is called vodka but it’s really gin, and and is awesome)
Hearty dash of bitters (grapefruit, rhubarb, my homemade fenugreek, whatever)
Shake with ice, pour into stemmed glass (not a “martini glass,” ugh!), add a slice or squeeze of lemon.
Refreshing, but more potent than you’d think. 
On the rare occasion I feel like a gin martini, I do it the same way, but reverse the gin/apertif proportions, and sometimes add a slice of cucumber.
Good bartenders, also you shouldn’t shake a Manhattan or any drink that just mixes spirits really. Mostly, it is to avoid the drink being cloudy from ice chips and watered down.
I don’t shake or stir, but ‘agitate.’ I put the ingredients in a shaker with ice and kind of swirl it gently. It gets it colder than stirring, but doesn’t cloud the drink the way shaking does.
I don’t really have a good martini recipe, so I’m reading this with interest. Especially the gin recipes, because gin in better than vodka in all respects.
Vodka Martini
Pour Stolis over ice. Consider other ingredients, reject them, drink.
Actually, as I’ve tried several combinations over the course of reading this thread that’s what I’ve started doing too, I swirl in a metal shaker, but probably more than “gently.”
And I’ve no idea what this would be called but partly out of convenience and partly out of curiosity last night I just kept the ingredients but discarded the chill; 1:5 M&R in a glass with Hendrick’s on top and a twist. Warm, the flavors were more pronounced and I thought it quite good. Perhaps not refreshing during the July heat but being a neat whiskey drinker I found it very engaging. It’s not neat or up or straight up but it is darn tasty.
What I can’t stand are people who say, “this martini is strong.” Of course it’s strong, it’s a glass of spirits. If you want a slurpee with vodka, Appleby’s is at the mall.
A martini is mostly gin. Therefore, the secret to a good martini is to use good-quality gin. The precise amount of vermouth, the method of mixing, the garnish: All these come after that basic fact.