Name: Perfect Martini
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Gin; 22.5 ml Dry vermouth; 22.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 1 dash Orange bitters

Perfect Martini
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Serve in a Martini glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
1 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Martini glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Dry vermouth, Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Made with equal parts gin, rosso vermouth and dry vermouth the result is almost sherry-like and suits the aperitivo moment. However, if you want that spirituous Martini punch then gin-forward, as per above, is for you.

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AKA: Medium Martini, Somerset, the Queen

Variant:

Merry-Go-Round Martini

History:

The Perfect Martini sits between a Dry Martini (with gin and dry vermouth) and a Sweet Martini (with gin and rosso vermouth) so is logically called a Medium Martini in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.

MARTINI (MEDIUM) COCKTAIL.
¼ French Vermouth.
¼ Italian Vermouth.
½ Dry Gin.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Harry Craddock, 1930

In his 1948 The Fine Art Of Mixing Drinks, David Embury also calls this a "Medium Martini" and has a lot to say about those who call it "Perfect."

MEDIUM MARTINI
1 part French Vermouth
1 part Italian Vermouth
2 to 4 parts Gin
1 dash Orange Bitters &
1 dash Angostura to each drink
Some recipes call for orange bitters only and some omit the bitters altogether.
This cocktail also goes under the name Perfect. Someone once said that whoever named near-beer was a darned poor judge of distance. I say that whoever named the "Perfect" cocktail was a might poor judge of perfection.
It is also sometimes called the Somerset and, if made with equal parts of French vermouth, Italian vermouth, and gin, the Queen.
David Embury, 1948

More cocktails by Harry Craddock

Nutrition:

One serving of Perfect Martini contains 160 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
22.91% alc./vol. (22.91° proof)
20.7 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 8 comments for Perfect Martini.
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John Taylor

28th May at 07:43

I made a slight tweak to the recipe as I didn't have orange bitters so decided to add a little Luxardo Aperitivo instead (I thought this closer than the Australian Bitters alternative I had).
I made a mistake and went for my usual stuffed olives garnish, so removed and added orange zest instead - it didn't seem to suffer too much!...
I will be trying the same cocktail using blanco vermouth which ought to look more like your typical martini.

John Taylor

28th May at 08:10

Hmm - it seems blanco is sweeter than rosso so 2:1:1 Gin:Dry:Blanco is still pretty sweet so the Three Two One Martini looks to be a better option. Still tasty, just not "perfect"...

Peter Shaw

17th August 2023 at 08:50

The Queen's cocktail is also 1/2, 1/4, 1/4 but has crushed pineapple (in The Savoy Cocktail book). But I must say that equal parts goes down quite easily as well!

John Hinojos

30th August 2022 at 00:07

Knowing the era this would have been developed, it is exactly what I was expecting. Sherry and Vermouth were still considered the main aperitif. It is a blending of the American and British that Craddock provided a cocktail that blended both styles.

James R

16th September 2021 at 00:55

While I think it tastes very nice, and really shows off the vermouth.. the gin seems a bit reduced and the botanicals get a bit lost in there. For my preference I'd amp up the gin or tone down the vermouths, just enough to let more of the gin bite to come through.

Jeremy Harrold

18th June 2021 at 17:47

Simply excellent.

Peter Shaw

21st May 2021 at 07:55

My (mini) version:
30ml Copperwave (Hunter Valley) Gin (I keep mine in the freezer - adds a great texture to the martini)
15ml Regal Rogue Bold Red (which is quite a dry vermouth)
15ml Dolin Blanc vermouth (a bit sweeter, to balance the Bold Red)
Slips down a treat...

Fiona McLeod

13th December 2020 at 21:16

Well that was interesting. I completely agree about the Sherry feel. It was a lovely drink for a perfect drink for an imperfect day

Mark Noble

22nd September 2020 at 16:10

Whilst I am a HUGE fan of filthy/dry/vodka martinis and lately gibsons, sometimes, I fancy something a tad sweeter and less like rocket fuel ...and this fits the bill perfectly plus it´s a doddle to make. Thank you Mr Difford.

Simon Difford

21st November 2020 at 21:45

Thanks to the comments on this page, I have just revisited the Perfect Martini, and as you say, it's a tad sweeter and easier. And delicious. Thank you!

Rithwik Hari

20th November 2020 at 02:01

Big +1 to this! The "sherry-like" description is fitting. A nice take on a martini to mix it up for someone like me who usually prefers them nice and dry.