Vodkatini / Vodka Martini

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (54 ratings)

Serve in a

Martini glass

Garnish:

Chilled Fragata Green Olive on stick or lemon zest twist

How to make:

SHAKE (or STIR) all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

2 1/2 fl oz Ketel One Vodka
1/4 fl oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
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Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

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David Embury's birthday

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Recipe contains the following allergens:

Review:

Temperature is key to the enjoyment of this modern classic. Consume while icy cold and you'll enjoy a clean and crisp Martini.

History:

Exactly where the Vodkatini fits in the vexed question of the origins of the Dry Martini are unknown but it's certain that 'Vodka Martinis' were being served in New York after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. It's first known print appearance is a 1935 Smirnoff marketing pamphlet:

VODKA MANHATTAN COCKTAIL
2 parts Vodka
1 part Italian Vermouth (Sweet)
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Ice and stir well. Strain into cocktail glass. Add Maraschino Cherry.
VODKA MARTINI COCKTAIL (DRY)
3 parts Vodka
1 part French Vermouth (Dry)
Put 1 or 2 pieces of lemon peel with ice in mixing glass, stir well. Strain into cocktail glass.
Twist a bit of lemon peel on finished drink. Add an olive if desired.

Smirnoff brochure, 1935

The Vodka Martini's first appearance in a cocktail recipe book is in Ted Saucier's 1952 Bottoms Up.

VODKATINI
By Jerome Zerbe, Photographer, and Society Editor of Town and Country
4/5 jigger Smirnoff vodka
1/5 jigger dry vermouth
Ice
Stir in mixer. Strain into cocktail glass, and add twist lemon peel.

Ted Saucier, Bottoms Up, 1952

Saucier credits the invention of the Vodka Martini to Jerome Zerbe (1904-1988), the society editor of Town and Country Magazine. Zerbe is also credited for being the first celebrity paparazzi. A socialite, he was almost as much a celebrity as the celebrities he photographed and counted movie stars such as Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, and Cary Grant as close friends.

The popularity of the Vodkatini was helped by the rise of vodka during the 1980s and 1990s, and Ian Fleming's character James Bond, who famously drinks Vodka Martini's "shaken, not stirred." [Bond actually drinks Vesper Martinis.]

Nutrition:

One serving of Vodkatini / Vodka Martini contains 172 calories.

Alcohol content:

  • 1.6 standard drinks
  • 27.94% alc./vol. (55.88° proof)
  • 23.1 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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David Embury's birthday image

David Embury's birthday

The author of that seminal work, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David Augustus Embury was born on this day in 1886 in Pine Woods, upstate New York. He

Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night Cocktails image

Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night Cocktails

Remember, remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason, why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.

National Nacho Day image

National Nacho Day

Not a fan of nachos? Then today is nacho lucky day! Yes, today is National Nacho Day, a day dedicated to those delicious fried tortilla chips that we love

National Harvey Wallbanger Day image

National Harvey Wallbanger Day

Of all the cocktails to have its very own day, the Harvey Wallbanger is probably the most surprising. But, yes, Harvey Wallbanger Day is a thing in American.

Irish Coffee arrived in America this day image

Irish Coffee arrived in America this day

The splendidly named Stanton Delaplane, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, may have won a Pulitzer Prize for Reporting, but his legacy remains

Happy Hour Day image

Happy Hour Day

Every hour should be happy but in most bars, this term does not reflect a collective state of joyousness but a period of comparatively cheap booze. Not

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