Nick & Nora

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (20 ratings)

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
12 oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of skewered Fragata Green Olives.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Garnish with skewered olives.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 9/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 8/10

Review:

A classic Three-to-One Dry Martini served in bijou proportions.

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History:

Created in circa 1934 and named after Nick and Nora Charles, the flirtatious married couple at the centre of Dashiell Hammett's 1933 The Thin Man story serialised in Redbook Magazine. Published as Prohibition was ending, Nick is a hard-drinking retired detective and his wife Nora a wealthy heiress, both embrace cocktail culture. The Thin Man was published as a novel in 1934 and then a series of movies.

In the novel, Nick and Nora shake their Martinis and Nick tells a bartender, "The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a Dry Martini you always shake to waltz time." Hence, some insist a Nick and Nora Martini should be shaken rather than stirred.

In the movie, the detective duo drink from what has become known as a Nick & Nora glass so this has become the default for this scaled-down to fit Dry Martini.

Nutrition:

One serving of Nick & Nora contains 117 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.2 standard drinks
  • 27.87% alc./vol. (27.87° proof)
  • 16.7 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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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
13th July 2023 at 00:18
With the limited ingredients, it is critical that you use the best quality you can afford. It is also advisable to have your ingredients super cold (freezer). The cocktail is very flavourful with bursts of herbal tastes.
1st July 2023 at 20:34
I must contradict the instructions on this one because, regardless of one's preferences for their own Martinis, if you're going to make a Nick & Nora: "Always have rhythm in your shaking...a dry martini, you always shake to waltz-time."