Bradford Martini

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (68 ratings)

Serve in

Martini glass

Garnish:

Skewered chilled olive or lemon zest twist

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

2 1/2 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
1/4 fl oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
1 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura (optional)
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AKA:

Shaken Martini

Review:

I do like a shaken Dry Martini! Sorry, I should say Bradford. For some a "shaken martini" is blasphemous but the aeration generated by the more vigorous mixing makes the cocktail lighter, colder, and on occasion, more appealing.

There's something about shaking a martini (Bradford) that amplifies the vermouth notes more than when stirring. Hence, shaken martinis (Bradfords) need less vermouth. After experimentation, I've found that a 10:1 gin to vermouth ratio (as above) is perfect (while I prefer a 5:1 ratio for a stirred Martini).

History:

A Bradford is a Dry Martini which is shaken rather than stirred. Like the Martini itself, the origin of the Bradford is lost in time. However, in Harry Johnson's 1900 edition of his Bartender's Manual he includes two Martini recipes – one simply titled "Martini Cocktail" and the other "Bradford à la Martini" – crucially the Martini is stirred while the Bradford is shaken. This difference is reinforced by David Embury in his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, "If you shake the Martini it becomes a BRADFORD."

In common with his Martini recipe, Harry Johnson's 1900 Bradford à la Martini recipe calls for equal parts "Tom gin" and "vermouth" shaken with "3 or 4 dashes of orange bitters" and "the peel of one lemon". He specifies to garnish with "a medium-sized olive."

BRADFORD À LA MARTINI.
(Use a large bar glass.)
¾ glass of fine-shaved ice;
3 0r 4 dashes of orange bitters;
The peel of one lemon into mixing glass;
½ wine glass of Tom gin;
½ wine glass of vermouth;
Shake well with a shaker, strain into a cocktail glass, put a medium-sized olive into it and serve.

Harry Johnson, 1900

Nutrition:

173 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.9 standard drinks
  • 31.49% alc./vol. (62.98° proof)
  • 26.1 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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Buy direct from
the_whisky_exchange store logo
£ -.--

Makes a minimum of ... cocktails
Just £ -.-- per cocktail*

* This list may not include all required ingredients.
Price per cocktail is an estimate based on the cost of making one cocktail with the available ingredients shown above and does not include any postage charges.
Buy direct from Difford’s Guide
Difford's Easy Jigger
£8.72 £8.72 exc VAT
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