Black in colour and with a flavour that's recognisably part of the Negroni family but with a flat Coke-like smoothness that makes a classic Negroni taste
Usually, we'd follow convention and honour the Martini name with a V-shaped glass. However, due to the splash of champagne, a coupe seems more in keeping
It's rich in both colour and flavour. Don't scrimp on the quality of raspberry jam; use three flat barspoons (15-20ml). Sasha's original recipe specifies
This dry herbal aperitif cocktail is enriched with the floral tones of elderflower liqueur.
This three equal part cocktail makes for a perfect aperitivo.
A lower alcohol and lower sugar version of a Gin & Tonic with a smaller serve of gin topped with equal parts tonic water and soda water so reducing the
This simple but brilliantly complex aperitivo-cum-digestivo cocktail dates from the 1930s when it and most other cocktails were shaken. Don't allow the
A Pink Gin & Ginger would also be a fitting name for this tasty alternative to a Gin & Tonic.
This gin, Barolo Chinato and Peychaud's bitters trio is remarkably reminiscent of a Negroni.
This is the kind of cocktail that many bartenders will want to stir rather than shake. However, it is classically shaken. Herbal, zesty and spirituous.
Original Savoy and Vermeire recipes for this cocktail specify 2 dashes of crème de noyeaux. I've interpreted this as being a generous 5ml / 1/6oz measure
This Wet Martini-style cocktail is basically, a Fairbanks No.2 but with Lillet in place of dry vermouth.
A stirred four-to-one Martini is indeed a delicious thing. But is a five-to-one Martini even more delicious? Try both, and perhaps also a three-to-one.
Zingy candied sherbet lemon with hints of botanical complexity and herbal bitters. This drink is better with the addition of dashes of aromatic bitters
Citrusy gin and accompanying botanicals, zesty limoncello and grapefruit soda.
A Wet Gin Martini with a touch of elderflower floral richness.
This could also be termed a Perfect Martini and it could be argued that bald is a perfect hairstyle – at least for us baldies.
A boozy sipper of a cocktail that's medium dry with honeyed richness. Gin-based with zesty orange freshness and sweet vermouth adding deep herbal complexity.
Bone dry and aromatic with green grape, citrus and mineral notes. Also consider garnishing this cocktail with an olive – it suits it. This is a tasty
Bone dry with faint anise and liquorice notes from the absinthe.
Fresh lime juice replaces cordial in this vitamin C-loaded, almost healthy gin-laced sugar-free version of a classic Gimlet.
A dark, delicately bittersweet and light in alcohol aperitif cocktail.
Dry, spirituous and zesty, this is a cocktail that lends itself equally to apéritif or after-dinner occasions.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass.
A bone dry and Islay smoked Vesper may appeal – certainly worth a try if you're into Martinis and Islay whisky.
As the name suggests, this riff on a classic Negroni is amber in colour with honeyed notes and is not quite as bitter as the classic red version.
This white Negroni is not quite as dry and bitter as a traditional red Negroni and has additional pleasing creamy honeysuckle notes.
The balance of bitters to sugar is key to the success of this cocktail. Use a Japanese dasher bitters bottle and measure your 2:1 sugar syrup judiciously
A 2:1 Dry Martini with a slug of triple sec and dashes of absinthe contributing zesty orange and subtle aniseed respectively.
Spirit-forward and cleansing with gin, floral elderflower with zesty citrus.
This Reverse Martini-style cocktail originally featured a floating salted cherry blossom as a garnish. This is not just for looks, the hint of saltiness
Celery and mastiha pair well, while gin adds a spirituous bite and botanical complexity. A small grind of pepper to finish adds a nuance of spice.
Bittersweet with a strong hint of gentian. A great aperitif.
As a born and bred Londoner, I'm slightly miffed that a New Yorker has applied the name of our great city to a drink using French and Italian products,
This gin laced cocktail is flavoured with apricot liqueur which is balanced and made more complex by dry vermouth. A dash of orange bitters and a light
The orange zest twist makes or breaks this classic, which when properly balanced lets the gin shine supported by herbal vermouth and delicate sweet pomegranate
Wayne Collins, this drink's creator, originally used equal parts as is usual for a classic Negroni and after trying various other formulations, I've found
Boozy and very subtly flavoured and edging very slightly towards being sweet.
Light and delicate, a tasty aperitif cocktail.
A slightly sweet, hopefully crowd-pleasing, combo of gin, elderflower and white wine.
Dry, balanced and delicate with a balanced marriage of gin, fortified wine and maraschino.
Combining advocaat, gin and fino sherry, this is the ultimate stereotypical English Granny's Christmas Cocktail.
A Gin Salad is made like a regular Dry Martini but with three olives and two cocktail onions as garnish. They should be pushed onto the stick in the following
Herbal vermouth flavours pervade this Sopping Wet Martini.
Readers of Embury will know he had a bone dry palate and Martinis made to his specification are just that, and with the correct dilution, fabulous.
Three to one may be unfair odds in a fight but vermouth shines in this stirred off-dry Martini. Through experimentation we have found that 3:1 Martinis
As the name suggests, The Business is a riff on a classic Bee's Knees with lime juice. It's snappier with lime instead of lemon juice.
A very soft rendition of a classic Negroni.
A heady mix of gin, vodka and the distinctive herbal flavour of Chartreuse.
Falernum adds a touch of Caribbean spice to this Gimlet.
A light and fragrant Sweet Martini style drink with elderflower liqueur and peach bitters.
The botanicals in the gin and the herbal Bénédictine combine well in this cocktail, which is balanced by the addition of bitters.
A classic Gin Martini made aniseed fresh with a splash of absinthe. Like me, you may prefer the bite-sized version of this cocktail served straight-up
Pine fresh gin notes combine with aniseed and herbal notes, freshened by pink grapefruit and toned by dashes of bitters.
Delicately flavoured, bittersweet grapefruit and sweet vermouth fortified with gin.
A variation on the Negroni. More gin and less liqueur and vermouth make for an unusual bittersweet Martini.
What a way to go. A Dry Martini with a dash of the green fairy.
Originally made with equal parts gin, Bénédictine and maraschino but better balanced with a tad more gin. (If making with equal parts this is a slightly
Surprisingly fresh and light, this starts slightly sweet but finishes with refreshing bitter tannins. Tea pearls - hand-rolled balls of tea leaves -make
Apricot fortified by gin and apple brandy. Craddock's 1930 recipe calls for this cocktail to be shaken rather than stirred, indeed it's a cocktail that
Craddock calls for this drink to be shaken, but in this instance, stirring seems more in order. I've also mixed to our preferred 5:1 stirred Dry Martini
A delicious dessert-style drink.
Lime works better than lemon but like the Astor, using a combination of lime and lemon produces an even better drink.
Very wet, aromatic Martini.
Dry, subtle, and depending on your choice of sake, possibly amazing.
White chocolate come coconut ice-cream, only vaguely rescued from fluffiness by gin spirit.
Bone dry - a superbly cleansing Martini. Through experimentation we have found that 15:1 Martinis are better shaken rather than stirred. Conversely 3:1
A wonderfully wet Martini with the addition of Lillet and orange bitters.
Absinthe adds bone-dry complexity to this otherwise Wet Martini.
Stir well as dilution helps to tame this old-school classic in which bitter orange predominates.
A Wet Martini served on the rocks, sweetened and flavoured with a slug of cognac orange liqueur.
Gin and juice - orange with a splash of orange liqueur.
A shaken Wet (5:1) Martini with orange bitters.
A Tangy and fresh Gin Sour without the egg white. A juniper heavy gin and dashes of bitters are key to the success of this sour.
Old Guard but this Sweet Martini, which benefits from a splash of orange curaçao, deserves a place on modern cocktail lists.
Dry gin and aromatised wine with a hint of citrus.
Simple yet complex. Dry and aromatic.
Hard to hate but the cola and lime dominate the subtle gin flavours.
Grapefruit and maraschino balance each other in this gin-based classic.
Rich cherry liqueurs fortified by gin and bittered with a hint of orange.
Zingy grapefruit sourness balances rich elderflower in this gin-laced cocktail which you might consider enjoying with your breakfast. That's how they rock
Dry and hardcore - gin, apple brandy and Scotch, tamed only by a little dilution and being chilled.
This rosé-coloured Martini is harder and more spirituous than it looks - perhaps why the name?
A subtle, delicately floral Martini.
Orange generously laced with gin.
Gin and fruit juice. OK, but nothing to sing about.
Salmon-pink and very frothy but surprisingly complex and tasty.
The original recipe omits sugar but was probably made with sweetened pineapple juice.
Reputed to be a favourite of HRH Prince Charles.
Balanced, or even a tad on the sour side rather than sweet. Indeed, your choice of apricot liqueur will impact the need for added sugar. Adjust accordingly
Somewhat reminiscent of a frozen gimlet – the combination of gin and lime shines in this freshening swizzle.
To quote Harry Craddock, Very mellifluous: has a fine and rapid action: for morning work.
A 2:1 Dry Martini but with a splash of orange curaçao taking the dry edge off and adding more subtle complexity than orange bitters.
A Vesper-style Dry Martini smoked with a spoon-full of Speyside whisky
Reminiscent of a fruity screwdriver with a botanical gin character. When made with a good slow gin and freshly squeezed orange juice this is a great brunch
Dry and aromatic with a hint of maraschino richness.
If you like Aviations then this caraway influenced sour may appeal. It's powerfully flavoured so also consider serving in an old-fashioned over ice to
Grapefruit citrus bitterness balances rich floral maraschino liqueur in this delicately balanced gin-based cocktail.
Sake and a hint of orange liqueur add the perfect aromatic edge to this cocktail.
Gin and vodka with a sweet hint of chocolate.
A 2:1 Wet Martini tamed by a dash of pomegranate/grenadine syrup.
Peychaud's bitters give this fragrant cocktail a delicate pink hue.
A two-to-one Dry Martini sweetened and flavoured with one-part cherry brandy.
Aromatic and balanced.
Simple but tasty. All three flavours are harmonious.
Rich raspberry flavour laced with gin.
The Dry Martini meets the Gimlet. They should meet more often.
Slightly sweet, very creamy - drink after dinner.
Basically a G&T with an extra pop of flavour, this has a broader appeal than the original Pink Gin.
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
Rich cassis tempered by gin and dry vermouth.
Dry, aromatic and packs one hell of a punch.
A dry Martini for those with a penchant for Scotch.
Great if you love Sambuca.
Light and easy drinking. Gin and orange lightly spiced with ginger.
A sour, tart, fruity cocktail with more than a hint of lychee.
Fruity, zesty, delicately herbal orange laced with gin. Modern bartending convention is to stir rather than shake this Martini but it's better shaken,
I've combined classic recipes from both Jacques Straub (1914) and Harry Craddock (1930) in this gin-laced, vinous, late-night sipper with delicate mandarin
This dyslexic Gnome is dry and interesting.
A dry, refreshing, long drink.
This fruity, grapefruit-led drink is pleasantly bitter and sour.
Fruity and frothy topped. Like Baywatch!
Stir this 'perfect' Martini around and then get merry.
A classic Martini served perfect and very wet. I prefer mine shaken which is the method Harry specifies in his guide.
Originally shaken but perhaps better stirred. Simple but no less tasty for it.
As Harry Craddock says of his own drink, By its bitter-sweet taste this cocktail is especially suited to be a luncheon aperitif.
An equal parts (Fifty-Fifty) Dry Martini with a hint of orange due to the use of orange curaçao, orange bitters and an orange zest twist.
Tangy grapefruit laced with gin and a hint of orange. Tart finish.
The lychee liqueur dominates this surprisingly dry Rickey.
Light pink in colour and subtle in flavour.
The classic gin and vermouth Dry Martini made not so dry and a tad more approachable by a splash of sugar.
Aromatic vermouth dominates but gin botanicals put up a spirited defence in this flavoursome 'medium' Martini.
A Fifty Fifty Martini with faintly rust colour inducing bitters and subtly fruity maraschino.
A subtle Martini with the honeyed flavours of icewine melding with botanicals in the gin and balanced by the acidity of the white wine.
Soft and fruity. Be careful: it's more potent than you think.
This is basically a Sweet Martini influenced by the addition of bittersweet and aromatic fernet liqueur.
A 'wet' Martini with bitters.
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
A Gin Sour served over crushed ice in a goblet.
If correctly made this serious, gin dominated cocktail should be blush, not pink.
Remembering both vermouth and gin are flavoured with similar botanicals, they obviously have an affinity for each other. This drink may be simple but made
Schumann uses fresh citrus sourness to balance rich lime cordial but opts for lighter lemon juice rather than lime as is classic with a Gimlet.
A classic Dry Martini without bitters and garnished with cocktail onions in place of an olive or a twist. On those two distinctions, all are agreed. However,
Different! Almost flowery in taste with the spice of ginger beer.
Rosemary and sweet elderflower combine wonderfully with the gin botanicals to make an interesting and approachable, if slightly sweet Martini.
Bone dry, orangey, aptly named Martini.
This is my go-to Dry Martini, although I arrive at the same 5:1 ratio with a generous 75ml (2½oz) gin to 15ml (½oz) dry vermouth. I chose a 5:1 ratio
As with all Martinis, striking a perfect level of dilution and achieving an ice-cold serving temperature (helped by chilling/freezing all ingredients,
A 5:1 Dry Martini served without any garnish (i.e. no olive or twist). The name is a reference to Charles Dicken's novel Oliver Twist.
A sweet Martini with a dash of Yellow Chartreuse.
Originally made with Riesling Rhine wine, the Cardinale has become a Negroni made with dry vermouth, producing a lighter cocktail than when made with the
A long stir delivers the dilution necessary for this aromatic, delicately spiced and herbal Wet Martini.
This pinky/rusty drink benefits from a good long stir but the result is an aromatic, medium dry, spicy vanilla Martini.
This drink benefits from a long, chilling and diluting stir. The result is Martini in style, fruity yet dry.
More burgundy than black but dark fruits of the forest dominate this medium dry cocktail.
Tangy gin-laced lemon sourness with aromatic maraschino - too many of these and you really will be flying.
Almond and lemon flavoured gin. Subtle, citrus and, despite generous orgeat, fairly dry.
Rich apricot and apple with a backbone of botanical gin. Balanced rather than dry or sweet. This drink looks better when stirred but the Harry Craddock's
Lightly sweetened gin shaken with fresh aromatic mint.
Basically, a Negroni with liqueur replacing sweet vermouth. Like the Italian classic, this is both bitter and sweet.
Rich cherry is balanced by botanically complex dry gin and citrus freshness, and further dried and deepened by vermouth.
The Buck can be improved by adding a dash of liqueur appropriate to the spirit base. E.g. add a dash of Grand Marnier to a Brandy Buck.
This flavoursome, three equal parts cocktail has a lightly sweet palate followed by a dry finish. An interesting balance of blackcurrant, vermouth and
A tart variation on the Sea Breeze. As dry as Arizona.
In his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David Embury says of the Alaska, This is also sometimes called the Oriental. It can be greatly improved by using
A dry, orangey, herbal, gin-laced aperitivo, closely related to the better known Bronx.
If you are going to shake, rather than stir, a Martini (yes, it then becomes a Bradford) then this 10:1 ratio works rather well as there's something about
Surprisingly dry, chocolate and orange laced with gin.
Emerald green with full-on mint. Good as a digestif after a tenor-sized meal. This was originally a shaken drink and despite modern-day convention, we
Delicate, floral, and aromatic, it has a hint of sweetness but not to offend. Despite the lack of juice in this recipe, don't be tempted to stir rather
Spirit-forward but mellowed by sake and lychee.
Passion fruit liqueur, balanced by tart grapefruit and fortified with gin.
A slightly sweeter, less bitter, artichoke-influenced riff on a classic Negroni.
The quantities of gin and vermouth stated in this recipe produce a Dry Martini with a 30:1 ratio of gin to vermouth. A small amount of dilution is achieved
As Negroni-style cocktails go, the vibrant orange-amber Contessa is nudging being on the sweet side (but no less likeable for it).
Gin botanicals flavour this delicate, citrusy, warming drink.
An after-dinner tipple with gin botanicals and rich herbal flavours dried with fino sherry.
A riff on the classic Tuxedo.
Depending on how you view this, it's a traditional Gin & Tonic with a splash of bitter liqueur adding colour and herbal fruity complexity. Or a G&T take
While the proportions of the classic Negroni are accepted as being equal parts, with some boozehounds slightly upping the gin, the proportions of this
Dry with wine like-minerality, zesty bergamot and piney gin notes.
For the complete on the Med experience, you may want to use a Mediterranean-style gin, but we prefer a London dry style so perhaps making this a Brit On
Depending on your grapefruit this drink may indeed be lightly pink, and, again, depending on your grapefruit, hopefully it will be balanced and superbly
Fino sherry adds a cleansing mineral note to this delicious riff on a classic Negroni.
Blood orange juice replaces sweet vermouth in this fruity Negroni.
Created by Guy Ungar from Double Standard, Tel Aviv, Israel for the 2016 Cherry Heering Classic Challenge.
Not too sweet. The gin character shines through the fruit.
A gin Martini 'dirtied' with pickled gherkin brine and garnished with a pickled gherkin.
Fruity and easy-drinking, yet with complexity from the gin. At least that's how this cocktail tastes when made with pomegranate juice freshly squeezed
A flavoursome balance of sweet and sour.
As sharp, sweet, creamy and flavoursome as the dessert it imitates.
Pale pink in colour and subtle in flavour with gin and the delicately salty tang of manzanilla sherry and drying rich rose and lychee.
A sweetened, blue-rinsed, orange and gin Martini.
Creamy, Christmassy drink just for nana.
Gin tinted violet, flavoured with liquorice and slightly sweetened.
Sip slowly and as the crushed ice melts, so dilution mellows this spirituous after-dinner digestive with cleansing aniseed freshness washing over gin's
Seabrook said of this drink, look like rosy dawn, taste like the milk of Paradise, and make you plenty crazy. He must have been a Pernod lover.
A shot loaded with bold flavours best suited to fans of Chartreuse.
A Dry Martini named after Franklin Roosevelt and garnished with two olives.
Piney notes in the gin are amplified in this bitter-bittersweet riff on a classic Negroni.
The combination of apple brandy, gin and vermouth produce a delicious spirit-forward cocktail with unexpected delicious creamy vanilla notes.
Maraschino shines in this bittersweet aperitivo/digestivo.
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