Bill Addison's Perfect Martini

Making martinis at home is a pleasure that’s distinct from drinking them in the world. Restaurants and bars tend to stock only a handful of widely distributed gins, with maybe one or two boutique gins in the mix to support local distillers. Few among those will be the London dry gins, brisk with forward notes of juniper and citrus, that I prefer for a dry martini.

For the home bar, I start with a trip to an independent Los Angeles-area wine and liquor store (Bar Keeper in Silver Lake, K&L Wine Merchants in Hollywood and the Wine House in West L.A. are three favorites) and a conversation with a knowledgeable staffer. It’s how I came to know a gin like No. 3, clear and spicy and always the fastest-to-empty bottle in my cabinet.

Vermouth — the alto to gin’s soprano — varies in potency depending on the maker. In a martini, I advocate for the dry subtler character of Dolin blanc.

I also champion the merest presence of orange bitters in martinis, an addition with historic context that’s largely fallen out of fashion. The bright sweetness adds a pheromone-level mystery to the flavor and cuts the initial, crucial sharpness.

×

Restaurant critic Bill Addison has perfected his version of the classic martini — stirred, not shaken.