50/50 Martini

The 50/50 Martini is, as the name would suggest, a variation on the Gin Martini. Hell, there are tons of Martini variations out there, and the 50/50 Martini is one of the simpler ones.

The standard Gin Martini (the we have on this site at least) is about 50 mL of Gin and 10 mL of Dry Vermouth. You may have seen different ratios elsewhere; people make a Martini in all sorts of different ways. Some prefer a drier Martini so add a lot less Vermouth. Some prefer a wetter Martini so add more Vermouth. We think the ratio we have on this site is about right, but ultimately it's up to you.

The 50/50 Martini, on the other hand, does away with all of that! This recipe is simply half Gin, half Dry Vermouth, and a little bit of Orange Bitters for good measure. Not only does this make the 50/50 Martini recipe extremely easy to remember, it also makes it a great version of the Martini!

Total Time 3

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

45 mL Gin
45 mL Dry Vermouth
1 dash Orange Bitters

Instructions

Pour Gin, Dry Vermouth, and Orange Bitters into a mixing glass with ice.
Stir everything until it's cold.
Strain into a Martini glass.
Garnish with what you like and serve.

Notes

When choosing your Gin and Vermouth, obviously go for something of good quality. This cocktail is pretty much all Gin and Vermouth, so why go with something that's not the best? With that in mind, this cocktail recipe is also a fun way to experience different Gins as well as different Vermouths. The world of these two basic cocktail ingredients is wide, so have fun with something a little bit different.

The other fun thing about the 50/50 Martini is that, although it's similar to a standard Martini recipe, it's different enough to be a completely separate cocktail. So, if you're just playing around with our cocktail builder looking for what you can make, suddenly you have a whole extra cocktail without having to even add any ingredients to your bar.

And if you really want to have some fun, try making our Gin Martini recipe, which is a little bit on the drier side, then work your way up to the 50/50 Martini in 10 mL increments. See where you like it the best. It's certainly a drink you'll come back to again and again.

Our Review of the 50/50 Martini

If you like a very wet Martini, the 50/50 Martini is for you, but if you prefer a Martini that’s basically just straight gin with almost no vermouth, the 50/50 Martini will probably be a disappointment.

For me, I’m the type that likes a Martini with as little vermouth as possible. Sometimes I’ll just had cold neat gin and call it a Martini!

So trying a 50/50 Martini was a bit of a different take for me. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it, but it’s not something I would have had if I didn’t have to. For me, dry vermouth needs to be a small part of a larger recipe, even if that recipe is only two or three ingredients. But, at the same time, the more herbal elements of the dry vermouth tend to compliment the floral notes of the gin. A 50/50 Martini is really the type of cocktail where you need to pick the right gin and the right dry vermouth. If you just combine any gin and and vermouth, you’ll find the flavours don’t work too well together and your cocktail won’t be any very good.

That’s the risk of a cocktail like this. With most cocktail recipes, as long as you’re using relatively good quality ingredients, your drink will turn out fairly well, but it doesn’t matter what the specific ingredient is. Of course this isn’t the case with every cocktail recipe, but most recipes will work with any variation on a specific ingredient.

So my advice is that, if you’re looking to make and try a 50/50 Martini, try it with a few different combinations of gin and dry vermouth. If you don’t like it the first time, try it again with something different. Maybe you’ll get a pleasant surprise!

6/10