Basic Cocktails - The Martini 

In the British Army officers survival manual It states, "If you find yourself lost, begin to make a martini. Soon, someone will arrive to show you how to make it differently."

His voice is only rivaled by babish. But great vid.

Just a quick tip on the cinematography, as you can sort of see at 3:20, your skin tone seems very overexposed and washed out. One rule of thumb is to set your exposure to the main focus of the scene ie. your hands/face, and then light/adjust the other settings of the camera for the background and other things in the scene. There are some great tutorials on how to properly light a scene by the channel Fstoppers, they are worth checking out. Great video btw, and I love the blurred background, definitely worth the new camera.

I would add two notes - firstly the only 'true' martini is one made with gin; the vodka martini was invented during the 50s vodka craze when every gin drink was reinvented with vodka. It was originally called the Kangaroo Cocktail. God knows why... Secondly a note on vermouth. If you're not going to be making/drinking martinis regularly - or if your preference is for ones a lot drier than Nick's - you need to keep your vermouth chilled and (ideally) vacuum sealed. Since it's wine-based and relatively low in ABV it will begin to oxidise within a week of being opened if not kept well.

My dear friend's father owned an Aston Martin and drank Bombay Sapphire martinis. He was practically James Bond, except unlike Bond he knew how to make a proper one (stirred, never shaken.)

You should call this series "All Basic Cocktails" so it's "ABC!"

Finally!! I've been waiting for this one! The king of all cocktails

Really enjoying the new camera. I never hated the original look but this feels much more interesting to look at.

Great work Nick! I’ve been waiting to see how you make a gin martini. My preferred recipe is almost identical to yours, except I use half an ounce of both sweet and dry vermouth to make it “perfect.” Cheers!

Always, the classiest channel on RU-vid. 👌🏽

Plymouth Gin is not a London Dry Gin. In fact, it is frequently cited as a more sweet contrast to a London Dry Gin.

Always love your videos! Keep posting things like this I love them!

We did ones this weekend with vodka, dry vermouth and peperoncini juice, call it a peperontini

Gorgeous quality and another great instructive video :)

I love the new title font. It's super classy.

Great tutorial! And nice suggestion in the “Nick&Nora” glass. I used a Vitorre vermouth form Spain and it has some wonderful apple after notes

I've never really been a fan of alcohol (except for the occasional Dark and Stormy and Rum and Cola (Dr Pepper preferred)), but man, that 3rd recipe sounds right up my ally.

This was a highly highly professional style video! Azeo and Dolin was a perfect choice for the Vodka Martini, especially with the 'dirty touch'. For our Classic Dry Martini video we used Monkey 47 which is so beautifully complex!

Loving that camera quality

Great video 👍🏽👍🏽 Thank you for the info

i like you. i was so worried you were going to be one of those people who put the vermouth into the glass and dump it out, fill the glass with gin and call it a martini. not just that you made a martini that actually uses the vermouth, you made them in the ways i like it. i like my vermouth, and i like mine dirty. i never used lemon, but am thinking about trying it (might try lime too, since i am a big fan of lime). that last one looks fun too. i am a light drinker, so i don't do it often, but when i do i want to enjoy it.

Plymouth isn't actually a London Dry, it's its own style. Great video, as usual.

I was wondering when you were going to do the martini. I'm going to have to try these

Never knew about the Martinez. Love Manhattans so now I know the next cocktail I need to try.

Love the new camera setup! Also, where can I get one of those good looking aprons?

Gin martini recipe was phenomenal! Thx!

Nick, learned a lot from your videos. On the dirty, try using atomizing the olive brine into the glass instead of a bar spoonful, see what you think.

Having learned to make a Martini from the internet (an ever trustworthy source as we know), I have tested a few vermouths to try, and I have only one question: Where is the Noilly Prat? Martinis aren't the same without that, frankly.

Damn that camera quality shining through. Love itt

Woot! 45 second stirring, right-size glass, orange bitters. winner!

YES! Finally someone who knows to use orange bitters in dry martinis. Technically it's not a "cocktail" without bitters... So bravo!

When I saw the title, I thought, "What? There's no way he hasn't done a martini video before." But, here we are. I like mine with Ungava gin (which is a Canadian gin that you should try to get your hands on if you haven't before), a medium amount of dry vermouth, and a bit of olive brine. I also think vodka martinis are underrated. People like to shit on them and say they're not "real martinis", but they're super refreshing if they're done right.

Congrats on new camera! 😀

Quick question: in the case of a martini, is there a big difference in shaking the drink vs stirring it like you did in this video? I’m honestly curious and would like to know

Considering you have done cocktails from film, television and popular media before, I wonder if you would consider doing (or have done) the Vesper Martini, originally given as a recipe in the Casino Royale novel. It combines vodka and gin together!

Great vid! one tiny tiny tiny quip; odd numbers on the olives mate 1-3-5

Why don’t you go with an orange peel garnish when you use orange bitters in the cocktail? Just curious 😊

I approve on the choice of Gin and the actual inclusion of a worthwhile amount of vermouth. I feel like “dry,” martinis may have evolved in part because people wanted to avoid overdoing it with incorrectly stored vermouth, which of course oxidizes and gets a little muddy.

Love the new camera

My martini: frozen glass, four parts monkey 47, one part noilly prat, a dash of lemon zest, stir on ice for 20 seconds, squeeze the oil of a lemon peel in the glass, put in the peel, strain the martini on top

I’m not sure if you’ll ever see this comment, but if you’re looking for some tips for making it easier to focus your (great looking!) new mirrorless: close up your aperture just a hair more. You’ve got a really great depth of field in this shot! But on the close-up shot, that depth is going to be even shallower. If you close your aperture just a few stops, it’ll focus sharper, but still be pleasantly blurred in the background. The wide shot in this video is perfect. The close-up shots are a little bit soft. Overall though, it looks fantastic! Great video!

this reminded me of the "vespers" cocktail in one of daniel craigs james bond movies... do a recreated video on it !!

Love your apron - where do you get the apron? Thanks

what do you guys like more, Moscow mule or martini?

Nice Sonoma shirt, have the same one

Something I'd like to mention. For most commercial grade vodkas (basically anything with name recognition) the differences in composition are so slight that it is impossible to detect them even on sensitive analytical chemistry equipment. Some craft producers, particularly ones that produce apple vodka, tend to filter their vodka less which leaves a distinct apple flavor. Its pleasant but I would argue that this does not actually constitute a vodka. Vodka by its very nature is intended to be a flavorless alcohol vehicle (I call it a spirit for people who like being drunk but who hate drinking). Leaving the apple aroma in the spirit makes it a better spirit but makes it not a vodka by definition. If we are going to call this spirit vodka then we also have to call blanco tequila, white rum, and moonshine vodka as well. The only way to make vodka better is to make it not a vodka. As you can see I have a great deal of opinions on the world of vodka. I think it is a market that can only survive based on deceiving its customers. I have said it for a long time, taste is subjective but chemistry is not. Vodka has no place in today's cocktail culture

Dry vermouth still has sweetness to it. You mentioned this later but at the beginning of the video there seemed to be an implication that dry vermouth was not sweet at all. And while many martini glasses are way too big, you could just get a smaller martini glass, as they do exist. Good spirit choices though and technique though.

Could you do a hurricane cocktail??

@cocktail chemistry look at that bokehlicious background now 😍🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Please put the specs in the description!

Hey speaking of Martini, have you tried the Vesper yet? Tried the book version some days ago, it was.. not rich, but okay, gotta do some variations!

Liking the new camera man. Doubled your production quality in an instant!

3 measures of Gordon's, 1 of vodka, 1/2 of Quinalile. Shake that over ice until it's really cold, then serve with a long twist of lemon. Got it?

Need to try 1888 Hand Pressed Olive juice!! Best martini mix on the market.

Nice vid! Just wanted to give a quick tip on the camera work. Don't be afraid to use a smaller aperture to make sure you have everything in focus! I know larger apertures offer a smaller depth of field and more separation from the background, but when it compromises nailing your focus, it's not exactly what you want.

Give Dayton Gin a try if you can get it. It won Double Gold at San Francisco World Sprits.

That first one is exactly how I like my martini!

Hey dude, what happen if i make Martini with shaking method ?

Have you any experience in mead cocktails

I'll have an appletini, please. ... easy on the 'tini'

Thanks to you I'm going to have a two martini lunch.

YES THE MARTINI FINALLY !!!! (i like Martini)

If i'm correct Plymouth counts as it's own category of gin.

thanks!

Does dollar shave club work for the UK?>

Martini finally lol... still waiting for the fernet and coke vid 😅

Kalimotxo next? I wanna see a fancy version.

I love ordering a dry gin martini when I'm out at a bar, but I've tried them at home several times now and they always comes out gross. I'm using Hendricks and Dolin dry vermouth and I've tried a lot of different ratios. Always gross. Wtf am I doing wrong?

Just curious: what’s your opinion of premade martinis like the one Martini (the brand) makes?

3rd 🍸is the real one 👌🏻

Yyyyeeaa cocktail binging with babish

Vodka is a waste of my time. I like a dirty gin martini, but I think I'll try the one with the lemon twist. Sounds lovely. Thanks.

THATS IT!

so when he says the garnish will "evolve the flavor over time", I'm a bit confused. Martinis don't have an "over time"... am I missing something?

THAT looks delicious! 😍gotta try it! Keep up the good work! 👊🏼We're soon on your level! 😏

Finally...!

sorry to be 'that guy' but Plymouth is not a London Dry, it's kind of in the name, the Plymouth style of gin is very distinct from the london style, it's less dry and a lot more 'sweet' and earthy rather than the London style's predominantly floral character. They are not interchangeable. You are right in specifying a London gin for a Martini, since it stands up to the Vermouth better, Plymouth is what you use for a Gin and Tonic..

I've heard it said that a dry Martini actually refers to the gin used, ie. a London Dry Gin vs. a Plymouth or Old Tom variety, and that it has nothing to do with the vermouth. What say you?

That first recipe yields a pretty tasty martini (Alas, I only had sweet vermouth; still, damn good).

Thoughts on a dirty martini with no vermouth at all? Is it even a martini anymore?

I prefer my martinis with navy gin or anything dry and over 90 proof. Extra vermouth with cocktail onions.

Where can I buy the apron?

I'm imagining someone making up a version called "An Olive Jar" where you fill the largest glass you got with olives, then top off with a dirty Vodka Martini.

I thought olive should be served in odd numbers. Or am i wrong?

What did you shoot this with, Nick?

How would a “dirty pickle martini”. Instead of olives, pickles, and instead of olive brine, pickle brine?

Fantastic breakdown, looking forward to making some of my own

why a garnish with gin?

Hello

I prefer Boodles gin, some sweet vermouth, orange bitters, and a lemon. Absolutely lovely

I like mine, shaken not stirred

Please do a Piña colada for next episode!

I know cocktails are to be played with, but for me this version wouldn't cut it. I like my Dry Martini beginning with Noilly Prat directly in the glass, then I stir the glass so it just covers the glass walls and throw the rest away. Then, ice cold Martin Millers or Hendrick's until I fill the glass. I'n case of the Martin Millers I use olives, in case of Hendrick's I use lemon twist. Cocktail is never shaken or stirred or any of that.

I would drink martini's with you all day! Also have you aver made a martini with Lillet?

I. Love. Martinis.

Do you know the Jumping Jack, sir?

Make subtitles available

3:43 that is simply not the case. vodka has to be made from stuff that grows underground. if it's made from grain, it's not vodka, it's korn. if it's made from fruit, it's not vodka, it's obstler.

"You have the up-turned chin and the grin of impetuous youth; But there's that slam-bang tang reminsicent of gin and vermouth..."

You just like the nick and nora cup and use any excuse to use it everytime🤣