‘Endlessly riffable’: the martini is having a major revival

Martinis are more versatile than you might think. Here bartenders share tips on how to order your first, why a small tweak can radically change it, and a recipe for your freezer. The martini is a huge drink in a tiny glass – and not simply because it packs two standards into about 70ml. Wet, dry, dirty or clean, the classic cocktail has long been associated with suave, retro characters such as James Bond and Mad Men’s Roger Sterling (though Sterling’s is a Gibson – a martini garnished with pickled onions). In recent years the drink has returned to the top of cocktail menus, driven by bartenders’ experimentations and appreciation of its versatility.

When the martini-dedicated Bar Planet opened in Sydney’s Newtown nearly three years ago, Jeremy Blackmore, the creative director of Mucho Group, the company behind the venue, says the cocktail’s image was: “Still a bit stodgy … a grandma’s drink. I think the Queen would drink one at lunch.

“It had lost a bit of its pop culture power.”. Now drinkers realise the martini’s classic form – about five or six parts gin or vodka to one part dry vermouth – is endlessly riffable. Not only can you increase the vermouth (making it “wetter”) or add olive brine (making it “dirty”) and garnish with olive, lemon peel or pickled onion, there are other variations in the martini family, such as the turf club (which adds maraschino liqueur, orange bitters and absinthe) and the vesper (which has a splash of Lillet blanc).

Simon Dacey, venue manager of Applewood Distillery in Gumeracha, South Australia, says the cocktail renaissance in the early 2000s and 2010s came with a level of prescriptivism. “It was: ‘I’m the bartender. I know how to make drinks. This is what you will drink.’” That has given way to more personalised experiences. “There’s definitely a trend towards people being a bit more experimental, wanting to try stuff,” he says.

Blackmore says now drinkers “get a bit of sweat equity” in their order. “You get to own a little bit of that martini.”. Rob Libecans of Melbourne’s Caretaker’s Cottage, which last year was named the best bar in Australasia, says its martini outsells everything but Guinness on the menu; in 2024 they served more than 12,000.

Adding a small amount of another ingredient can radically change a martini, Libecans says. “Add a touch of Chartreuse and you have an Alaska. Use sweet vermouth and add a cherry liqueur and you have a martinez – known by cocktail historians as the precursor to the modern martini,” Libecans says. “There’s a variant that everyone can enjoy.”.

Blackmore has a simpler theory about its appeal: “It gets you drunk really quickly. I’m not sure if you’re allowed to say that, but that’s part of what the joy is.”. Dacey says choosing a martini doesn’t have to mean “a straight shot of gin”.

Alex Costin, Applewood’s bar supervisor, says they have a choose-your-own-adventure martini menu – perfect for the uninitiated – which walks you through a number of choices: clean or dirty, how dry and which flavours. These determine how briny your drink will be, how much vermouth goes into it and what gin is used.

At The Gidley in Sydney’s CBD, martinis are served with accoutrements on the side, brought to the table on a tray so customers can add their choice of olives or brine, a lemon twist or pickled onions. Costin recommends first-timers ease in with a wet martini “if they’re not looking for a spirit-forward drink straight away”. Libecans agrees, suggesting a 50-50 vermouth-gin martini.

The dirty martini – a martini with olive brine and extra olives – is a crowd favourite (which could be due partly to salt’s ability to suppress bitter flavours). Blackmore estimates half of Bar Planet’s drink sales are dirty. “It’s a pretty punchy drink,” says Bar Planet bartender Kate Howlett. “Having the brine in it makes it a little bit more approachable.”.

Libecans says: “At Caretaker’s Cottage we serve a lot [of dirty martinis] from guests’ choice. The saltiness heightens all of the flavours already present in the cocktail. Also, having a snack of olives on the side is a bonus.”. Howlett adds: “We stack as many olives as we can on the stick [at Bar Planet].”.

Blackmore and Dacey both say keeping a martini cold is “crucial”. A number of venues chill batches of the cocktail in the freezer; the high alcohol content means it stays liquid. Libecans serves his at -18C. “The viscosity changes and the drink remains colder until the last sip.”.

Dacey says keeping the drink cold minimises the taste of alcohol: “Ethanol doesn’t necessarily have a flavour but, if it does, that flavour perception tends to be very, very bitter.”. “If you have coffee in the morning, that first sip of coffee can be really intense, really harsh” but once it cools down “suddenly all these flavours burst out”.