Shaken or Stirred? How to Make a Remarkable Martini

You don't have to be James Bond to enjoy a good martini. With all the fancy, made-up martinis out there, it can seem like they'd be complicated to make. Forget "appletinis", "chocolatinis" and the rest- a true martini is simply gin and dry vermouth. Some prefer vodka to gin, especially thanks to 007, so we'll be covering those two here. The truth is, a true martini is simple and easy to make.

How we proceed depends on our base liquor- vodka or gin. Let's start with vodka. As I mentioned above, a martini is simply liquor and dry vermouth, the ratios of which depend mostly on the preference of the recipient. The basic recipe calls for one part vermouth and two parts vodka. Vermouth has a strong flavor, but is weaker than vodka, so you can vary the alcohol level and flavor by playing with the ratio. Adding more vermouth weakens the drink, but gives it a much stronger flavor, as vodka has no flavor of its own. Less vermouth makes for a stronger drink with a smoother flavor. To make the drink, grab a martini glass, shaker, ice, vodka and vermouth. Crack 3 or 4 ice cubes into your shaker, add the desired levels of vodka and vermouth, put on the lid, shake approximately 12 times and pour.

Making a gin martini is similar to making a vodka martini. Once again, you choose the ratios of gin and vermouth based on your preference. However, gin has a lot of flavor of its own, so ratios are tend to be more an issue of which flavor you prefer: the gin or the vermouth. As above, the basic recipe it one part vermouth and two parts gin. To make the drink, grab a martini glass, shaker, ice, gin and vermouth and a long spoon. Crack 3 or 4 ice cubes into your shaker, add the desired levels of gin and vermouth, stir with your long spoon clockwise 10 times, counter-clockwise 10 times and back clockwise once for good luck. Gin martinis are traditionally stirred instead of shaken, as shaking can cause some of the components to come out of solution, making the drink cloudy- this is known as "bruising" the gin. Whether or not "bruising" the gin negatively affects the taste is a topic of much debate.

There are extra steps to help enhance your martini experience. You can add cracked ice and water to your glass before preparing your drink to help chill it and keep the drink colder a little longer. Just be sure to dump out the ice water before pouring your drink! There are also a variety of garnishes for martinis. The two most popular are a twist of lemon or olives. The twist should be applied prior to pouring and consist of a strip of lemon peel, twisted to release its essence and then rubbed around the entire rim of the glass. Drop it in the glass and pour. With olives, you can simply skewer a few on a toothpick and add after pouring.

Drink up and enjoy responsibly.