I'm sorry, but dear old Mister Bond got it wrong. Very wrong. A Dry Martini should be stirred and not shaken. There's been a tendency recently for all sorts of sinister deviations to creep in, warping the original concept. I remember trying an Apple Martini at the Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles. Okay, it was good, sort of, but not a patch on the genuine thing.
The best Dry Martini I've ever had was at Harry's Bar in Venice. Little frosted tumblers straight from the 'fridge, gin on ice, a slither of lemon peel. Simple, very simple- and unpretentious (unlike this article, which is rapidly becoming a catalogue of expensive places I've been to over the years).
Anyway, here's how you make a genuine, classic, original Dry Martini cocktail. In a Martini Pitcher (you can buy these on eBay), drop in a decent amount of ice. Pour in a few drops of a dry white Vermouth. Noilly Prat (to rhyme with hat) is ideal. Stir the ice around, so that the vermouth clings to the ice.
Next, add your iced gin (or if you really must, vodka). 94.6% proof Tanqueray is my current number one choice. Stir. Do not shake. Stir. Strain the liquor into a chilled cocktail glass, or even better, into a small tumbler. Finish off with a slither of twisted lemon peel- or perhaps a green olive- but that, officially, changes the thing and makes it into a "Gibson".
If you want to read up on the history of the Dry Martini, the bible of choice is John Doxat's "Stirred Not Shaken- the History of the Dry Martini". Remember, the secret is to get everything as cold as you possibly can. Warm gin- it ain't good.
