Vodka Martini
Vodka and dry vermouth — the modern Martini that supplanted gin as vodka became America's dominant spirit through the 1960s, made culturally iconic by James Bond.
- 2½ ozvodka
- ½ ozdry vermouth
- lemon twist or olivegarnish
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The Vodka Martini is the definitive modern iteration of the martini — the cocktail whose evolution from gin-based origins to the vodka-forward version ordered as standard in most contemporary bars represents one of the most significant spirit category shifts in American cocktail history. The gin martini traces back to the 1880s, with the first documented appearance of a "Martini" in print in O.H. Byron's 1884 Modern Bartenders' Guide. As vodka replaced gin as America's most popular spirit during the 1960s, the Vodka Martini became the default interpretation, losing the botanical complexity of the original in exchange for a cleaner, more spirit-neutral base. Ian Fleming's James Bond, who consistently ordered a Vodka Martini "shaken, not stirred," helped cement its cultural status as the epitome of cold, sophisticated elegance.
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