Very Dry Gin Martini with Lemon Twist
A near-bone-dry martini stirred cold and finished with an expressed lemon peel.
Method
Add the gin and vermouth to a mixing glass filled with a single large cube of ice.
Stir for 30 seconds with a bar spoon, keeping the back of the spoon against the glass.
Strain into a chilled coupe.
Express the lemon peel over the surface — skin side down, twist hard — and drop it in. Serve.
The cleanest thing on the table, until the soup arrives.
— Oysterdrive
The contrast
The soup is pale and quiet. The martini should be cold, sharp, and unmistakable. Stirred, never shaken — shaking dulls the gin. Very dry means a scant quarter ounce of vermouth, almost an afterthought, just enough to take the edge off the spirit without softening it. The lemon twist is the only garnish; it carries the dish on its oils.