Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Monty’s Martini

Hello, and happy hate week! I don’t have much hate to discuss this morning. Probably because it’s Friday, and who hates Fridays? Anyway, I’m back with another martini this week. After getting The Martini cocktail book, I’ve been on a bit of a kick lately. Not gonna lie, I kinda feel like I’m making up for missing out on having them for so long.

Now what caught my eye was a recipe for a martini that was a favorite of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. Being the history nerd that I am, I immediately went to the bar to go make this one. With some trepidation, I braced myself for the proportions: 5 oz. of gin to a measly 1/3 oz. vermouth. Between this, Oppenheimer’s martini, and Chester Nimitz’s old fashioned, its a minor miracle anything got done for the military during the war while important figures were drinking these insane drinks. According to the author of the book Matt Hranek, the rationale for the proportions here is supposedly “Montgomery preferred the gin to outnumber the vermouth in his martini in about the same ratio as he liked to face his opponents in battle – fifteen to one”:

Montgomery’s Martini

5 ounces (150 ml) London dry gin

1/3 oz. (10 ml) dry vermouth such as Noilly Prat extra dry

Dash of orange bitters

Strip of lemon peel for garnish

Combine the gin, vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir well, then strain into a glass of your choice and serve straight up. (Alternatively, strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.) Garnish with the lemon peel

Very citrusy up front. I would have expected the  floral gin notes to reign supreme here but the lemon peel and the orange bitters lead the charge (no pun intended). Going back in for a sniff the second or third time though, I get much more of the gin. It could be that I’m subconsciously looking for it, or I quickly went noseblind to the lemon and bitters.

Holy damn this is strong. To be fair, I did expect that with 5 ounces of gin to 10 MLs of vermouth. As strong as the gin is in this, I do get a surprising amount of the vermouth flavors, which is quite impressive. It’s able to fight its way through the herbal and juniper flavors of the gin to get you that signature dryness one would expect to find in a cold, clear martini such as this. I was mildly concerned that I wouldn’t have any in here and it would just be a cold glass of gin with hints of lemon. I’m happy proven wrong here. The vermouth does linger a bit on the palate after you’ve finished sipping. I think it’s a bit much, but it does go away quickly at least. so there is that.

Now would I do this again? That is a very good question. On the surface, probably not. I’ve had a few different variations of martini recently, and, despite the fact I do enjoy a strong drink, this may be too much. However, if I had a bad enough day at work (like invading Belgium Holland from the air), then I could be talked into having one of these to calm the nerves.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)