Medium Martini - Gin, Dry & Sweet Vermouth Classic Cocktail

The Medium Martini is built around balance rather than extremity. Gin supplies the botanical backbone, while equal measures of dry and sweet vermouth bring crisp herbs, gentle sweetness, and wine-driven complexity. This Medium Martini recipe is stirred until cold, strained into a chilled glass, and finished with citrus oils for a clean, aromatic serve.

Background

The Medium Martini appears in early 20th-century cocktail literature as a midpoint between dry and sweet Martini styles. Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book gives the drink as one-half dry gin with one-quarter French vermouth and one-quarter Italian vermouth, establishing the equal split between dry and sweet vermouth that defines the style.

What You'll Need

Ingredients

• Gin - provides the drink's juniper-led botanical structure.
• Dry Vermouth - adds crisp herbal notes and a drier wine character.
• Sweet Vermouth - contributes rounded sweetness, spice, and deeper aromatics.

If you do not have one vermouth style, replacing it with the other will move the drink noticeably toward either a Dry Martini or a Sweet Martini rather than preserving the Medium Martini's defining balance.

A softer, citrus-forward gin can make the drink more approachable, while a juniper-heavy London dry gin produces a firmer classic profile.

Equipment

• Cocktail Glass
• Mixing glass
• Bar spoon
• Jigger
• Cocktail strainer
• Ice

The Martini That Splits the Difference

The defining feature here is the vermouth ratio. Dry and sweet vermouth appear in equal proportions, so neither side dominates. The gin remains clearly present, but the drink is rounder and more aromatic than a Dry Martini and less sweet than older Italian-style Martini formulas.

Substitutions & Variations

• Add a dash of orange bitters for extra citrus-spice complexity.
• Use a lemon twist instead of orange for a sharper aromatic finish.
• Choose a lighter botanical gin for a softer version.
• Increase the gin slightly if you want a drier modern interpretation, though that moves away from the historical Medium Martini ratio.
• A cocktail olive can replace the citrus twist for a more savory presentation.

Helpful Tips

Keep both vermouth bottles refrigerated after opening because they are fortified wines and lose freshness over time. Chill the serving glass before mixing. Stir with plenty of ice until the drink is very cold and properly diluted rather than relying on a fixed number of seconds. Express the citrus peel over the surface before garnishing so its oils reach the drink.