After a hellacious hangover on New Year’s Day, I resolved to observe Dry January. For the past three weeks, I’ve been as abstemious as the director of The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Nary a glass of wine, a pint of beer, or a wee dram o’ whiskey has touched my lips since 2025. I’m off the sauce—quittin’ the bottle—about as devoid of hooch as a church luncheon in Provo, Utah.
Three weeks of such Spartan asceticism is plenty, though. By this point, I’m detoxed enough. My chakras are as cleansed as they’re ever going to be. Like Michael Jordan coming out of retirement, I love the game too much to stay away. And so I hereby decree: the final week of the year’s first month shall be Dry Martini January.
But why the martini
The martini is enjoying a nationwide renaissance, and nowhere more so than in New York City, my adopted hometown. I sat down with Tim McKirdy—founder of The Coaster and co-host of Sauced—to discuss the subtle nuances of James Bond’s favorite cocktail. Like many classic American cocktails, the origins of the martini are nebulous. Tim speculates that it evolved from the Manhattan, when Jazz Age bartenders swapped rye for gin.
Tim cherishes the martini for its near-universal appeal. “On the one hand, it’s a blue-collar cocktail—a booze bomb you might order at an airport bar or an old-school steakhouse. But it is also the darling of cocktail nerds and elite mixologists. Gin and vermouth are both magnificently complex. Change the ratios, swap the gin or vermouth brands, or play with garnishes and bitters, and you end up with something completely different.”
What about vodka martinis? A Hinge date once walked out on me for ordering one at a fancy cocktail den. “People who think they know a lot about cocktails love to dismiss it as just a cold cup of vodka,” Tim said. “Ignore them. It’s a legitimate cocktail with a long history. Vodka is a neutral spirit that amplifies the ingredients around it—which is why a vodka martini should contain less vermouth than its gin counterpart. It’s a different beast—and a fine cocktail in its own right.”
For your Dry Martini January inspiration, wet your beak with these recipes—a well-mixed list of classic and experimental takes.
The In-and-Out Martini
Eschewing embellishment, the in-and-out martini showcases gin’s subtle complexity. Vermouth is poured into a chilled glass, swirled briefly, then poured out—leaving behind only its ghost.
Splurge on a luxury gin for an elixir this pure and clean. The finest London dry gin Her Majesty’s pounds sterling can buy is No. 3 London Dry. Crafted in London at No. 3 St. James’s Street, a historical wine and spirits merchant, No. 3 is less juniper-forward than many of its peers. It sparkles with notes of grapefruit rind and bitter orange, while a mash bill of French winter wheat lends a silky texture ideally suited to an ice-cold martini.
Ingredients
2½ oz No. 3 London Dry Gin
Instructions
Chill a coupe glass in the freezer until frosty. Add a splash of dry vermouth, swirl to coat the glass, and discard. Stir the gin over ice, strain into the glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. For an sumptuously silky mouthfeel, chill the No. 3 London Dry in the freezer for five hours beforehand.
The Classic Dirty Martini
I make no bones about it: I like it dirty. Sordid. Filthy. Pour me a martini slick with olive brine. I want the taste buds at the back of my tongue to quiver from umami overload.
There is, in fact, a gastronomic justification for the brine: it sharpens gin’s botanicals and enriches the cocktail’s mouthfeel. Choose a gin bold enough to stand up to the umami wallop. I favor Empress 1908 Indigo Gin, an amethyst-colored spirit crafted from the pristine, cold waters of British Columbia. The traditional London dry recipe features bold juniper and coriander seed notes under a floral bouquet. Butterfly pea blossom, a neutral botanical, lends the gin its signature indigo hue. For the saline hit, I am partial to Dirty Sue, clarified brine made from the choicest Spanish olives.
Ingredients
2½ oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
½ oz Dirty Sue olive brine
Instructions
Chill a coupe glass in the freezer until frosty. Stir the gin, vermouth, and olive brine over ice until thoroughly chilled. Strain into the glass and garnish with 2-3 skewered green olives.
The Vesper Martini
The Vesper takes its name from Vesper Lynd, James Bond’s beautiful, treacherous paramour in Casino Royale. As with Ian Fleming’s seductive villainess, the Vesper Martini plays both sides: equal parts gin and vodka. Gin supplies the flavor and aroma, while vodka amplifies the floral perfume of vermouth.
For a Vesper Martini as gorgeous as Lynd herself, blend No. 3 London Dry Gin with ALB Vodka. As cystalline as a diamond, ALB has a luscious texture ideal for martinis.
Ingredients
2 oz No. 3 London Dry Gin
1 oz ALB Vodka
½ oz Lillet Blanc
2 dashes
Lemon peel
Instructions
Chill a coupe glass until frosty. Add the gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until the tin is cold to the touch. Strain into the coupe and garnish with a lemon peel.
The Tuxedo Martini
Elegant and old-world, the Tuxedo evokes the glamour of the Gilded Age—an era of smoking jackets, ornate cigarette cases, and cocktails as regal as the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. Maraschino adds a zip of fruity sweetness, and
Glendalough is a feted Irish whiskey distillery, and its gin is every bit as masterfully crafted as its darker spirits. Distilled with wild herbs foraged from the Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin scintillates with aromas of gorse flowers and hawthorn.
Ingredients
2 oz Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin
½ oz Dolin Dry vermouth
¼ oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes
Instructions
Chill a coupe glass until frosty. Add the gin, vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and
