A little late to this party (putting on my snob hat) but a vodka martini isn’t a martini.
A dirty vodka martini is an abomination made up by people trying to figure out how to add flavor to a flavorless, stupid drink.
The best martini is a gin martini with blue cheese olives.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk!
Vive la difference!
Timely thread update. I had three gin martini with a twist yesterday. I was in London, at the Ned in the City. They have several bars but we were at the bar in the far corner. This was an excellent martini, as good as I make at home. Didn’t ask what gin they used though (the place was packed!).
Tell us how you really feel.
I ordered a Bhang Lassi at Bottle Beach in Thailand since it was the Special of the Day.
I had no idea what bhang was.
Or why the owner of the cafe refused to loan me the snorkeling gear after i drank it.
15 minutes later i realized what i had ordered.
Gin experts may disapprove, but we’ve enjoyed the Kirkland London Dry Gin from Costco. Not sure who makes it.
I have not tried it but have heard it likened to Tanq, Beefeater, and Gordon’s. I like all three. At half the price, Kirkland sounds like a no brainer if you are a Costco member and like London dry gins. I used to be a Costco member but dropped it because I found myself foolishly over buying some things and because the deals at HEB are darned close.
Yeah, Costco can test your self-control. I remember hyperventilating the first time I visited.
That is… exactly what I said.
It is not. You said that
But all martinis, dry or wet, are made with dry vermouth. Dry has everything to do with the ratio. Gin and sweet vermouth is not a martini.
In my world a dry martini might be an empty glass still smelling faintly of gin and vermouth, perhaps holdng a bare toothpick. 
I used to make them for my co-workers by putting ice in a shaker, pouring in a little vermouth, swirling it around and pouring it out again. Then I’d add the gin and bitters. So whatever vermouth adhered to the ice, that’s what ended up in the finished product.
Note that I was working with someone else’s vermouth. I don’t waste my own like that.
Not originally.
Yes. The original martini was closer to what we today call a martinez. This was in the 19th century, however, and the definition for a dry martini has changed since.
Have you any evidence at all that “dry vs wet” ever referred to the kind of vermouth used in a drink, rather than the ratio of vermouth to gin? Because that was your original claim. Stretching back 100+ years to the martini’s ancestor, the martinez, does nothing to prove your case.
I just got a bottle of Lillet today. Never had a Vesper, and I as curious. I will report back.
I remember it being all the rage on the DC cocktail scene from around 2010 to 2016. There’s a rosé version, too.
I really enjoy Lillet. It is on a rotation w a Tawny Port in my house.
Nothing more relaxing than enjoying a glass to watch the end of the day.
I saw that. A red, too.
I love a good Vesper. How can you go wrong with a cocktail made with gin & vodka?
A really nice variation on a martini.
