Cute.
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What’s fascinating to me is that the cocktail known as martini was created long before the glass that is known as martini. At some point the cocktail became associated with the glass. I personally dislike the martini glass as a huge pain in the ass to actually use. Prone to spilling and not stable. I much prefer to have my martini in a coupe. As to all the various cocktails named “martini” I think its just comes down to inherent laziness and lack of creativity. Also I prefer my martini made in very classic proportion of gin to vermouth of about 2:1 with a couple of big fat olives on a spear. The supposedly extra dry martini with various non-existent amounts of vermouth are nothing but straight shots of gin or vodka. If you’re going to do that, own up to the fact you’re a drunkard and order the shot and fire it down and slam the glass back on the bar! LOL
@BeefeaterRocks might disagree. There are great sipping gins that don’t require vermouth, but I wouldn’t call chilled gin a martini. My preferred ratio is 4:1. I sip it.
I understand that, for sure. But a dirty gin martini was cited as a classic. Traditionally it’s been made with vodka, not gin. That was my point.
Haha, I guess “traditional” is relative to someone like me born in the 80s and drinking in the 2000s. Thanks for the history!
I don’t know whether a dirty martini is traditionally made with vodka or not (do you have a source for that?), since I’m solidly in the gin camp.
Having said that, on the very very rare occasion I feel like a dirty martini, I would only ever contaminate vodka with olive brine. And bring on the blue cheese stuffed olives while yer at it. It’s not like you’re gonna ruin a good spirit 
What @BeefeaterRocks cited. It’s been the recipe since the 70s, and gin before that. Which kind of affirms my sense that it’s just a weird example to cite as a traditional martini.
Yep.
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Nae, BeefeaterRocks agrees. My martini must have vermouth.
To me a martini is gin, therefore a dirty martini is gin, end of.
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Right. I was referring to your handle as well as your predilection for gin on the rocks, not how you take your martinis.
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It helps a smidge if your olive/onion brine has vermouth in it.
For shame! You’re going to have to change your name.
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It is my understanding the martini was created by the makers of vermouth, Martini and Rossi.
I would love to try this rendition: https://punchdrink.com/articles/chupetini-dirty-martini-shot/
We’ve had this discussion/argument before when I made a couple of specialty cocktails such as a chocolate martini or a pumpkin martini. Is it a martini? No. But it comes in a martini glass, so what else to name it, especially if it has a vodka or gin base?
As for traditional martinis, for such an easy drink it is becoming increasingly difficult to have one made correctly in non-cocktail bars. “Bombay Gin martini, up, with olives”, I order all in one shot so there’s no questions.
If someone just orders “a martini”, the question from the bartender would be, “Gin or vodka?” followed by “Lemon or olives?” If there was no follow-up, I’d be scared.
I ordered a vodka martini at a well-known chain a few months ago (I didn’t see any gin). I said “straight up” instead of “up” which sometimes slips out because that’s how my dad ordered them. The bartender disappeared to the kitchen for 10 minutes. I said to my BF that I bet she was probably asking someone how to make it. When it finally arrived, it was warm. She came over and asked how it was. I said it was good but would you be able to shake it again? She said when she heard “straight up” she thought it meant just vodka in the glass. No ice. Nada. So I repeated, “No worries, just shake it again.” And she did. She poured it back into the shaker, shook it with no ice, and poured it back in. This is a true story. Not wanting to be a pain, I drank it. And never ordered another one. Warm vodka. 
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Oy. That’s sad.
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Priceless.
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Related: I was at South Street Seaport recently (for a Jenny Lewis concert, if you’re interested), and stopped by the outdoor bar at the Tin Building for a drink. I ordered a dry martini. The bartender poured in a shot of vermouth and was preparing to pour in a second when I pointed out that that was, uh, a LOT of vermouth. Oh, he said, I thought you wanted a dry martini. He was under the impression that more vermouth made it dryer.
I tried to be as nice as possible about pitching it and starting over.
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Again that begs the question “Why is such a simple drink so easy to mess up?” I mean, is there an easier drink than a classic martini? A few ounces of gin, splash vermouth, stir (I’ll allow for shaken since that’s just what most places do). I know that depending on the place it might not be ordered frequently, but still.
Hell, I don’t even need vermouth at all, though I make mine with a literal splash. Sometimes a swirl around the glass and then discard. I can prescribe to Noel Coward’s martini: “Fill a glass with gin and wave it in the general direction of Italy”. Noel was no coward.
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