Irish Martini

by | Mar 6, 2021 | Festive Drinks | 0 comments

Irish Martini

Irish Martini

This Drink is a simple variation on the vodka martini. The ingredient that makes it Irish is, of course, Irish whiskey. The amount of whiskey may be small, but it makes a big difference. By using it to rinse the glass, you’re adding substance, color, and flavor to that dry martini base. The resulting drink is just a little more complex and it’s surprisingly satisfying.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces vodka
  • 1/2 ounce dry vermouth
  • 1/2 ounce Irish whiskey
  • Garnish: lemon twist

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Pour the Irish whiskey into a chilled cocktail glass.

  3. Swirl it around the glass in order to coat the inside, then dump the excess whiskey.

  4. Pour the vodka and dry vermouth into a cocktail shaker half-filled with cracked ice.

  5. Shake well

  6. Strain into the rinsed glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

  7. Serve and enjoy!

Tips

  • “Dump” the whiskey? Yeah right! Instead of wasting good whiskey, go ahead and drink the excess or reserve it in a shot glass for later. Also, if you’re making a few Irish martinis, the same 1/2 ounce can be transferred to each glass.
  • A chilled glass makes this drink just a little better. If you don’t have room in your freezer for a couple of cocktail glasses, take the quick approach instead. Simply fill the glass with a few ice cubes while you gather the ingredients and tools, then dump them out right before doing the whiskey rinse.
  • Make sure your vermouth is fresh because stale vermouth makes a bad martini. The fortified wine has a short shelf life of just three months after the bottle is open. It should also be stored in the refrigerator.

Recipe Variations

  • Rather than vodka, try the Irish martini with gin. The extra flavor from that spirit’s botanicals is really interesting with an Irish whiskey kiss.
  • You can also try this recipe with scotch. It will be a little different than the smoky martini, which uses just a dash of the whisky as a modifier instead of vermouth. Try blended scotch rather than really smoky single malts.