The favored cocktail recipe of Julia Child, the Reverse Martini is a refreshing drink that pairs well with oysters, ceviche, shrimp, mango, pear and a hot summer’s day. As advertised, the recipe here is a reverse of the The Classic Martini. However, unlike a classic martini, it is best served over crushed ice. Julia often remarked that she had to have two, but only two.

A word of caution.  Since this drink is mostly made of  dry vermouth, the quality of your dry vermouth is very important. I used Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth and was very pleased. This vermouth reminds me of a dry take on French sauterne wine, which is often quite sweet and redolent of apricots, herbs and sometimes citrus. Noilly Pratt has hints of those qualities without the intense sweetness you would expect to find in a sauterne.

Similarly, good gin is required for here or else you are asking for trouble. In this drink, the gins job is to accentuate the herbal quality of the vermouth with hints of its own botanical infusions. Being such a vital player, it is not surprising that cheap gin makes this a harsh drink. This one was made with Blue Coat Gin from Philadelphia, PA and, together with the Noilly Pratt, made an inviting and polite concoction, perfect for when you want more than wine but less than a cocktail.

A nice substitution is to swap out the dry vermouth entirely with Lillet Blanc in its place.  Slightly sweeter without being overly so and with a nice herbal bitterness on the finish.

Enjoy!

Reverse Martini

Recipe:

2.5 ounces Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth

.75 ounces gin, I recommend your favorite

Method:

Shake vermouth and gin in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and strain into small wine glass filled with crushed ice.

 

Related posts:

1. The Classic Martini
2. Leap Year Martini

Tags: Dry Vermouth, Gin, Gin Cocktail, Julia Child, Julia Child martini, Noilly Pratt, reverse martini recipe