The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive, a lemon twist, or both.

By 1922, the martini reached its most recognizable form in which London dry gin and dry vermouth are combined at a ratio of 2:1, stirred in a mixing glass with ice cubes, with the optional addition of orange or aromatic bitters, then strained into a chilled cocktail glass.

[1] Over time, the generally expected garnish became the drinker's choice of a green olive or a twist of lemon peel.

Indeed, a "Martinez Cocktail" was first described in Jerry Thomas's 1887 edition of his Bartender's Guide, How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks:[10] Other bartending guides of the late 19th century contained recipes for numerous cocktails similar to the modern-day martini.

The first dry martini is sometimes linked to the name of a bartender who concocted the drink at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City in 1911 or 1912.

[15] During Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933) the relative ease of illegal gin manufacture led to the martini's rise as the locally predominant cocktail.

With the repeal of Prohibition, and the ready availability of quality gin, the drink became progressively drier.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the martini came to be seen as old-fashioned and was replaced by more intricate cocktails and wine spritzers, but the mid-1990s saw a resurgence in the drink and numerous new versions.

Some recipes advocate the elimination of vermouth altogether; the playwright Noël Coward is credited with the assertion that "a perfect Martini should be made by filling a glass with gin, then waving it in the general direction of Italy.

[19][20][a] Luis Buñuel used the dry martini as part of his creative process, regularly using it to sustain "a reverie in a bar".

The Yale Cocktail is a 6:1 martini with equal parts vermouth and either crème de violette or Creme Yvette, which impart a blue color, and Angostura bitters.

The vodka is vanilla flavored, and is served with passion fruit juice, accompanied by a shot of Prosecco.