The Fifty-Fifty appears in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail book from 1930. As the name suggests the martini is made with 50% gin and 50% dry vermouth and the recipe calls for it to be shaken, but rule breaker that I am I stirred mine!
If you’ve been following the whole 30 Martinis in 30 days series, you’ll know the higher the proportion of vermouth gives a ‘wetter’ martini. As the cocktail culture has evolved over the last 20 or so years and the martini has come back into fashion, vermouth has garnered more attention and quite right too. It’s an unsung hero of the bar and a worthy drink in its own right. The Fifty-Fifty allows the flavour of a good vermouth to shine, with the obvious benefit it that is less boozy!
It can take a while to come up with your favourite gin and vermouth combination for a Fifty-Fifty, but I am going to follow one the of the best bartenders on the planet, Audrey Saunders (The Libation Goddess) who owns the Pegu Club in New York and has been a stalwart of the US bar industry for many years. If she doesn’t know the best gin and vermouth pairing, then who does? Her recipe calls for Plymouth gin and Dolin vermouth. What relief!
Ingredients for a Fifty-Fifty
45ml Plymouth gin
45ml Dolin vermouth
Method
Shake well in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive if desired!
Enjoy!
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