The Wet Martini is a style of Martini made with a higher ratio of vermouth to gin than is found in modern Dry Martinis. As it’s not as dominated by a single high-proof spirit, the drink offers a lighter flavor profile and slightly floral notes, via a heavier pour of vermouth, that blend well with gin’s botanical elements.

Preparation for a Wet Martini is simple: Combine two parts gin to one part dry vermouth, stir until chilled, then strain and garnish with a lemon twist.

As the Martini category has evolved over time, the drink has come to be defined by an ever-growing list of modifiers. Specifications like dry, dirty, reverse, or 50/50 originated as shorthand to simply make the ordering process easier, but have since evolved into codified recipes of their own. While the Wet Martini is no more “wet” than any other drink, its name meant to be in contrast to the Dry Martini, which employs a high ratio of spirit to vermouth (usually somewhere between 5:1 and 8:1). The Wet Martini’s 2:1 ratio just places it in the same structure as other classic spirit-forward cocktails like the Manhattan or Rob Roy.

The Wet Martini style had a resurgence in the decades following the rise of the increasingly drier Martinis, which proliferated through U.S. bars around the turn of the 20th century. This was the time of Winston Churchill who, as the legend goes, ordered his Martini consisting of just chilled gin and a twist made while the bartender glanced at a nearby bottle of dry vermouth. Prior to the early 1900s, though, the original Martini used Italian white vermouth and had a softer, sweeter flavor profile.

The Martini pendulum of more gentle variations to spirit-forward ones has swung vastly throughout history and the popularity of the wetter Martinis in the mid-1900s is a testament to shifting preferences. Nowadays, Martini vernacular is so mainstream that you one can order just about any ratio or variation without fail.

Why the Wet Martini still works

The Wet Martini’s 2:1 ratio of gin to vermouth creates a more subtle flavor profile and yields a more approachable drink for those who are sensitive to the burn of high-alcohol spirits like gin and vodka. The cocktail gets stirred in a mixing glass filled with ice for 30–45 seconds. While this technique is employed to chill the drink down, it also dilutes the cocktail, adding a significant amount of water which further mellows the flavor profile and brings out flavor notes that would be masked by excessive alcohol heat.

A lemon twist garnish contributes both a classic visual aesthetic and a whisper of citrus bitterness. Be sure to express the lemon twist over the cocktail before dropping it into the glass. While vodka can be used in a Wet Martini, gin is the standard.