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Stanley Tucci’s Martini

Image may contain Cocktail Alcohol Beverage and Martini
Photograph by Emma Fishman, Food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Martha Bernabe

“Too many people say too many things, and I wish they’d stop,” says actor Stanley Tucci about the origins of the martini. “The only thing that matters is that the martini exists.” Here Tucci shares his recipe for his ideal martini, the way he’s been drinking it for ages: gin or vodka (each has its time and place) with just a whiff of vermouth, stirred not shaken. It’s “the quintessence of elegance that we all aspire to and believe we acquire when we drink one.”

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 1

Ingredients

½ oz. dry vermouth
2–3 oz. high-quality gin or vodka
Lemon twist or olives (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Fill a glass beaker or cocktail shaker with ice and pour in vermouth. Stir 15 seconds, then let sit 30 seconds. Stir again, then strain out and discard vermouth. Pour gin into beaker and stir 30 seconds. Let sit 30 seconds, then stir again 30 seconds. Let sit another 30 seconds, then stir again quickly. Strain cocktail into a chilled glass. Garnish with a lemon twist or olives. Drink it. Become a new person.

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