Cocktail & Other Recipes Preparation Style Stirred

50/50 Martini

By
Liquor.com
Liquor.com

Liquor.com has been serving drinks enthusiasts and industry professionals since 2009. Our writers are some of the most respected in the industry, and our recipes are contributed by bartenders who form a veritable "Who's Who" of the cocktail world.

Learn about Liquor.com's Editorial Process
Updated 04/2/23

The classic Martini has a storied history, although one that is difficult to pin down with precision. The Dry Martini as we know it today likely took form around the turn of the 20th century, and has been a popular vehicle for experimentation ever since.

The usual recipe of gin, dry vermouth and sometimes bitters leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Go heavy on the gin for a drier drink, and use more vermouth for a wetter drink. But even those Wet Martinis typically don’t give the gin and vermouth equal footing. For that, you must look to the 50/50 Martini.

This variation calls for equal parts gin and dry vermouth, yielding a drink that is lower in alcohol and far less dry than most recipes. The drink’s origins are even fuzzier than the classic, and it’s likely the 50/50 ratio of ingredients has been experimented with many times over the years. But the drink’s first appearance in a cocktail book belongs to Harry Craddock’s famed 1930 tome, The Savoy Cocktail Book.

Like many old-school drinks, the 50/50 Martini all but disappeared from rotation until a band of pioneering bartenders brought it back to life in the late-1990s and early-2000s. Sasha Petraske served the cocktail at Milk & Honey, and Audrey Saunders put it on her menu at the influential Pegu Club—both located in New York. Dubbed the “Fitty-Fitty,” Pegu Club’s version featured identical measures of gin and vermouth, plus one dash each of Fee Brother’s orange bitters and Regan’s orange bitters. In fact, it was at Pegu Club that many drinkers were first introduced to the 50/50 Martini’s charms.

When making the cocktail for yourself, you have three important decisions: which gin to use, which vermouth to use, and whether to add orange bitters. This ability to choose your own adventure allows you to personalize the drink to your tastes. A London dry gin and floral French vermouth veers more traditional, while a modern, less juniper-heavy gin paired with an herbal, bitter vermouth can take the flavor in new directions. Orange bitters are there to provide structure and a mild zesty note, should that sound appealing.

With its lighter flavor profile and lower-alcohol sensibilities, the 50/50 might not be the Martini you’re used to, but it’s a Martini worth meeting.

50/50 Martini (hero)

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces gin

  • 1 1/2 ounces dry vermouth

  • 1 dash orange bitters

  • Garnish: lemon twist

Steps

  1. Add the gin, dry vermouth and orange bitters to a mixing glass. Fill with ice and stir until well-chilled.

  2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

  3. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Can a 50/50 Martini Be Made With Vodka Instead of Gin?

You can easily substitute gin for vodka in a 50/50 Martini if that is your preference. In fact, the dry gin Martini we are most familiar with differs greatly from the original iterations of the drink that called for Old Tom—a sweeter type of gin. Sweet vermouth was also used as an early modifier, rendering a much less dry version than the traditional style we know today. That is all to say, the Martini is very much an open canvas and the 50/50 cocktail ratio is a great opportunity to plug and play your favorite spirits.

What Is the Ratio of a Traditional Martini?

While the Martini recipe is open to interpretation and preferences, the general gin-to-vermouth ratio for a standard Dry Martini is 5:1. That ratio has fluctuated over time and through cocktail trends. The rise in interest (and accessibility) in vermouth has certainly pushed palates towards the herbaceous and bitter in recent years, and, as a result, the 50/50 Martini continues to appeal to more people.