Recipe
- 2 parts gin (Bombay Sapphire)
- 1 part sweet vermouth (Cocchi Vermouth di Torino)
Choose your desired ratio of gin and vermouth (2:1 and 1:1 are popular options), and serve as you wish. I kept it old school and enjoyed at room temperature with no dilution. Delicious.
About
For being one of the oldest cocktails, dating back to the 1800s, this drink sure doesn’t get much attention. This cocktail was very well traveled (from New York to London), came before and survived the tumultuous Prohibition years, and could be found rockin at the diviest of colonial pubs, yet also appealed to the most discerning of drinkers at the city’s ritziest bars.
It’s the Gin & It, also sometimes known as the “Sweet Martini.” The Gin & It is short for “Gin and Italian Vermouth,” which was later shortened to just “Gin and It” (probably similar to how one might order a “G&T” or a “Marg” today (ok idk if anyone actually says that). It couldn’t be easier to make and tastes much more complex than might look in writing, a superb option for the lover of the Martini or Martinez.
True to its name, it requires only 2 ingredients and was popularly enjoyed *without* ice, which wasn’t so readily available in those old days. To recreate the traditional, I’m using the classic Bombay Sapphire US, paired with an equally classic Italian vermouth.
Some tried-and-true ways to ‘fancy’ this up: add an orange twist, add a dash of orange bitters, experiment with your ratios (it’s been documented to range anywhere from 1:4 to 4:1 in published recipes over the decades), stir with ice and strain, strain over fresh ice with a slice of orange, and the list goes on.