The Skinniest, Sexiest Cocktails

• 6 parts gin or vodka (3 oz.)
• Dry vermouth (just a splash for gin martini only)
• Cocktail olives

Although dry vermouth is a common ingredient in gin martinis, most people do not like a significant vermouth flavor. Even the small splash you would pour in the shaker might still be too much for some people. The way to get around this is to pour the dash of vermouth in the chilled martini glass, swirl it around and then immediately pour it out. This will give the basic flavor without compromising the integrity of the gin.

After flavoring the chilled martini glass, pour the gin into a shaker with ice. Clear liquor martinis are commonly stirred, not shaken, so use your bar spoon to swirl the gin around in the ice. Remember James Bond? He always dropped his trademark line, "Shaken, not stirred," because otherwise, the bartender would have made it the traditional way.

If you don't have a bar spoon, which is just an extra-long, skinny spoon, a sundae spoon would make an adequate substitute. You just don't want to use a short spoon to stir, because you will most likely end up submerging your fingers in the liquid.