Dry

Serving instruction

Dry is a drink order that asks for less vermouth, so the gin or vodka leads the flavor.

Also called: extra dry · perfect

Dry Martini: About 5:1 to 6:1 gin or vodka to dry vermouth
Extra dry Martini: 8:1 or drier, or just a vermouth rinse
Wet Martini: About 2:1 to 3:1
Perfect: Equal parts sweet and dry vermouth
Extra Dry sparkling wine: 12 to 17 g sugar per liter, sweeter than Brut (0 to 12 g per liter)

What Dry means

Dry is mostly about ratio. A dry Martini uses about 5:1 to 6:1 gin or vodka to dry vermouth. You will see it on menus as 'Gin Martini, dry', and a bartender may ask how dry you want it. That question only tells the bartender how much vermouth to pour.

Less vermouth means more spirit in each glass, so a dry Martini runs stronger than a wet one. The word describes the vermouth, not the spirit, so vodka can be dry as well as gin. When someone calls a Martini very dry, they usually mean extra dry, which takes even less vermouth. Perfect and extra dry are the other orders in this family.

Many people hear dry and picture a Martini with no vermouth at all. That is a misreading. Dry means less dry vermouth, not none. The same word causes confusion on sparkling wine, where Extra Dry is the sweeter bottle. It carries 12 to 17 g of sugar per liter, while Brut carries 0 to 12 g.

How to order a drink dry

Name the drink, then say dry, extra dry or perfect. The bartender changes only the vermouth.

Gin Martini, dry, up, with a twist.A cold gin Martini at about 5:1 to 6:1 gin to dry vermouth, served in a stemmed glass with a twist.
Vodka Martini, extra dry.Vodka with 8:1 or drier of vodka to vermouth, or only a rinse of dry vermouth, served cold in a stemmed glass.
Perfect Manhattan.A Manhattan made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth, so the vermouth is split between both styles.

Dry compared

WetThe same ratio runs the other way for wet, about 2:1 to 3:1, so a wet Martini has more vermouth.
DirtyDirty adds olive brine, while dry only lowers the vermouth. A drink can be both, as in a dry dirty Martini.
PerfectPerfect splits the vermouth in equal parts, sweet and dry, so it is not a smaller dose of dry vermouth alone.
Extra dryExtra dry goes further, with 8:1 or drier of spirit to vermouth, or a rinse of vermouth in the glass.

Related terms

Ingredients

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