Wet

Serving instruction

Wet is a Martini order for more vermouth, about 2:1 to 3:1 gin or vodka to vermouth, so the drink tastes softer.

Wet Martini: About 2:1 to 3:1 gin or vodka to dry vermouth
Standard Martini: About 3:1 to 4:1
Dry Martini: About 5:1 to 6:1
50/50 Martini: Equal parts spirit and vermouth

What Wet means

Vermouth is the lever here. Two Martinis can use the same gin and differ only in how much dry vermouth goes in. A wet one uses about 2:1 to 3:1 spirit to vermouth, so the vermouth shows up clearly in the taste.

A wet Martini tastes softer because the vermouth comes through more. It is still gin or vodka at the base, and the drink lands a little lower in alcohol than a dry one. On a bar menu the word sits in front of Martini, and a bartender may ask whether you want yours wet. It is usually stirred with ice.

Many people hear wet and picture a watery drink. That is a misreading, because wet refers to extra vermouth, not extra dilution. The three usual levels are wet, standard and dry, set by how much vermouth goes in. A 50/50 sits past wet at the far end.

How to order a wet martini

Say the spirit, then wet, then how you want it served, and the bar adds the extra vermouth.

Gin Martini, wet, up, with a twist.A stirred gin Martini with about 2:1 to 3:1 gin to dry vermouth, strained into a stemmed glass with a twist.
Wet dirty vodka Martini.A stirred vodka Martini with extra vermouth and olive brine, served cold in a stemmed glass with olives.

Wet compared

DryDry cuts the vermouth to about 5:1 or more spirit to vermouth, so it is the drier of the two.
DirtyDirty adds olive brine where wet adds vermouth, so a wet dirty Martini has both.
50/50 MartiniA 50/50 goes further than wet, with equal parts spirit and vermouth and a much lower ABV.
PerfectPerfect splits the vermouth between sweet and dry, while wet only raises the amount of dry vermouth.

Related terms

Ingredients

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