While the martini is one of the worlds most recognizable and established cocktails, there is a slightly lesser-known cocktail that precedes it - the Martinez. The drink itself historically has thought to have evolved from the Manhattan but using gin (genever or old tom) as a substitution for whiskey in the mid-late 19th Century. The problem with many cocktails of that era, the origin of it has been poorly recorded and most of it has been lost to the annals of history - no one really knows how the Martinez (and the Manhattan for that matter) came to be, and that becomes particularly frustrating when you're trying to find the "right recipe"

There lies the dilemma of what gin do you use? A London dry style? Old Tom? Classic Genever? Then you chuck in 2 variants of vermouth - how much dry vermouth? How much sweet vermouth? At the end of the day, it comes down to the skill of the bartender to find the right balance, and many career bartenders have their own interpretations.

We're lucky enough to have one of those at the helm at the Applewood Bar, Mitch Gauvin, our new Bar Manager. We asked him to make us a cocktail in his first week on the job, and funnily enough, a Martinez was what his first instinct was to craft - but with his own twist, foregoing the traditional orange peel and substituting it for lemon myrtle infused olive oil and some dehydrated and powdered davidson plum. It blew our hair back - a stellar drink. If you're at the Applewood Bar anytime soon, ask Mitch for one of these. You won't regret it.

the martinez (applewood style)

 60ml applewood gin

30ml sweet vermouth (unico yuzu)

15ml dry vermouth (regal rogue or madenii)

5ml maraschino liqueur 

stir all ingredients in a cocktail glass and strain into a chilled nick and nora glass. garnish with orange peel or lemon myrtle olive oil.