Fifty Fifty
Gin and dry vermouth in equal parts with orange bitters, stirred. The Martini as it was before it dried out — wet, aromatic, and the drink the craft revival rediscovered.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe or Nick and Nora glass.
Add the gin, dry vermouth and orange bitters to a mixing glass.
Fill with ice and stir for 25 seconds.
Strain into the chilled glass, express a lemon twist over the top and drop it in.
A thoughtful finish
- The vermouth is half the drink, so it must be fresh and good; an open bottle a month old will spoil it.
- Orange bitters are the 1900s touch and tie the two halves together.
- Stir a little less than a dry Martini; at a lower proof it dilutes faster.
Common mistakes
- Tired vermouth. There is no hiding it here.
- Shaking.
- Treating it as a weak Martini; it is a different balance, not a lesser one.
A few good questions.
What is a Fifty-Fifty?
A Martini with equal parts gin and dry vermouth, usually with orange bitters — the early-twentieth-century proportion.
How strong is it?
Around 24% ABV after dilution — noticeably lighter than a dry Martini's 30-plus, which is part of its appeal.
Which vermouth?
A good French dry — Dolin, Noilly Prat — fresh from the fridge. The drink is a showcase for it.
Who revived it?
Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club in 2005, whose Fifty-Fifty became a standard of the New York revival.
Variations
- Martini — Gin and dry vermouth, drier.
- Perfect Martini — Gin with dry and sweet vermouth.
- Gibson — A dry Martini with an onion.
- Vesper — Gin, vodka and Lillet.
Where it comes from
c. 1900s–1930s · United States
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The early Martini was wet: the recipes of the 1900s used equal parts gin and vermouth, often with orange bitters, and the drink dried out through the twentieth century until the vermouth was a rumour. The Fifty-Fifty is that early proportion kept as its own drink, and its revival belongs to Audrey Saunders, who put a Fifty-Fifty on the Pegu Club menu in 2005 with Plymouth gin, Dolin dry vermouth and orange bitters and made a generation of bartenders taste what the Martini had lost. It is a lighter, more aromatic drink than the dry Martini and, with fresh vermouth, arguably the better one.
Sources
- Audrey Saunders, Pegu Club recipes, 2005 (interview)
- Lowell Edmunds, Martini, Straight Up, 1998 (book)
- Robert Simonson, A Proper Drink, 2016 (book)
Strength. About 1.57 US standard drinks at an estimated 25.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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