Irish Martini

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
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Updated on 04/22/21
Irish Martini
Steve Brown Photography/Photolibrary/Getty Images
Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

The Irish martini is a simple variation on the vodka martini. The ingredient that makes it Irish is, of course, Irish whiskey. The amount of whiskey may be small, but it makes a big difference. By using it to rinse the glass, you're adding substance, color, and flavor to that dry martini base. The resulting drink is just a little more complex and it's surprisingly satisfying.

When making a drink as naked as this, be sure to choose premium spirits. There are no juices or heavily flavored ingredients to mask the faults of the cheaper spirits and your Irish martini experience will be much better if you begin with quality ingredients.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Pour the Irish whiskey into a chilled cocktail glass.

  3. Swirl it around the glass in order to coat the inside, then discard the excess whiskey.

  4. Pour the vodka and dry vermouth into a cocktail shaker half-filled with cracked ice.

  5. Shake well.

  6. Strain into the rinsed glass.

  7. Garnish with a lemon twist. Serve and enjoy.

Tips

  • "Dump" the whiskey? Yeah right! Instead of wasting good whiskey, go ahead and drink the excess or reserve it in a shot glass for later. Also, if you're making a few Irish martinis, the same 1/2 ounce can be transferred to each glass.
  • A chilled glass makes this drink just a little better. If you don't have room in your freezer for a couple of cocktail glasses, take the quick approach instead. Simply fill the glass with a few ice cubes while you gather the ingredients and tools, then dump them out right before doing the whiskey rinse.
  • Make sure your vermouth is fresh because stale vermouth makes a bad martini. The fortified wine has a short shelf life of just three months after the bottle is open. It should also be stored in the refrigerator.

Recipe Variations

  • Rather than vodka, try the Irish martini with gin. The extra flavor from that spirit's botanicals is really interesting with an Irish whiskey kiss.
  • You can also try this recipe with scotch. It will be a little different than the smoky martini, which uses just a dash of the whisky as a modifier instead of vermouth. Try blended scotch rather than really smoky single malts.

How Strong Is an Irish Martini?

As with any of the alcohol-only martinis, do not expect this to be a light drink! If you take into account that full pour of whiskey, the Irish martini's alcohol content is a whopping 31 percent ABV (62 proof). That's right in line with the gin and vodka martinis, as well as the whiskey Manhattan. Whenever exploring these cocktails, don't let their fancy appearance trick you into one too many (they're sneaky).

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
218 Calories
0g Fat
3g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 218
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 3mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 3g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 8mg 39%
Calcium 9mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 24mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)