Perfect

What does "perfect" mean?

If you order a martini or a Manhattan "perfect", here is what happens: the vermouth in the drink is split and filled half with sweet, red vermouth and half with dry, pale vermouth. So "perfect" simply means "both vermouth styles in balance".

The name is a trap: it sounds like a quality judgement, but it is purely a quantity instruction, just like "dry" or "wet". A "Perfect Martini" is not the particularly well-made martini, it is the one with the 50/50 vermouth balance.

What does a "perfect" drink taste like?

The double-vermouth blend brings together the best of two worlds:

• The dry vermouth adds floral, light notes
• The sweet vermouth brings warmth, spice and a gentle sweetness
• Together they create a round, soft drink, not as stern as a dry and not as sweet as the classic version

Because of that, the vermouth steps much further into the spotlight. If you only knew it as a supporting actor next to the gin, a Perfect Martini is a genuine surprise.

Perfect is not only for martinis

The instruction works for all classic vermouth drinks, and it is most commonly ordered with:

• Perfect Martini: gin with half sweet, half dry vermouth
• Perfect Manhattan: whiskey with half sweet, half dry vermouth plus bitters
• Perfect Rob Roy: the Scotch whisky version of the Manhattan, same logic

A little history lesson

Mixing the two vermouth styles is well documented: the practice shows up in writing at least since 1901, and the name "perfect" came along in the early 1920s. In the famous Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930, the drink was still listed as the "Martini (Medium)", and author David Embury mocked the perfect name in 1948 while continuing to call it the Medium Martini. After World War II, the Perfect Martini went somewhat out of fashion, while the Perfect Manhattan remains a beloved speciality to this day.

Where exactly the word comes from has never been definitively settled. One theory traces it to the French "parfait", meaning "complete" or "consummate". Plausible, but not proven, so let us just say: it is a term that describes a balance, and you can taste it.

The overview: all martini codes

• Dry: less vermouth, the gin dominates
• Wet: more vermouth, softer and more floral
• Dirty: a splash of olive brine for a salty note
• Perfect: half sweet, half dry vermouth

And of course this can be combined: a "perfect wet martini" has plenty of both vermouth styles. Sounds clunky, but tastes wonderfully round.

At our lounge

Curious about the middle ground between stern and sweet? Simply order your martini or Manhattan "perfect" and let us know how you like it. Our team at the bar will, as always, tune the balance exactly to your taste, perfect in the truest sense of the word.