Bradford
A Bradford is a Martini shaken instead of stirred: 60ml of London Dry gin, 20ml of dry vermouth and two dashes of orange bitters, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with a lemon twist. About 2.8 UK units. The name is old. Difford’s Guide says Harry Johnson’s Bartenders’ Manual, in its 1900 edition, prints a Martini Cocktail, stirred, and a Bradford à la Martini, shaken: Old Tom gin and vermouth in equal measure with orange bitters and an olive. It quotes David Embury in 1948: shake a Martini and it becomes a Bradford. We have found no source that says who Bradford was. Shaking makes the drink colder, a little more dilute and briefly cloudy, with fine chips of ice on the surface. That texture fades within a minute or two, so the drink goes out the moment it is strained.
Glassware: Coupe Glass
Garnish: Lemon twist
Ingredients
60ml
At 40% ABV or more, with clear juniper. Shaking dilutes it faster than stirring would, and a soft gin goes thin.
20ml
At our working 18% ABV, which we keep refrigerated once opened. Three to one is wetter than most modern Martinis; Johnson’s Bradford was equal parts.
2 dashes
Johnson called for three or four dashes. Two keep the orange in the background, and shaking spreads them through the whole drink.
Instructions
Chill a coupe.
Add the gin, dry vermouth and orange bitters to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Strain into the chilled coupe without fine straining.
Express a lemon twist over the surface, drop it in and serve at once.
Our version
Harry Johnson’s 1900 Bradford à la Martini is equal parts Old Tom gin and vermouth with three or four dashes of orange bitters and an olive. Ours is 60ml of London Dry gin to 20ml of dry vermouth with two dashes and a lemon twist, shaken the same way.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 10 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Chill the coupe before you start. The cloud and the ice chips are the point of the drink and they last a minute or two; time spent hunting for a cold glass is time they spend fading. Strain through the shaker’s own strainer only. A fine strainer catches the ice chips, and without them you have a stirred Martini that has been handled roughly. Use a gin with plenty of juniper. Shaking adds water fast, and a soft gin goes thin. The 20ml of vermouth makes a wetter drink than most modern Martinis, which suits one that takes on more dilution.
Behind the Bradford
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
Difford’s Guide says Harry Johnson’s Bartenders’ Manual, in its 1900 edition, prints two Martinis. The Martini Cocktail is stirred. The Bradford à la Martini is half a wine glass each of Old Tom gin and vermouth with three or four dashes of orange bitters, shaken well, strained into a cocktail glass and served with an olive.
Johnson, as Difford’s Guide quotes him, does not say who Bradford was, and we have found no source that does. The useful fact is that by 1900, Difford’s Guide shows, the shaken and stirred versions already had separate names.
In 1948 David Embury, in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, made the rule explicit; Difford’s Guide quotes him: “If you shake the Martini it becomes a BRADFORD.”
What Shaking Actually Changes
Shaking chills faster and colder than stirring, adds more water in less time, and beats air into the drink. The air clouds it for a minute or two and makes it feel lighter. Small chips of ice break off and float on top.
None of that is a fault. It is a different texture from the same recipe: stirred is clear and silky, shaken is cold and brisk.
The Orange Bitters
Orange bitters were the usual seasoning for gin and vermouth in Johnson’s day, and his Bradford takes three or four dashes. Ours takes two, enough to sharpen the vermouth without tasting of orange. Shaken through the drink, they read a little brighter than they do stirred.
Johnson’s Bradford and Ours
Harry Johnson’s 1900 Bradford à la Martini, as Difford’s Guide quotes it, and ours
Gin
- Johnson, 1900
- Half a wine glass of Old Tom
- Ours
- 60ml London Dry
Vermouth
- Johnson, 1900
- Half a wine glass
- Ours
- 20ml dry
Orange bitters
- Johnson, 1900
- Three or four dashes
- Ours
- Two dashes
Method
- Johnson, 1900
- Shaken well
- Ours
- A hard shake of 10 to 12 seconds
Glass
- Johnson, 1900
- Cocktail glass
- Ours
- Chilled coupe
Garnish
- Johnson, 1900
- Olive
- Ours
- Lemon twist
| Element | Johnson, 1900 | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Gin | Half a wine glass of Old Tom | 60ml London Dry |
| Vermouth | Half a wine glass | 20ml dry |
| Orange bitters | Three or four dashes | Two dashes |
| Method | Shaken well | A hard shake of 10 to 12 seconds |
| Glass | Cocktail glass | Chilled coupe |
| Garnish | Olive | Lemon twist |
How to Serve It
In a coupe chilled before the shake starts, strained straight in and handed over at once. For the stirred version, make a Martini; for a shaken drink with vodka and Lillet Blanc, a Vesper.
Make it at home
The Spirit
GinGin is a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. Under the retained Regulation (EC) 110/2008, juniper must lead the taste, the floor is 37.5% ABV, and the route the flavour takes sets the grade: plain gin, distilled gin or London gin. Our recipes count it at 40%, and it carries the Martini, the Negroni and the Gin and Tonic.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Bradford?
Where does the name come from?
What does shaking change?
Why not fine strain it?
Is a shaken Martini wrong?
How is ours different from Johnson’s recipe?
How strong is a Bradford?
Sources.
Correct as of 19 October 2026.
- Difford’s Guide, “Bradford Martini” (secondary source: Harry Johnson’s 1900 Bartender’s Manual includes a stirred “Martini Cocktail” and a shaken “Bradford à la Martini” (3 or 4 dashes orange bitters, the peel of one lemon, 1/2 wine glass Tom gin, 1/2 wine glass vermouth, shaken, olive); David Embury, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948): “If you shake the Martini it becomes a BRADFORD.”; origin lost in time).
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A Martini is 60ml of gin and 10ml of dry vermouth, stirred over ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled Martini glass, with oil from a strip of lemon peel expressed over the top, or green olives if you prefer them. That is the IBA’s Dry Martini, a six-to-one build, and about 2.6 UK units. At six to one the vermouth stops being a partner and becomes a seasoning: a dry wine note and a rounder finish under the juniper. Older recipes were far wetter, and the drink has been poured at every ratio from equal parts to a bare rinse. Nothing in a Martini is sweet or sour: it is gin, vermouth, cold and water. The stir supplies the last two, so it shapes the result as surely as the gin.
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Gimlet
A Gimlet is 60ml of gin and 22.5ml of lime cordial, stirred with ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with a lime wheel. About 2.4 UK units. Gin and cordial only, with no fresh juice: the preserved lime is what makes it a Gimlet. The usual story ties it to the Royal Navy. The Oxford Companion says the Merchant Shipping Act of 1867 required British merchant ships to carry lime juice against scurvy, and that Lauchlan Rose patented an alcohol-free way of preserving lime juice the same year. Harry’s ABC of Cocktails calls a Gimlet of equal parts Plymouth gin and Rose’s lime cordial “a very popular beverage in the Navy”, and Cigar Aficionado quotes Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye of 1953: a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else. Ours is drier, a little under three to one. Cordial tastes rounder than fresh lime, with a cooked, marmalade edge, and the stir keeps the drink clear and silky.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026