Gin & It
A Gin & It is 50ml London Dry gin and 25ml Italian sweet vermouth, stirred over ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with an orange slice. It is a sweet Martini: two parts gin to one of red vermouth, about 2.4 UK units. The It is short for Italian. The pairing was poured in New York bars of the 1880s and 1890s as a sweet Martini. As Gin and Italian it became a London bar staple, and the short name was in print by 1936, in Frank Meier’s The Artistry of Mixing Drinks. Older British recipes pour it equal parts with no ice, and that version is worth tasting once. With one part in three vermouth, open a fresh bottle and keep it in the fridge.
Glassware: Coupe Glass
Garnish: Orange slice and Maraschino cherry in the lounge tradition
Ingredients
50ml
London Dry, 40% ABV or stronger. Its juniper has to hold against a full measure of sweet vermouth; a soft gin lets the vermouth take over.
25ml
Italian sweet red vermouth, the It of the name, such as Martini Rosso or Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino. Refrigerate after opening and use within about four weeks.
Instructions
Chill a coupe in the freezer or with ice water.
Add the gin and sweet vermouth to a mixing glass.
Fill the mixing glass with cubed ice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds.
Discard the ice from the coupe and strain the drink into it.
Rest a thin orange slice on the rim, or drop in a cocktail cherry, and serve.
Expert Tip
Use a fresh vermouth. At 25ml it is one part in three, and a bottle open since Christmas is the usual reason a Gin & It tastes flat. Refrigerate it once opened and use it within about four weeks. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds with a full mixing glass of cubed ice. There is no citrus or sugar to blend in, so the stir is only for cold and water; stop when the glass is cold to the touch. Try the room-temperature version once: equal parts, no ice, in a small glass. It is sweeter and louder, and it shows how much the cold mutes both bottles.
Behind the Gin & It
Flavour Profile
The Origin
Gin and sweet vermouth were being stirred together in New York by the 1880s, at bars such as the Hoffman House, where the drink went by the name sweet Martini. The Italian vermouth in it gave the British name: Gin and Italian, shortened to Gin and It.
The short name was in print by 1936, in Frank Meier’s The Artistry of Mixing Drinks. In Britain it became a pub and hotel bar staple, often poured at room temperature. It lost ground through the late twentieth century as vermouth went out of fashion, and has come back with it.
The It
At two to one the vermouth is one part in three; at equal parts it is half the glass. Either way its condition decides the result, so keep it in the fridge and use it within about four weeks.
A rich Italian red in the Torino style gives the drink its body, which the gin cuts through. The same bottle makes a Negroni, which is a good reason to keep one open and get through it.
Ice and Ratio
The older British pour, equal parts and no ice, is worth one try. It is warmer, sweeter and more aromatic than any chilled drink, and it shows how much cold and dilution quieten both bottles.
The modern pour, two to one and stirred for 20 to 30 seconds, puts the gin in front and keeps the vermouth as seasoning. For everyday drinking it is the better of the two.
Gin & It, Martini and Martinez
The same two bottles sit at the centre of a small family. What changes is the vermouth, and what goes in beside it.
Gin & It, Martini and Martinez compared
Gin & It
- Spec
- 50ml gin, 25ml sweet vermouth
- Vermouth
- Italian sweet red
- Strength
- About 2.4 UK units
Gin Martini
- Spec
- 60ml gin, 10ml dry vermouth
- Vermouth
- French-style dry
- Strength
- About 2.6 UK units
Martinez
- Spec
- 45ml gin, 45ml sweet vermouth, 5ml maraschino, two dashes orange bitters
- Vermouth
- Italian sweet red
- Strength
- About 2.7 UK units
| Drink | Spec | Vermouth | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gin & It | 50ml gin, 25ml sweet vermouth | Italian sweet red | About 2.4 UK units |
| Gin Martini | 60ml gin, 10ml dry vermouth | French-style dry | About 2.6 UK units |
| Martinez | 45ml gin, 45ml sweet vermouth, 5ml maraschino, two dashes orange bitters | Italian sweet red | About 2.7 UK units |
Add maraschino and orange bitters and take the vermouth up to equal parts, and you have a Martinez. Add a little Fernet-Branca and you have a Hanky Panky. Swap in dry vermouth and cut it hard, and you are at the dry Martini. Each makes more sense once you have tasted the plain version.
How to Serve It
Stirred and strained into a chilled coupe, with an orange slice on the rim or a cherry in the glass. It takes two minutes and needs no bitters, citrus or syrup.
It suits the half hour before dinner, and it is the quickest use for an open bottle of sweet vermouth in the fridge door.
Make it at home
The Spirit
GinGin is a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. GB law requires juniper to lead the taste and sets a 37.5% ABV floor; the usual bottle is 40%. The law grades it by how the flavour gets in, from plain gin through distilled gin to London gin, and it carries the Martini, the Negroni and the Gin and Tonic.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the It stand for?
What is a Gin and It?
Is a Gin and It served without ice?
How does it differ from a Martinez?
What ratio should I use?
How strong is a Gin and It?
Is a Gin and It the same as a sweet Martini?
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Martinez
A Martinez is 45ml London Dry gin and 45ml sweet vermouth with a bar spoon (5ml) of maraschino and two dashes of orange bitters, stirred with ice for 20 to 30 seconds and poured into a cold coupe under a twist of lemon peel. About 2.7 UK units. The measures follow the IBA. It is usually named as the Martini’s forerunner, and its own origin is unclear. O. H. Byron’s guide of 1884 lists a Martinez as a Manhattan made with gin; Jerry Thomas’s Bar-Tender’s Guide of 1887 gives a full recipe on Old Tom gin, with more vermouth than gin, maraschino and Boker’s bitters. Equal parts on London Dry makes a drier, sharper drink than those early versions. Old Tom gin, a shorter vermouth measure and Angostura make the softer, sweeter variation.
Hanky Panky
A Hanky Panky is 45ml of London Dry gin, 45ml of sweet vermouth and 7.5ml of Fernet-Branca, stirred with ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with an orange twist expressed over the top and dropped in. About 2.8 UK units. The measures are the IBA’s. Ada Coleman made it at the American Bar of the Savoy, where she was head bartender until she retired in 1926. She told The People in 1925 that she spent hours experimenting for the actor Charles Hawtrey, who had asked for something with a bit of punch in it. He drained the glass and called it the real hanky-panky, and the name stuck. Harry Craddock, who followed her, put it in The Savoy Cocktail Book. Equal gin and sweet vermouth make a sweet Martini. The Fernet-Branca, a bitter Italian amaro, adds menthol and dark herbs, cools the finish and keeps the vermouth from tasting syrupy.
Negroni
A Negroni is 30ml each of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred with ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained over fresh ice in a rocks glass, with an orange peel expressed over the top. About 2.4 UK units. The measures are the IBA’s; the IBA builds the drink in the glass and garnishes it with half an orange slice. The usual story puts it in Florence in 1919, at the Caffè Casoni, where the bartender Fosco Scarselli is said to have replaced the soda in Count Camillo Negroni’s Americano with gin. No record from the time backs it. Equal parts of the three first appear in a French bar book of 1929, and the name Negroni reaches print for a cocktail in 1947. Each third has a job. Gin gives strength and juniper, Campari bitterness and orange, and the vermouth body and sugar. With no juice or soda in the glass, a tired vermouth shows at once.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026