The Martini’s beginnings remain shrouded in mystery, yet historians often credit the Turf Club as an early influencer in blending gin and vermouth. In George Winter’s 1884 publication, How to Mix Drinks, the first documented recipe featured Old Tom gin, sweet vermouth, and bitters, resembling the beloved Martinez cocktail.
Around the year 1900, bartender Harry Johnson shared a recipe resembling today’s Turf Club in the updated version of his Bartenders’ Manual. The drink, named the Turf Cocktail, consisted of equal measures of Plymouth gin and dry vermouth, combined with absinthe, maraschino liqueur, and orange bitters.
The Turf Club cocktail, like many variations of Martinis today, has transformed into a drier drink with a higher gin to vermouth ratio. It boasts a sharper and dryer taste compared to its relative, the Tuxedo No. 2. Both beverages feature maraschino liqueur for hints of marasca cherries and almonds, along with dashes of absinthe and orange bitters to enhance the flavors. The following Turf Club recipe is sourced from Frank Caiafa’s The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book.
Ingredients
2 oz
LONDON DRY GIN, Or Plymouth
.75 oz
DRY VERMOUTH
.25 oz
MARASCHINO LIQUEUR
2 dash(es)
ABSINTHE
2 dash(es)
ORANGE BITTERS
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