How to Order a Martini at Nectar. A Complete Guide to Getting It Right.

The martini is probably the most misunderstood cocktail on any bar menu. Not because it is complicated to make, but because the number of decisions involved in ordering one can feel overwhelming to anyone who has not done it before.

The result is that most people default to a single combination they have heard somewhere, "very dry, shaken, straight up," without fully understanding what those words mean or whether that combination actually reflects what they enjoy. The martini ends up tasting like a piece of borrowed vocabulary rather than a personal choice.

This guide is an attempt to change that. Once you understand the decisions involved and what each one actually produces in the glass, ordering a martini becomes one of the most satisfying things you can do at a bar.

Gin or Vodka

The first decision is the base spirit, and it is the one that shapes everything else.

A gin martini is aromatic, complex and characterful. Gin is made by distilling neutral spirit with botanicals, typically including juniper, coriander, citrus peel, angelica root and various other herbs and spices depending on the producer. Those botanicals carry through into the finished spirit and into the martini itself, giving the drink herbal depth, citrus brightness and a slightly assertive edge that makes it feel alive in the glass. No two gins are identical, and the martini made with one gin will taste noticeably different from the same martini made with another.

A vodka martini is smoother, cleaner and more neutral. Vodka is designed to be as flavour-neutral as possible, which means the martini made with it allows the vermouth and any other components to speak without competition from the base spirit. Some people prefer this precisely because it is quieter and less demanding. Others find it too restrained.

At Nectar, most of our martini-style drinks lean towards gin because it gives us more to work with creatively. The botanicals in the gin interact with infusions, vermouth and garnish in ways that vodka simply cannot replicate. If you are unsure which direction to go, start with gin. You can always come back and try the vodka version once you have a reference point to compare it against.

Dry or Wet

This decision refers to how much vermouth is in the drink, and it is one of the most misunderstood choices in cocktail ordering.

Vermouth is a fortified wine aromatised with botanicals. In a martini it functions as a modifier, softening the spirit, adding herbal complexity and bringing the drink into balance. Dry vermouth is the most common choice for a classic martini, and the ratio of vermouth to spirit determines whether the drink is described as dry or wet.

A dry martini contains less vermouth and feels sharper, more spirit-forward and more austere. At its extreme, an extremely dry martini is essentially chilled gin or vodka with almost no vermouth at all. Some people enjoy this. Many people order it because they think it is the sophisticated choice without realising they are removing one of the components that makes the drink interesting.

A wet martini contains more vermouth, which softens the drink, adds herbal and floral depth and creates a more balanced overall experience. A genuinely well-made wet martini is considerably more complex than an extremely dry one, because the interplay between the spirit and the vermouth produces something greater than either component alone.

Many guests automatically ask for very dry martinis without realising that a slightly wetter style might suit them far better. If you are new to martinis or find spirit-forward drinks intimidating, asking for a slightly wetter ratio is not a concession. It is often simply the more interesting drink.

Shaken or Stirred

This is the moment James Bond enters the conversation, and it is worth addressing directly.

Bond famously orders his martini shaken, not stirred. Shaking a martini chills it rapidly, creates significant dilution as the ice breaks down, and produces tiny ice fragments that float near the surface of the drink. It also introduces air bubbles into the liquid, which creates a slightly cloudy appearance and a lighter, more diluted texture. The drink is colder and more watered down than a stirred version.

At Nectar, we never recommend a shaken martini. Not because of tradition or snobbery, but because stirring simply produces a better result for this specific style of drink. Stirring chills the martini gradually and consistently, controlling the dilution precisely, keeping the texture smooth and silky, and maintaining the clarity that makes a classic martini look as good as it tastes. The spirit and vermouth integrate properly when stirred in a way they do not when shaken aggressively.

A shaken martini is colder, weaker and cloudier than a stirred one. For a spirit-forward drink where texture and clarity are central to the experience, that is not an improvement. Bond's preference is many things, but it is not a bartending recommendation.

Stir your martini. You will taste the difference.

Dirty or Clean

A dirty martini includes olive brine in the build, which adds saltiness, savouriness and a distinctive depth that a clean martini does not have.

The concept divides people more than almost any other martini decision. Those who love a dirty martini tend to love it completely. Those who do not find the brine overwhelming against the spirit. Both responses are entirely valid, and the best way to discover which camp you fall into is to try one.

At Nectar, we use brine from Kalamata olives rather than the standard green cocktail olives that most bars default to. This is a deliberate choice rooted in the Mediterranean identity behind everything we do, and it produces something noticeably different from a conventional dirty martini.

Kalamata olives have a darker, richer, more complex flavour than green olives. The brine carries those characteristics. It is earthier and deeper, with a subtle fruitiness that standard olive brine does not possess. The colour it imparts to the martini is also distinctive. Because of the dark skin of the Kalamata olive, the brine carries a reddish tone that gives the drink a slightly blush appearance. It surprises people when it arrives at the table. Once they taste it, the surprise resolves into understanding.

The Kalamata dirty martini pairs naturally with the broader Mediterranean flavour profile of the food at Nectar. If you are eating the Prawn Saganaki or the Grilled Halloumi, a dirty martini with Kalamata brine sits alongside both in a way that feels genuinely considered rather than coincidental.

Peel or Olives

The garnish is the final decision, and it changes more than most people expect.

Olives add richness, savouriness and a textural element to the drinking experience. Eating the olive at the end of a martini is its own small pleasure, and the saltiness it leaves on the palate extends the finish of the drink beyond the last sip. At Nectar, our Kalamata olives as garnish carry all the character described above and add a distinctly Mediterranean note to the close of the experience.

A citrus peel, typically lemon or orange, does something entirely different. When the peel is expressed over the glass, the essential oils in the skin spray across the surface of the drink and coat the rim. The aroma this creates changes how the martini is perceived from the first sip onwards. A lemon peel over a gin martini lifts the citrus botanicals in the gin and keeps the drink feeling bright and clean. An orange peel adds warmth and a slightly sweeter aromatic note.

The choice between peel and olives is essentially a choice between two different versions of the end of the drink. Olives make the martini feel richer and more savoury as it finishes. Peel keeps it feeling fresh and aromatic throughout. Neither is correct. Both are valid. The right answer is whichever suits the rest of what you are drinking and eating.

Our Tzatziki Martini

One of the drinks we are most proud of at Nectar is the Tzatziki Martini, and it is worth explaining where it sits within the framework above.

It is gin-based, using Gin Mare, a Mediterranean gin whose botanical profile includes olives, basil, thyme and rosemary. It is dry and stirred. It is clean rather than dirty. And it is garnished with a cucumber peel that highlights the infusion inside the spirit.

The infusion is what makes it unlike any other martini on any menu in Edinburgh. The gin is infused for 48 hours with cucumber, yogurt, dill and garlic, then clarified using a process that removes all colour and cloudiness while keeping the full flavour and a residual silky texture. The drink arrives completely clear. It looks like a classic, elegant martini. It tastes unmistakably of tzatziki.

That gap between appearance and flavour is the experience, and it is one that almost nobody anticipates correctly on the first sip. It has become our most talked-about cocktail and the one guests most frequently describe to friends before a visit.

If you are standing at the menu wondering where to start, the Tzatziki Martini is usually the answer. It covers every element of this guide simultaneously and adds something that none of the individual decisions above could produce on their own.

You can read the full story behind how it was created here.

A Final Note on Asking for Help

Every decision described in this guide is a starting point, not a rule. The best way to order a martini at Nectar, or at any serious cocktail bar, is to tell the team what you enjoy and let them guide you toward the right combination.

If you like clean, fresh drinks, they will suggest a wet gin martini with a lemon peel. If you like rich, savoury drinks, they will suggest dirty with Kalamata olives. If you want something unlike anything you have tried before, they will suggest the Tzatziki Martini without hesitation.

The conversation is part of the experience. We genuinely enjoy it.

See the full cocktail menu here or book your table here.

Nectar is at 73 Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3RJ. Open Tuesday to Thursday from 5pm until 11pm, Friday from 5pm until 1am, Saturday from noon until 1am, and Sunday from noon until 11pm. Monday closed.

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