Fifty-Fifty Martini

Cocktail historian David Wondrich prefers his Martinis this way—that is, with equal parts gin and vermouth, as they were served circa 1910. To achieve the right flavor balance, he suggests using a high-proof, full-bodied gin that can stand up to the vermouth. For the sake of historical accuracy, he also recommends straining the drink into a chilled cocktail coupe (a stemmed glass with a wide, shallow bowl), because the martini glass as we know it didn't come on the scene until the 1920s.