Shaken, not stirred: A guide to martinis in the Klang Valley

For a martini masquerading as an especially strong cup of coffee, visit Terumi. While the Taman Paramount cocktail bar is known for some of the best cocktails in the Klang Valley, its take on a classic espresso martini proves one of its strongest. The bar brings together vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso, and fernet, an aromatic Italian bitter in its Mr Fukuro. One of the silkiest espresso martinis out there, this drink is finished with a topping of sea salt cream. 

See also: Where to eat and drink in Taman Paramount 

A perfectly chilled classic martini is one of the most satisfying cocktails you can have. Served best in an icy, nearly frozen glass, the drink is often gin-based and sees the addition of dry vermouth before being garnished with olives or lemon peel. Simplicity is this drink’s standout quality. Only two ingredients resulted in the creation of one of the world’s most popular cocktails. When made with Gin Mare, the crispness of a classic martini is only emphasised. A Mediterranean gin made with a blend of botanicals, Gin Mare can add complexity to martinis with notes of olives, basil, thyme, citrus, and cardamom. 

Where better to look for martinis than Pahit, a specialist in all things gin? The bar’s signatures are gin-based, seeing a menu driven by this juniper-based spirit. Alongside uplifted gin and tonics, find its Mare Martini—a take on a classic martini crafted with Gin Mare. Pahit’s martini blends the herbaceous gin with dry vermouth but sets its version apart with a dash of celery bitters and additions of mixed olives instead of traditional stuffed green varieties.

From June 14 to 16, the bar will be celebrating World Martini Day with an exclusive martini menu of classic incarnations. Expect dry, dirty, and well-rounded perfect martinis alongside the more complex Martinez and Gibson, a martini garnished with a pickled onion. 

When deciding what martini you’d like to order, the biggest choice you’ll have to make is often between gin or vodka. Vesper martinis eliminate this conundrum entirely, fusing both spirits into one cocktail. The drink is traditionally made with gin, vodka, Lillet Blanc, and lemon peel, following its 1953 invention in Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale but has since gone on to act as foundations of flavoured cocktails and carry unique additions. 

The acclaimed Bar Trigona has its own take on the Vesper martini. On its Colour Me Curious menu that celebrates Malaysian produce and homegrown ingredients, Zen stands as a tribute to the drink. Roku Gin and Haku Vodka form the base of this robust cocktail and are infused with lychee and blue gari. 

Despite Bar Mizukami foregoing the use of menus in favour of an omakase-style cocktail experience, the bar still has a signature drink. The Magic Martini uses a forgotten pillar of bar culture, Blue Curacao, to create a colour changing tipple. A twist on a Vesper martini, Bar Mizukami’s take sees gin combined with sake in place of vodka for added body before being accented with quintessentially Malaysian rose syrup and asam boi. 

Don’t miss: One man, one bar no longer: Shawn Chong on expanding Bar Mizukami

Dirty martinis have been a constant in bar scenes across the globe and stand as one of the most popular savoury cocktails. Staying true to classic martinis with gin or vodka and dry vermouth, the addition of olive brine makes this martini a standout. Its 1901 inception has since seen mixologists add other savoury elements into the drink, elevating the traditional inclusions of olives. Popular riffs have seen blue cheese-stuffed olives lend the drink a unique funkiness, and the brine of pickled pepperoncini adds spice to the cocktail.

The Daikon Soup at Conti’ may sound like a soulful start to a meal but is instead the bar’s play on a dirty martini. Savoury ingredients are allowed to shine in this cocktail, seeing homemade pickled daikon replace olives and shiitake mushroom tincture add to the drink’s umami profile. A base of botanical gin and dry vermouth is made even more savoury with rice wine vinegar and an MSG solution. 

For a classic dirty martini garnished with skewered olives and brimming with brine, head to Frank’s. The Frank Sinatra-themed haunt is home to a slew of cocktails that champion unconventional ingredients. You’ll be able to find beetroot meringue and peanut butter foam atop cocktails, fig and violet wine infusions, and dehydrated jalapeño garnishes here alongside its classic cocktails available upon request. The bar occasionally celebrates World Martini Day in June and offers variations of the drink. On other days, you can simply ask a bartender to craft a dirty martini. 

As a drink with the potential for limitless alterations, it is no surprise that flavoured martinis have received a category of its own. Some of the most popularly ordered martinis are fruit-forward, infused with lychee, apple, passionfruit, and lemon. The bars listed below stray from the confines of fruit and put their own spins on flavoured martinis. 

Known for its impressive interpretations of martinis and famed chicken rice inspired cocktail, Ikiya 2.0’s Adzuki Martini is bound to impress anyone in search of a creative cocktail. A dessert cocktail not dissimilar to espresso martinis, Ikiya 2.0’s version sees red bean infused vodka combined with sake and dry vermouth. 

As the bar at Nadodi, each of Vér’s creations take inspiration from South Asian fare. Its Nomad Martini does exactly this, infusing gin with ingredients specific to the cuisine. The drink starts off with Sri Lankan dry gin before additions of fino sherry, orange blossom, apricot, and most interestingly, lime pickle. 

While not a category in itself, “shaken, not stirred,” has come to define how most martinis are made thanks to everyone’s favourite fictional British Secret Service agent, James Bond. The phrase was coined when Bond described the making of his ideal martini and what we now know as a Vesper martini despite cocktails featuring two spirits typically being stirred. 

Borrowing inspiration from the quote, Reka:Bar has made Bond’s popular catchphrase its own with a cocktail called Martini…Still Not Stirred. The drink can be found on one of Reka:Bar’s many menus, The Domino Effect. Its take on a martini does not see vodka or vermouth added to gin but instead features mezcal. The drink is made even more distinct through the use of cascara distillate, fig and dill vinegar, and compressed strawberry to bridge the gap between the fruitiness of classic lychee martinis and bittersweet character of espresso martinis. 

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