You probably never thought that you could be awarded a certificate for drinking a martini, but that’s exactly what happened when Lara took part in a cocktail workshop at Dry Martini London.

Considered an institution in Spain, the Dry Martini bar started all the way back in 1978 when it used to serve only martinis. These days though, Dry Martini offers a full service bar experience and has since spread to London, Singapore, Boston and Rio de Janiero.

You can experience the UK’s only Dry Martini bar at the Melia White House Hotel on Albany St in London and it’s worth a trip for anyone who is serious about their martinis and is looking for something a little more sophisticated than your local free house.

Home to one of the best bar set-ups I’ve seen, Dry Martini specialises in the titular cocktail and has over 80 brands of gin at their disposal. It feels terrifically similar to the hotel bar in Kubrick’s The Shining with all the wood panelling, brass and designer up-lighting and you will feel no-less charming than Jack Nicholson as you sip your drink in the continental ambience.

Launching on Tuesday March 1st, the cocktail workshops held at Dry Martini will teach you the history and heritage of the bar, the cocktail and the associated ingredients and brands. You’ll be instructed on the correct ingredients to use, the ritual employed by the staff at Dry Martini and you’ll find out about the different ways to serve the iconic drink. The workshop takes a turn for the intriguing when you get to go behind the bar and see the unusual ingredients and equipment used to make some of the more exotic cocktails.

I discovered at Dry Martini that they never shake their drinks, only stir and that I’m rather a dab hand with the stirring stick. A hard-core vodka martini sympathiser, I conceded to work with Tanqueray No. 10 for the workshop, but was delightfully surprised to find that as it turns out, I love both. Whether you prefer your gin London Dry or your vermouth French, you’ll find out that no matter where your allegiances lie, you’ll be able to find and now make your perfect martini at Dry Martini.  

Book your place in a cocktail workshop.