The non-alcoholic Martini

A classic dry martini is gin and dry vermouth, stirred with ice and strained into a chilled glass, with a lemon twist or an olive. Ratios run from roughly 2:1 to 5:1 gin to vermouth. Each part does something specific:

• Gin gives juniper, dryness and heat. It's the drink's backbone and around three-quarters of the volume.
• Dry vermouth gives aroma and softness. It's fortified white wine with herbs and wormwood, and it rounds off the gin's sharp edges.
• Dilution and cold finish it. Stirring adds a little water, which opens up the flavor, and chills the drink until it's almost syrupy.

A martini mocktail has to fake the weight and the heat. Here's what we've found works:

• Salt is non-negotiable. Two dashes of saline (four parts water to one part salt) give a zero-proof martini a rounder, fuller texture. In the dirty version, the brine already does this.
• Stir briefly. Non-alcoholic spirits dilute faster than gin. Ten to twelve seconds of stirring is plenty. Any longer and it tastes like cold water.
• Freeze the glass. A frozen coupe keeps the drink at the right temperature for longer and makes up for some of the missing body.
• Serve it small. A 2.5 oz martini that you finish while it's cold beats a 5 oz one that warms up halfway through.
• Pick a gin with warmth. Gin alternatives that use spice or a "tingle" to stand in for alcohol make a more convincing martini than soft, floral ones.

There's no ready-to-drink non-alcoholic martini in our catalogue yet, so this is a build-your-own drink. You need two bottles: a gin alternative and a dry vermouth alternative.

The gin

The best non alcoholic gin for a martini is juniper-forward, dry and not at all sweet, with some weight and something warm on the finish. This is where the drink lives or dies.

• Free Spirits The Spirit of Gin is our pick for the classic dry martini. It's modeled on a dry Plymouth-style gin, a traditional martini gin: juniper first, then citrus, coriander and cardamom. It has a bit more body than most gin alternatives, which is exactly what a martini needs.
• ISH London Botanical is a London dry-style alternative with juniper and citrus up front and a chili-seed distillate that adds real bite. Zero sugar. Choose it if you like your martini sharp and bracing.
• Monday Zero Alcohol Gin is juniper-led with lemon and cucumber, and has a warming tingle on the finish that stands in for the burn of alcohol. That warmth makes it our pick for the dirty martini, where the brine needs something to push back against.
• Dhōs Gin Free is pine, juniper, candied lemon and spearmint, finishing warm-to-cool with coriander, fennel and wintergreen. It's sugar-free and makes a cold, crisp, slightly minty martini.
• Lyre's Dry London Spirit and Cut Above Zero Proof Gin both work too. Lyre's is juniper, citrus and coriander with a dry finish, a little soft on its own. Cut Above adds cardamom, rose and bergamot, and makes a more perfumed martini that suits a lemon twist.
• Pentire Adrift isn't a gin alternative, but its rock samphire, sage and lime make a salty, coastal base that works beautifully with olive brine. If you like your dirty martini very savory, try it.

The dry vermouth

Is there a non-alcoholic dry vermouth? Yes, though the category is small. Vermouth is fortified wine, and replacing the wine's body without alcohol is hard.

• Roots Divino Bianco is the one to buy. It's a Greek non-alcoholic bianco of rosemary, thyme and wormwood, fresh and herbal, and it's made to be used where you'd use dry vermouth. It has noticeably more acidity than most zero-proof aperitifs, which helps it stand in for wine. It's our non alcoholic vermouth for a martini.
• Martini Floreale is Martini's lighter, floral alcohol-free aperitivo: chamomile, roman wormwood and white flowers, with a clean, dry finish. It's softer and more floral than Divino Bianco. Use it for a "wet" martini, closer to 2:1, or for a martini with a lemon twist where you want the drink more aromatic.

The vodka (for a vodka martini)

Vodka's job in a martini is to be clean and neutral with a little heat, and in a dirty martini the brine covers most of that anyway. There are now zero-proof vodkas that do exactly that.

• Dhōs Vodka Free is deliberately neutral, with a touch of horseradish extract for warmth, and zero sugar. It's the best non-alcoholic vodka for a dirty martini: it gets out of the brine's way and adds a little bite.
• CleanCo Clean V is wheat and rye up front, then ginger, pimento and black pepper standing in for the burn. It's sugar-free and has more flavor than Dhōs, so it makes a warmer, spicier vodka martini.
• Optimist Bright is a botanical spirit pitched as a lemony vodka: lemon, green mandarin, jasmine and lavender. It's too floral for a dirty martini, but with a lemon twist it makes a bright, aromatic one.

Use them exactly as you would the gin: 2 oz, a small splash of Divino Bianco or just a rinse, saline, and a short stir.

The bitters

A dash of orange bitters was standard in early martinis, and it helps a zero-proof one more than a real one, because it adds aroma and a bitter edge the drink is missing. Both of these are alcohol-free.

• All The Bitter Orange Cardamom Bitters is three kinds of orange peel with cardamom, coriander and gentian. A few drops finish a dry martini, especially one with a lemon twist.
• Seasn Light Cocktail Bitters is cut grass, lime and grapefruit peel with a salty edge from kombu and sea salt. It's made for martinis, and the salt makes it a good match for the dirty version.

The garnish

In a zero-proof martini the garnish matters more than usual, because it's one of the few places left to add aroma.

• A lemon twist is the classic for a dry martini. Cut a wide strip of peel with no white pith, squeeze it skin-side down over the glass so the oils mist the surface, then rub it around the rim. That burst of citrus oil does some of the work alcohol would normally do in lifting the aromas.
• Olives go with the dirty martini, and with any martini where you want it savory. Three on a pick is traditional. Their brine seeps into the drink as you sip, so it gets a little dirtier as it goes.
• A cocktail onion turns the drink into a Gibson: sharper, more savory, and a good match for Pentire Adrift.

Whatever you use, have it ready before you start stirring. A zero-proof martini is at its best in the first few minutes.

This is our dry martini. It's 4:1 gin alternative to bianco, stirred briefly, with saline for weight and a lemon peel for aroma.

If it tastes too herbal, drop the Divino Bianco to a quarter-ounce or swap in Martini Floreale for a softer, more floral drink. If it tastes thin, add a third dash of saline, a couple of drops of orange bitters, and make sure the glass is properly frozen.

The dirty martini is the easiest martini to make without alcohol, because olive brine brings exactly what zero-proof spirits lack: salt, savory depth and weight on the tongue. It's why so many martini mocktail recipes online are dirty ones.

The keys are good brine and a gin with some warmth. Use the brine from a jar of olives you'd actually eat, not the cheapest can. Green olives like Castelvetrano give a buttery, mild brine; standard pimento-stuffed olives give a saltier, sharper one. Start with three-quarters of an ounce and adjust.

For a "filthy" version, go up to a full ounce of brine and add a cocktail onion. For a lighter one, cut the brine to half an ounce and add a dash of saline in its place.

Here's how the gins, vodkas, vermouth alternatives and bitters for a zero-proof martini compare. The table pulls live ratings from around the web; see each bottle's page for sources.

• Espresso Martini. Not a martini at all, but the most-ordered drink with the name. Coffee, a coffee liqueur alternative and a hard shake.
• Cosmopolitan. A "martini" only because of the glass: citrus spirit, orange liqueur, cranberry and lime.
• Gin and Tonic. If the martini is too much, the same gin alternatives make an excellent long drink.
• White Negroni. Gin, gentian bitter and a bianco. St. Agrestis Phony White Negroni is a pale, bitter, crisp ready-made version with more gentian and citrus than the original Phony, and it scratches a similar stirred-and-serious itch.
• Gibson. A dry martini with a cocktail onion in place of the twist. Pour a little of the onion brine in for a savory lean.

A zero-proof martini is a good test of a bar. The places below take non-alcoholic drinks seriously: