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Published on Mar. 12, 2025
The legendary chef’s go-to drink—the upside-down martini—has converted me, a martini skeptic.
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I must confess something: I’ve never been much of a martini fan.
Over the years, I have tried countless variations on the classic martini, but this drink never secured a place in my rotation of regular orders. Now, a tip from the late, great Julia Child has me rethinking everything I thought I knew about how to order a martini.
I recently learned that Julia’s favorite cocktail was something called an “upside-down martini,” a more vermouth-forward variation on the classic recipe. According to Culinary Historians of Chicago, Julia once said it was her favorite cocktail because it was so light “you could have two of them.”
What is an ‘upside-down martini’?
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The upside-down martini, aka the reverse martini, calls for five parts of extra-dry vermouth (Noilly Prat preferred) to one part gin. This cocktail reverses the recipe for a classic martini.
Garnished with a lemon peel twist, the upside-down martini is a refreshing sipper worthy of a summer happy hour spent gossiping with friends. And Julia is correct: The surprisingly complex but not overbearing flavor will have you asking for another. No wonder this drink had culinary royalty ordering another round!
How do you order an ‘upside-down martini’?
If you’re ordering Julia’s drink from your regular bartender, you’ll want to share a couple of things that make this drink so unique. First, the martini calls for gin, not vodka. In place of sweet vermouth, be sure they use dry vermouth. And if you’re looking to be a purist, the drink needs a lemon peel garnish.
The bartender should also do plenty of shaking to get the martini nice and cold—this one wouldn’t hit the same if it was anything close to room temperature.
With my curiosity piqued, I knew I needed a taste of Julia’s drink myself. My neighborhood bar did not have any vermouth (dry or otherwise) on hand, so I picked up a bottle of Noilly Prat from the store and fixed the drink up at home.
The result lived up to the hype—and with barely three ingredients to it, this is an easy one to whip up at home using the gin of your choice. And, yes, you’ll want to have two.