My rule of thumb Dry gins get olives . Sweet , herbal , flowery , flavored gins get twists or no garnish at all . With New Amsterdam , you ' re mixing what is essentially a melted orange creamsicle with a salty olive . Some may like that , but it ' s not for me . Another issue is how hot the martini is . Some may prefer a real kick and so going with a Navy strength high alcohol will do the trick , while others like myself want something a lot more mild . For a lot of people getting the martini cold is key to enjoyment . Frozen glasses , chilled gin and vermouth , and shaking the hell out of it may do the trick . For me , I like my martinis stirred , but I do like them cooler , but not too cold . My trick is to put ice in the tumbler and shake vigorously . I then gently pour the gin and vermouth , swirl , and pour into the glasses . The result should be a not fully mixed blend of gin , vermouth , flakes of ice and water , with the flavors dancing around in your mouth as you drink .