The Humble Brag is a Martini variation from Leandro DiMonriva — better known as The Educated Barfly — introduced in his 2026 summer lineup. The move is small and the name earns itself: take a classic 2:1 gin Martini and point it toward grapefruit with a few dashes of bitters. Nothing about the build looks clever, which is precisely the flex. It drinks dry, bright, and composed — a Martini that lets the grapefruit do the talking.
The quietest drink in the room is usually the most sure of itself.
Origin
Credit where it's due: the Humble Brag is Leandro DiMonriva's, introduced in the Summer Bangerz 2026 episode he published as The Educated Barfly. We're documenting his spec, not claiming it — a 2:1 gin Martini seasoned with grapefruit bitters and served in the Martini idiom: stirred, up, and very cold.
The name is the joke. On paper the build is almost aggressively plain — gin, dry vermouth, a few dashes of bitters — and that restraint is the entire personality. It brags by refusing to.
The Spec
Two parts gin to one part dry vermouth is a wetter pour than the bone-dry Martinis currently in fashion, and it's deliberate. The extra vermouth carries the grapefruit bitters and keeps the drink aromatic rather than austere; three to four dashes of grapefruit bitters is the seasoning that gives the drink its name.
The 2:1, on purpose
A full ounce of dry vermouth against two of gin is closer to a mid-century Martini than a modern whisper-of-vermouth one. That's the point: the vermouth is a load-bearing ingredient here, softening the gin and giving the grapefruit bitters something to sit in. Use a fresh, well-kept dry vermouth — it is a third of the drink, not an afterthought.
Grapefruit bitters
The bitters are the whole idea in three or four dashes. They read as a faint bittersweet citrus lift rather than a flavor you could name blind, tilting a straight Martini toward grapefruit pith and zest. If you keep only one citrus bitters on the shelf, this is the drink that argues for grapefruit.
Stir, never shake
It's a Martini, so it's stirred — shaking would cloud it and bruise the texture. Stir with plenty of ice until properly cold and diluted, strain into a chilled glass, and finish with an expressed grapefruit twist to echo the bitters. Clarity and cold are the texture.
Bottom Line
The Humble Brag is a Martini that refuses to announce itself — three ordinary components arranged with enough restraint to feel like a choice. Make it for the person who orders a Martini and thinks they've seen them all.
The Martini Family
The classic — gin and dry vermouth, stirred ice-cold, finished with a lemon twist or an olive.
- 2 1/2 ozGin
- 1/2 ozDry vermouth
- 1 dashOrange bitters
A measure of olive brine turns the Martini cloudy, saline, and savoury.
- 2 1/2 ozGin
- 1/2 ozDry vermouth
- 1/2 ozOlive brine
A Martini garnished with a pickled onion — faintly savoury, faintly vegetal.
- 2 1/2 ozGin
- 1/2 ozDry vermouth
- 1 dashOrange bitters
James Bond's Martini — gin and vodka together, with Lillet for the vermouth.
- 3 ozGin
- 1 ozVodka
- 1/2 ozLillet Blanc
Two dashes of Fernet-Branca over equal parts gin and sweet vermouth.
- 1 1/2 ozLondon Dry gin
- 1 1/2 ozSweet vermouth
- 2 dashesFernet-Branca
Elderflower on top and white Burgundy for stretch — the Martini gone floral.
- 2 ozLondon dry gin
- 1/2 ozSt-Germain
- 1/2 ozChablis
Bénédictine alongside the dry vermouth, with orange bitters knitting the seams.
- 2 ozLondon dry gin
- 3/4 ozDry vermouth
- 3/4 ozBénédictine
Vodka for the gin — the substitution Smirnoff sold and Bond made permanent.
- 2 1/2 ozVodka
- 1/2 ozDry vermouth
- GarnishOlives or lemon peel