The Dirty Martini

Never a fan of the dirty martini, I now realize it doesn’t receive the respect it deserves. I often called it an aberration, abomination or worse and it’s time to eat my words and rectify my original ill-informed opinion.

Recent trends using craft brines ignited my interest in this cocktail and question how it can be improved. I have always loved brine. Pickles, olives, okra and others are something I can sip straight from the jar. Thinking about this inspired me to explore and tackle a fresh start.

A survey created by professional bartending friend Eron Plevon revealed some interesting preferences among dirty martini cognoscenti. A majority preferred it stirred instead of shaken. He also quizzed respondents about use of vermouth, choice of gin or vodka and other insights from his time behind the stick.

Personally I found my deep-seated preference for gin clouded my vision. Eron points out the neutral flavor of vodka allows the brine to shine. This made me slap my forehead and mutter, duh.

A primary objection of mine is the dull and cloudy appearance of your run-of-the-mill dirty martini. The combination of brine with suspended particulate matter and the aeration caused by shaking make a truly ugly cocktail. However, this can be corrected by simple filtration leaving a clean, beautiful brine and stirring instead of shaking. These easy steps give you a beautiful, sparkling cocktail.

My Journey To A New Dirty Martini

The experiment began by tasting several store bought brines. The flavor was acceptable for some, unacceptable for others with added ingredients and all more expensive than I cared for. Why re-invent the wheel when you love the brine included with your favorite olives or pickles?

I cycled through all the combinations using gin or vodka, with and without vermouth and pickle or olive brine. Then I varied the quantities of spirit and brines to find my personal favorite. I discovered it was a pickle martini, not just dirty, but down right filthy with extra juice. YMMV as they say, but whether olive or pickle, gin or vodka, dirty or filthy, shaken or stirred I now understand why you like them. Print