Easy and Delicious Dirty Martini Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the formula for a dirty martini? ›

You can drink your martini without a garnish—and I often do. But garnishes add aroma (and flavor) and jazz up your drink's appearance, too. Olives are iconic, of course. Onions are nice too.

It's almost easier to make a bad dirty martini than it is to make a great one. Adding that touch of olive brine can make the co*cktail too salty or impart the stale, musty taste of olives bottled during the last century. Your dirty martini can also suffer from being the wrong temperature, too boozy, or out of balance.

“Belvedere Vodka has always worked well for me in a Dirty Martini,” says Max Goldberg, beverage director at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.

Vermouth: Dolin Dry

Dolin is on the more expensive side of vermouths, but it tastes fantastic in a dirty martini. It doesn't overpower the other flavours (ahem, olive juice which I'll get to in a minute) but does balance the gin well.

However, while many bartenders default to gin as the ideal option for a standard Martini, many find vodka to be the better choice for a Dirty Martini. This is because the spirit's more neutral profile allows the olive brine to shine more prominently, without getting muddled by gin's heavier botanicals.

Once you have consumed two, you must move on to a soft drink, such as wine or a gin and tonic. The reasons for this are obvious and I try to adhere to this rule at home. The rule is defended most enduringly (and elegantly) at Duke's Bar in Central London, where years of experience … Continue reading.

Use quality ingredients—The key to a great martini is to pour quality ingredients, so start off with a top-shelf gin and vermouth. With only two ingredients, this is not a co*cktail where you want to be frugal. Adjust the ratio—Each gin is different.

The term 'dirty' means that olive brine, usually from a jar of co*cktail olives, has been added to the drink. An olive garnish is typically assumed, too. Most bars add equal parts vermouth and brine, though you can specify 'extra dirty' or 'filthy' if you prefer more brine.

But purists know that olive brine is the best option: The humble liquid in your olive jar offers a vegetal salinity that complements and balances the bite of ice-cold clear spirits. With dozens of olive varieties available from a multitude of producers, finding the best brine for a Martini can be a challenge at best.

What does ordering a dirty martini say about you? ›

4. There is a fine line when it comes to brine, and this drink can go from delightful to disgusting really quickly. Customizable with gin or vodka, a touch of vermouth and defiled with olive juice, if you like your martini dirty, you're hip, swanky, stylish… hungry?

Bone-Dry Martini

Calls for 3 ½ ounces gin or vodka, no vermouth.

You may have heard a rumor that the Kirkland Signature™ brand vodka sold at Costco is actually GREY GOOSE® Vodka, just in different packaging. We can definitively put this myth to rest. This viral claim is completely false, and GREY GOOSE® Vodka does not produce nor privately label Kirkland vodka.

Bone-dry: a martini made with extremely little or no vermouth. Kangaroo: another name for a vodka martini.

Tito's Handmade Vodka makes for an incredible martini. Tito's is the original no-frills, all-flavor vodka. There are no gimmicks with Tito's, what you see is what you get. And what you see when you look at a bottle of Tito's is extraordinary vodka.

"Dirty" simply refers to the addition of olive juice or brine. It's a classic co*cktail that is very easy to mix up and one of the most popular variations on the original gin martini. You can make this drink as dirty as you like by pouring the olive juice to suit your taste.

Begin with a London dry-style gin. From there, add a little dry vermouth. The ratio is negotiable, but common formulas for a Dry Martini typically fall in the range of four-to-eight parts gin to one part vermouth. A dash of orange bitters ties the room together.

In its most classic form, a Dirty Martini adds olive brine to the standard Martini recipe. Some places, such as Bemelmans and Musso & Frank's, will split the dry vermouth and olive brine, substituting a portion of the vermouth with an equal amount of brine.

As far as the alcohol goes in a dirty martini, you can choose to use vodka or gin. I like them both, so really its just a personal preference here on which liquor you prefer. You can also add a splash of dry vermouth if you have it, but don't worry, it will be delicious without it too.