Dirty Vodka Martini recipe
A cold, savory Vodka Martini with olive brine and a precise dry-vermouth backbone.
Method: Stir ·
Glass: Martini glass ·
Time: 3 min ·
Difficulty: Intermediate ·
Family: The Martini Family
Ingredients
- 2.5 oz Vodka
- 0.5 oz Dry Vermouth
- 0.5 oz Olive Brine
How to make a Dirty Vodka Martini
- Add vodka, vermouth and olive brine to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until very cold and diluted.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Garnish with olives.
Garnish
Two or three cocktail olives.
Pro tip
Use clean, good-quality olive brine and keep it measured; too much turns the drink murky and aggressively salty.
History of the Dirty Vodka Martini
Dirty Martinis became a late twentieth-century staple as olive brine moved from a bartender's secret to a classic modifier.
Flavour profile
Savory, Saline, Cold, Clean
Variations
- Vodka Martini — Return to a clean, cold vodka and vermouth Martini.
- Wet Martini — Increase vermouth for a more aromatic, softer drink.
- Gibson — Use a cocktail onion garnish in place of olive or lemon.
Practise making the Dirty Vodka Martini in the free Virtual Bar game.