The Dirty Martini takes the austere gin-and-vermouth Martini and stains it with a measure of olive brine, trading crystalline dryness for a savory, saline depth that coats the palate. Stirred ice-cold and served up in a chilled coupe, it lands somewhere between a cocktail and a snack, the green olive in the glass doubling as garnish and final salty bite.
Garnish: Olive
Stirred · Coupe · Up
add
Add the gin, dry vermouth, and olive brine to a mixing glass filled with ice.
stir
Stir well until thoroughly chilled and diluted.
strain
Strain into a chilled cocktail (martini/coupe) glass.
garnish
Garnish with one or more green olives.
No one holds a documented claim to the Dirty Martini — it is a genericized offshoot of the Martini, the gin-and-vermouth drink with olive brine stirred in, rather than any single bartender's creation. The briny version only picked up its name and a mainstream following in the late twentieth century. It has since been listed as an official cocktail by the International Bartenders Association, and drinkers who want more salt can order it "extra dirty" for double the brine; gin remains the traditional base, with vodka the familiar alternative.