This is my favourite cocktail to kick off an evening – a Dirty Martini! It’s a classic gin martini with a splash of olive brine which makes it dangerously drinkable – smoother and less alcoholic. I never liked martinis until I had a dirty one!
Introducing Dirty Martinis
I never used to like martinis until I was introduced to Dirty Martinis! Now it’s my favourite cocktail to kick off a night with friends.
In case you’re new to Dirty Martinis, it’s just a classic gin martini with a bit of olive brine, which I know might sound weird if you’re not already in the martini-loving-world (which I wasn’t). You will be amazed how a little splash of salty, briny olive pickling liquid makes the whole thing so much smoother to drink. It takes the harsh edge off the gin and adds a hint of olive-y flavour that is so nice!
This recipe I’m sharing today is a classic Dirty Martini with standard gin-vermouth-olive brine proportions of 5:1:1, which I was happy to learn is exactly how my favourite bartender at my favourite local restaurant makes it (Simon at Boronia Kitchen).
Ingredients in Dirty Martini
When reading this section, note that I’m in Australia which affects the brands, availability and value-for-money comments I make below. We have notoriously high taxes on spirits, so the price gap between what’s considered mid-range and premium can sometimes be compressed. Tanqueray is a classic example. Regular is ~A$60 compared to $70 for the No. 10 premium, a 16% difference. Whereas in the US, my friend tells me it’s ~US$21 for regular versus US$36 for No. 10 – that’s 71% more!!
So, international readers, keep that in mind when choosing your gin. 🙂
Gin type – Any London Dry is the classic choice for martinis, like Tanqueray, Beefeater and Bombay Sapphire. These are all mid-range choices that are safe bets for a good martini. London Dry gins are a type of gin that are crisp, dry and juniper-forward, rather than sweet or overly floral – some craft gins are really heavy on the botanicals!
What I use – These all make great martinis, and are also great all-rounders for gin based cocktails as well as G&T’s:Tanqueray No. 10 (the premium Tanqueray version) else regular Tanqueray,
Four Pillars Olive Leaf – an Australian made savoury gin. Not a strict London Dry but is basically purpose built for dirty martinis. Love it!
Roku gin – this Japanese made gin has become massively popular in recent years, loved for its delicate and crisp flavour. Though probably a smidge delicate to be considered one of the “best” gins to use in a martini, it’s my favourite for G&T so you better believe I use it for martinis too!
Avoid very floral, fruity or delicate gins – they can taste confusing with the olive brine.
Dry vermouth – Noilly Prat (original) and Dolin Dry are both reliable mid-price range choices that are hard to go wrong with. Here in Australia, more premium vermouths aren’t readily found at the large chain liquor stores, though you can find them at specialist liquor stores and online if you want to explore. Just make sure you get a dry vermouth – sweet vermouth is a very different beast!
Olives – You need to use an olive in brine, not olives in oil like the ones you get over the counter at delis. Use any green olives you like, the regular ones stuffed with red capsicum are the classic choice. But feel free to go fancy if you want – blue cheese! parmesan! anchovy stuffed??😳
** MAKE IT SPICY! ** This might make martini purists gasp in horror, but sometimes I like to use the brine from pickled jalapeño as well, or instead of! It makes the martini a little bit spicy and adds tasty jalapeño flavour. Like a martini version of spicy margaritas!
Martini glass
The traditional martini glass is cone shaped which is a classic cocktail glass shape but finding the right size is bizarrely hard! Most cocktail glasses are 250ml/8oz+ which are way too big for a martini – unless you make a monster size one. #dangerous!
After stirring with the ice, you end up with about 120ml / 4oz of liquid plus the olives on the skewer. Here is a size guide for appropriate glass sizes:
150 – 180 ml (5 – 6 oz) – ideal for elegant, restaurant/bar size. Fills near to the brim.
200 ml (6.5 oz) – a good mid range size that can be used for other cocktails. I’ve got the GRAPE@RIEDEL 200ml / 6.5 oz martini glass, pictured in this post.
250 ml (8 oz) + – common size for all-rounder cocktail glass, too big for a proper Martini in my opinion!
How to make Dirty Martinis
Stir, don’t shake your martinis. Stirring gives you a beautifully clear martini with a smooth, silky texture and more controlled dilution from the ice. Shaking aerates the drink and breaks up the ice, making it cloudier and slightly frothy.
Yes, Bond has been doing it wrong all these years!!! 😂
Chill your glass – in the freezer for a speedy option, or in the fridge if you’ve planned ahead. You can also fill it with ice cubes and leave for 5 to 10 minutes (this is how it’s often done at bars, presumably to avoid using fridge space for glasses).
Stir 30 seconds – Use a mixing glass or jug around 2 cups in size (500ml). Fill with ice, then pour in the gin, vermouth and olive brine. Use a bar spoon or other spoon or table knife to stir vigorously in a circle motion against the wall of the glass for 20 to 30 seconds. No longer, else your martini will be overly diluted. No shorter, else it won’t be cold enough!
What happens during this step: Not only does the martini get chilled and mixed, the ice melts to create just the right amount of dilution to open up the flavours and take the sharp edge off the gin (~15 – 20ml / 3 – 4 tsp).
Strain the martini into the glass. (Yes I’m using a slotting cooking spoon! 😂)
Olive garnish – Thread 3 olives onto a skewer and pop it in the glass. Then enjoy!
There you go. So now you know my (current) drink of choice, how I make it, and how my favourite local restaurant makes it.
But what I’m more interested in is how you take your martini! Are there any martini connoisseurs out there? Anyone other martini shy people out there that maybe just need to get a little dirty too??!! 😉 – Nagi x
PS In case you’re wondering, it’s called a Dirty Martini because the olive brine turns an otherwise crystal-clear martini slightly cloudy or “dirty” looking. Perfection is overrated. Drinkability wins!
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Dirty Martini
Ingredients
- 75 ml (2 1/2 oz) dry gin – classic choices: Tanqueray, BeefEater, Combat Sapphire. I use Tanquery No 10, Four Pillars Olive Leaf Gin, and Roku Gin) (Note 1)
- 15 ml (1/2 oz) dry vermouth (Noilly Prat Original and Dolin Dry are classic choices) (Note 2)
- 15 – 30 ml (1/2 – 1 oz) brine from green olive jar (literally just the brining liquid from your favourite green olives!)
- 3 green olives (classic green ones stuffed with red capsicum)
- 2 cups ice (Note 3 if you don't have)
Variations
- Instead of olive brine, use one of these – jalapeño brine for a bit of spiciness (LOVE!), peperoncini, pickles, cornichon or capers.
- Classic martini – just leave out the olive brine!
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Stir gin, vermouth and brine in an ice filled mixing jug for 30 sec. Strain into chilled glass, garnish with olives.
FULL RECIPE:
- Chill martini glass in the fridge or freezer until very cold (~150 – 200ml / 5 – 7oz glass size is ideal size – Note 4)
- Thread the olives onto a skewer.
- Stir – Fill a mixing glass about 500ml/2 cups in size (measuring jug or similar) with ice, nearly to the top. Pour in the gin, vermouth and brine. Use a bar spoon or table knife to stir briskly for 30 seconds, stirring around the outside in circles.
- Garnish – Strain straight away into the glass (don't leave, it will dilute). Add the olive skewer. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- 150-180 ml / 5 – 6 oz – ideal for elegant, restaurant/bar size
- 200 ml / 7 oz (this is what I have) – good size once the olive skewer is added
- 250 ml / 8 oz + – too big! Unless you want a gigantic pour!
Nutrition Information:
Previous cocktails that have been my favourite
I go through phases, and I make no apologies for it!
Life of Jaffle
Practicing “leave it!” with an olive, which might sound odd to fellow fur parents because it’s not a piece of steak. But for golden retrievers, being told not to eat something – whether food or not – sitting 5 cm from their nose is pure torture. 😂
“If I don’t look, it won’t be so hard!”
So he punished me by stealing the bath mat.
Hi Nagi! I’m sooo with you about dirty martini’s. Fortunately I live in the Yarra Valley so Four Pillars is my go-to. You should try their premixed version…you’ll love it. As far as olives go, you can’t beat the giant ones from Mount Zero Olives. 🍸
Ive been a follower of Dozer forever and now I’m a follower of Jaffle…….the bath mat! You go Jaffle!!! I heard a rumour that you sometimes share a recipe in between Dozer and Jaffle antics!!
Do do do do, do do do do….. How did you know it was our anniversary and we’ve just had 2 martinis..orange and chilli….and since I saw this, we’re now on yrs, it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere and in NZ it’s past the yardarm, your dirty martini is on our list from now on. Cheers Nagi!!!!
Well Nagi, I think we need to have a night in the town….
Love a dirty martini or three or more!!
Jaffle is just adorable, loving seeing what he gets up to…keeping you on your toes ❤️❤️❤️
I love a good martini! (but wasn’t the biggest fan of a dirty martini the one time I tried it at a random bar – I think I need to try again!)
My favourite olives to use are the green Sicilian olives – you can get pitted or unpitted. I like the extra crunchiness they have.
Ok I think my Friday night beverage this week is sorted, will have to make sure I have the olives ready to go!
Usually, I see your recipe, make it at the first possible meal, and then come back for a review with stars. Today, however, your email landed in my inbox before 8am, so please forgive this starless review (yet)!
Thanks anyway, Nagi, for such a cheerful start to my day 😉
And may I put in a request for a G&T recipe too? There are countless versions on the web, but I’d happily wait for yours, just as I do for so many of your “simple” recipes – egg/tuna sandwiches, pastas, and meat dishes. 😁
I have found a DM to be excellent breakfast food
Oh Vermouth… I pour it in, stir to coat the ice, then tip out before adding the gin. It’s actually enough for me if the bottle is just passed over the glass so there is a ‘shadow’ of vermouth. Chilled glass is essential.
I didn’t mind a French Martini but the carbs were way over the top ….Im a gin junkie ,Ink is my regular with Strangelove light tonic although I have a few variations of gin in the pantry to try this with ….The Botanist is also a favourite…….I see payback in Jaffles eyes hehehe
Hi Nagi. I love a Gibson Martini.
Love those little cocktail onions so much.
How have I not had a Gibson Martini before??? I have to change that! Thanks for the idea Stavey! – N x
Nagi!
A dirty gin Martini has been my favorite drink for a few years now, and the ONLY way I can drink them! I just got out of my first day of med school and knew this was what I was going to make tonight, and on the way home, I got your email notification for this!! I never follow a recipe, but followed yours, (next time I’ll chill the glass), and it was even better! I’m guilty of adding even more olive juice, and just tried pickle juice after a restaurant here in Seattle had it, and it’s also super good! Can’t wait to try jalapeno brine! Thank you for this, and cheers! Also: Jaffle trying to ignore the olive is absolutely wrecking me! Stealing the bath mat to take his mind off of it is priceless! Xoxo!
It’s sho good I had to try it eleventyten timesh. (hic)
Love this Nagi! Viva Wicked Wednesday! I’ve always enjoyed a martini after first having them at an amazing little underground club in a Tokyo suburb. Lethal but delicious!
Ho hooo dry martini 😊 ! My husband and I are busy packing the whole house before moving back to mainland France in October… ! No need to say we will enjoy this martini 😅! The problem is… it’s only 10:15am here… we ´ll have to wait a little bit 😇!
Noilly Prat, it reminds me of December drinks in Martinique (west indies French territory) 25 years ago, this was the Xmas apéritive, all December long !
I’m sure it’s Martini-o’clock somewhere in the world!
Dont’ tempt us 😜!
Lovely Classic recipe Nagi! I too am like you, I got into Martinis thanks to a Dirty One. I prefer mine slightly wetter (more Vermouth) as it slides the cocktail to a more savoury one. I also love the Gibson (add a small silverskin pickled onion to the olives!!). Love your work Nagi!!. Cheers, Mark
Keeping the gin in the freezer cuts down on the stirring time.😊
My wife likes the way I make a dirty martini, which is pretty much the same proportions as this recipe. She also prefers the cocktail stick to be entirely full of olives, lol. Love your mailing list, thanks for all the great stuff. Rod Batten, Newfoundland, Canada,