Let’s get back to basics folks with this week’s cocktail – The Dirty Martini (at the request of some who read last week’s more complex installment – The Vieux Carré).

The Dirty Martini is a great way to ease into martinis, as the salty addition of brine/olive juice cuts the bite out of the gin, while also calming the fumes of the dry vermouth.

The Dirty Martini is also more versatile vs. your Classic Martini (traditionally just gin, dry vermouth, and a lemon twist), because not only can you play with the measure of dry vermouth in a Dirty, but you can also regulate the amount of brine/olive juice to your taste.

My father liked his martinis so dry (very light on the vermouth), that he would request a dehumidifier on the side. He’s probably why I’m a fan of ‘dry’ as well, but for the purpose of this lesson we’re going to try a more ‘perfect’ mixture of 3-to-1 for the spirits. As this is a better place to start before you make your own adjustments:

3 oz. gin
1 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. juice from olive jar (experiment with a bit more the 2nd time – you might like it better!)
Tools: shot measure, cocktail shaker/strainer, garnish stick
Glass: martini
Garnish: olives

Drop 4 ice cubes into your shaker. Pour the gin, dry vermouth, and olive juice over the ice. Shake like a madman, until the shaker is freezing to the touch. Pour through your shaker’s strainer (hopefully it’s dual purpose) into a martini glass. Garnish with at least 3 olives.

The resulting clarity should be cloudy. Ours will be deeply cloudy due to upping the juice measure. We’ll also typically do 4-5 olives because that’s just how we roll. And, as we always say, it’s more fun to eat and drink while you drink your drink.

Bombay Sapphire is our go-to gin and Martini & Rossi for the dry vermouth. As for the olives, we bought a ‘fancier’ jar over the holidays (in pic toward top), but we normally buy what’s on sale. Tip: The easiest jar to work with as far as pulling olives and pouring the juice is from Reese – they’re tasty & convenient!

Let us know what your favorite mix of measures is for the Dirty. Others may benefit from your tastes/experimentation! Enjoy responsibly folks and have a great weekend!

-The Sweet and Sweaty