Pickle Martini

Pickles have graced dinner tables around the world since ancient Mesopotamia – and they’re still growing in popularity! Personally, pickles are at the very top of my list of favorite foods—honestly, what’s not to love? They’re so versatile, from adding the perfect zing to sandwiches to being a delicious snack on their own. Plus, far from being a waste product, pickle brine is liquid gold! Today, I’m sharing a cocktail recipe that uses that brine and celebrates everything I love about pickles, bringing their bold flavor front and center.

These crunchy flavor powerhouses are the original digestive support food and are a meal-time staple from Japan to Korea, Hungary, and beyond. In fact, savanyú (pronounced “shove-on-you”), which translates to “sour,” is a whole category in my family’s traditional Hungarian cooking. A pickled course of savanyú was a must-have side dish for every meal my grandmother served, whether it was cucumbers, sauerkraut, cauliflower, green tomatoes, or even spicy carrots, if we dared. Pickles are a truly magical food, with a special place in my heart, so today let’s make them the star of this cocktail!

Now for a great pickle cocktail we need a great brine, and my hands-down favorite is the cloudy brine you get from lacto-fermented full sour pickles. Think kosher or Hungarian dill pickles that have their fermentation kick-started by a slice of sourdough bread. They’re garlicky, crunchy, not as sweet as bread and butter pickles or as tart as cornichons, and the brine is pure magic. It’s got salt and umami, and gives a tangy sour tingle without any vinegar. It’s perfect in cocktails like Picklebacks, Bloody Marys and her zestier Canadian cousin, the Caesar – and of course, the ultimate celebration of fermented dill pickles that is the Pickle Martini. 

Key Ratios

The main point of reference for a Pickle Martini has to be the Dirty Martini, a classic cocktail that uses olive brine to give it a complex, salty kick. The typical recipe uses a half ounce of olive brine, a half ounce of vermouth, and two ounces of the drinker’s choice of either vodka for a crisp and briny drink, or gin for an extra botanical note. 

For this Pickle Martini, I recommend using half vodka and half gin, because the more subtle pickle flavor can get overpowered by too much gin. At the same time, using all vodka can cause the flavor profile to fall flat. 

The next major variable in making a martini is the amount of vermouth, and there’s a range of options from wet to extra dry. For this drink I use a wetter mix, with 0.75 oz of vermouth to 2 oz total of gin/vodka. The extra bit of vermouth makes the cocktail “juicier,” brings out the briny flavor of the pickle juice, and keeps the drink from tasting too salty.

While I consider this mix to be the perfect ratio of base spirit to vermouth, feel free to experiment with different base spirits and more or less vermouth and find what works best for you!

Ingredients

• Pickles: Lacto-fermented dill pickles are a must for this drink. Don’t use any pickle that’s shelf stable, only pickles that come from a refrigerator. My absolute favorite pickles are the Strub’s full sour kosher dill pickles that I grew up eating. They were a cult favorite across Canada until their parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2023 – but great news Canadians, they’re coming back! (https://www.reddit.com/r/Pickles/comments/181odcr/comment/l4in48s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) Bubbies Pickles are a good alternative that you can buy on Amazon, or you could go the extra mile and make your own!
• Vodka: It’s supposed to be flavorless, so any vodka will work perfectly here.
• Gin: I prefer using a London Dry style gin for my Pickle Martinis because it’s juniper forward and generally consistent across brands. However, if you have a favorite gin, go ahead and use it. The peppery or citrusy notes you find in many modern gins would be great here too.
• Vermouth: Stick with an extra dry vermouth since it’s less sweet. I’d suggest something very flavorful, like Perucchi, which is a stand-out Spanish vermouth. (See my Best Manhattan recipe for why Spanish vermouth is my fave for drinking straight or with a splash of seltzer.)
• Mini Radishes: This optional garnish adds a beautiful pop of color to your Pickle Martini. Besides the radishes’ mild complimentary spice, they upgrade the garnish to a snack – and drink + snack = <3

Techniques

Stirring is usually preferred for spirit cocktails, but dirty martinis are often shaken to give more dilution and aeration for a softer cocktail. Plus, the aeration makes it look cloudier, which is appealing for a dirty martini.

I also highly recommend chilling the glass to keep your drink frosty and accentuate the cloudy look. Just pop your glass in the freezer for a few minutes before starting the cocktail and it’ll be ready by the time you’re done.

Garnish Prep

Radishes can be tricky to slice and skewer, so use a sharp knife and take your time. First, cut your mini radish in half, and then insert your decorative toothpick through the radish, close to the cut face. Then cut off the end of the radish so you end up with a skewered radish disc that’s about ¼” thick. 

Next, cut a pickle into four spears. You can make four martinis from one pickle, or one martini plus a nice pickle snack. To finish the garnish, lay your pickle spear flat on its back, and insert the toothpick with the radish on it through the middle of the pickle spear at a 45 degree angle. This way our garnish will rest stably on top of most glassware, whether it’s a martini, coupe, or Nick & Nora glass.

Conclusion

This Pickle Martini is so good, it passes my most critical test when it comes to a cocktail – do I want a second? (Heck yes!) With its tangy pickle-y flavor, I’m certain you’ll love this delicious alternative to the classic dirty martini.