Thursday, July 9, 2009

Good Hydrations: Pickle Martini

A confession: I love dill pickles. And no, that's not a euphemism. I'm the sort of person who will drink the pickle brine. I'm particularly fond of Claussen pickles.

My adoring sister has the same affliction. When we were young, my parents couldn't keep pickles in the house for more than a couple days. And the brine would sometimes disappear before the pickles.

So once upon a time my sister and I were chatting by the liquor cabinet, mixing up a batch of dirty martinis when we started to talk about just how freakin' awesome the martinis would be if we substituted a pickle spear for the olive. Of course, she was out of pickles so it never materialized.

Not until last week.

I had purchased a jar of pickles for the new pad, and by some cosmic happenstance I also had all the fixings for a martini. I went straight to work.

Sadly, my sister was not around to partake in my concoction, but I captured the above photo with my phone and sent it to her.

A pickle martini is a fine post-run beverage, as the alcohol reduces pain and improves confidence. If you would like to have one, try my recipe.

Ingredients:
  • Gin (I used Beefeater)
  • Dry Vermouth (Martini Rossi)
  • Dill Pickles (Claussen)
  • The "I" in R.I.C.E.
Procedure:
  1. Load up a martini glass with ice to chill
  2. Add ice to a shaker (or mixing glass)
  3. Pour 1 Tbsp. of dry vermouth into shaker
  4. Mix well to coat the ice and strain
  5. Remove ice from serving glass
  6. Add 1 jigger of gin, 1 Tbsp. of pickle brine to shaker
  7. Mix well and pour
  8. Add half a pickle spear for garnish and serve
I also recommend giving the pickle a squeeze, as it will provide more flavor to the martini, and it will soak up more of the gin for a nice finish. This is one serving, and all amounts are recommendations. Some will like theirs dirtier, or prefer more vermouth.

Cheers!

12 comments:

BrianFlash said...

I can't get around gin - drinking pine needles just doesn't do it for me.

I'll stick with the beer and tequila...

Jess said...

Hmmm I like pickles, but not so much in my alcohol

Al's CL Reviews said...

Not a fan of the martini, but your glass is cool!

P.O.M. said...

OMG I LOVE pickles too. Like can eat a jar in one sitting. I am going to try this, but I'll do a vodka martini as I'm not a gin fan.

My sister (also avid pickler) would love this too.

Maybe we should have a pickle party.
Ok, that just sounds creepy - I'll take that back.

Jess said...

I am also particularly fond of Claussen pickles. They're the crunchiest.

But I am not a martini fan. I don't even like the smell of gin.

Carolina John said...

that does sound pretty good. ever tried making your own pickles? we're getting hundreds of cucumbers from the garden right now, so i'm about to try it for the first time. yes hundreds of cucs from 3 plants, should fit right in with your "cheap" nature.

Spike said...

strange, but if it makes you happy, drink it up.

Lauren said...

I love that you gave the recipe like we couldn't figure out how to make a martini with pickle juice instead of olive juice. And congratulations on finding a drink that I might dislike more than gin and tonic! Gross!

Kevin said...

A real martini with GIN not one of those sissy "vodka" martini's! Real men drink gin.

Ms. V. said...

We were at the lake last week, and you could get a Dill Pickle snowcone. Blech.

Oh, and I just am so behind on your blog, but Jolly Ranchers are the first thing I pop in my mouth for the morning runs. Watermelon is second only to Green Apple.

Good to read you again!

Aileen said...

Nope...ewwwww...

B.o.B. said...

I too love pickles. That sounds delish.