Bartenders Reveal Their Favorite Brines to Use in a Dirty Martini

The classic Martini is a surprisingly difficult cocktail to make well. With so few ingredients involved in constructing the iconic cocktail, the exact ratios, temperature, and dilution must be perfectly accounted for. And that’s on top of considering which vermouth, gin or, vodka find their way into the mixing glass, or the choice of garnish and whether to include bitters.

It’s enough to make you need a drink.

Interestingly, crafting a Dirty Martini can make things a bit easier, since the brine you choose provides an anchor. Though olive or pickle brine can easily overpower other ingredients, when done right, the results transform the nineteenth-century classic into the most popular savory cocktail ever created. 

“When it comes to gin, I like a Dirty Martini for two reasons,” says Daniel Rivas, general manager of restaurants at Hotel SLO in San Luis Obispo, California. “First, the olive brine enhances the flavors of the spirit, allowing you to better appreciate the botanicals. Second, it helps smooth out any sharpness in the gin, making it more balanced. Just like adding salt when cooking, the brine elevates and brings out the full depth of the gin's flavor.”

Jessica “Rabbit” King, owner and operator of Brother Wolf, Osteria Stella, and Lilou in Knoxville, Tennessee, has seen success with a shallot Gibson Martini, which “offers a more complex and nuanced flavor profile than a traditional onion brine for a Martini,” she says. “Shallots offer the boldness of a red or white onion without the sharp, and sometimes bitter bite often associated with a classic Gibson.”

King has found a surprising way to modify her recipe in order to allow the brine to shine in the cocktail. “The addition of honey to the brine provides a subtle sweetness that offsets an overly saline mixture,” she says. “Likewise, the addition of dried spices [like black cumin, pink peppercorn, ginger root, star anise, and clove] provides complexity, as well as aromatics, that enhance the sensory experience of the cocktail.”

As one of the most crucial ingredients in the drink, Benoit Provost, director of the American Bar at the Stafford London, takes brine in a Dirty Martini very seriously. “Like in cooking, the saltiness of a great brine enhances the flavor and takes the spirit to another level, something a vermouth doesn’t,” he says. 

Provost worked with his olive supplier to ensure that the brine they use is distinct. “We are usually using the brine of our prime quality Nocellara olives [a green olive primarily grown in Sicily] for our Dirty Martini,” he says. “Our olive supplier used to provide us with a special brine rested in small oak casks. It was very subtle and rich, but the line is now sadly discontinued. We are debating doing our own at present, using some three-liter casks.” 

Shane Martinez, beverage director for ABSteak by Chef Akira Back, in Los Angeles, uses a brine crafted from a combination of kombu and nori. 

“[This custom brine] works extremely well and is a personal favorite, as you get a roasted and semi-sweet element from the nori while also incorporating an umami and saline element from the kombu,” he says. “Using both in combination allows us to bridge many flavors and spectrums to create a very unique profile that works well in a Dirty Martini.” 

Yong Zhu, lead mixologist for China Live and Cold Drinks in San Francisco, favors a more classic recipe. “Our preferred brine for this drink is as close as possible to the classic,” he says. “We like Lindsay olive brand and its brine. [It provides a] clean mouthfeel, [is] briny, [and] goes well with almost any spirits. I also think briny is a very important flavor for us as a scotch bar. We utilize saline or brine to create our cocktails, not just the Dirty Martini.”

Charlie’s Napa Valley, in St. Helena, California offers an Oyster Martini, which features Dolin dry vermouth that’s been infused with oyster shells and then mixed with Gray Whale Gin and a mist of peated scotch. The finishing touch is an oyster garnish.

For home cocktail enthusiasts, there are a number of pre-made brines that are worth considering. Ancient Olive Trees Dirty Martini Juice is crafted from California olives and is aged in barrels. Filthy, Jack Rudy, and Barsmith also produce brines specifically for cocktails. The brine in a jar of Bubbies pickles makes for a terrific Dirty Martini. 

It’s also worth experimenting with brines from any vegetables you pickle yourself. And, be sure to try different combinations of vermouths, gins, vodkas, and garnishes to discover which work best with your brine of choice.