The Dirty Martini recipe
for your table
Place the martini glass in the freezer beforehand or pre-chill it with ice.
Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the gin, vermouth, and olive brine.
Stir for about 30 seconds, until the mixing glass becomes frosted on the outside.
Strain into the chilled glass and place two green olives on a pick over it.
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Send the Dirty Martini recipe to your own email, so you have it at hand when you are about to make it. You will also receive a €5 discount code on orders from €50, for the glasses that go with it.
The story
The Dirty Martini is often attributed to New York around 1900, where bartenders added olives and later also olive brine to the Martini. What is certain is that the drink became popular in the mid-twentieth century, partly because President Franklin D. Roosevelt reportedly enjoyed serving it. Precise dates are difficult to verify; what is clear is that the cocktail really took off when vodka gained ground in the 1960s. Since the martini revival of recent years, it has once again appeared on almost every menu.
The right glass
A Dirty Martini belongs in the same glass as its dry forefather: a martini glass with a cone-shaped bowl on a long stem. That stem keeps your hand away from the drink, which is important here because the cocktail is served without ice and therefore warms up on its own. Choose a compact size of 19 to 21 cl; anything larger mainly means the last sip will be lukewarm. The wide opening gives the briny aroma of olive and herbs room to unfold. If you prefer a smaller glass with a rounded bowl that is less prone to splashing, take a look at our Nick & Nora glasses.
RCR Timeless Martini Glass 21 cl (6 pieces)
Onis Spksy Martini Glass 19 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 70,90.
The right tools
For a Dirty Martini, besides the glass, you need a mixing glass, a bar spoon for stirring, a jigger for precise measuring, a Julep strainer and cocktail picks. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
The strainer that goes with a mixing glass
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 128,70.
Variations & twists
Using vodka instead of gin gives you a cleaner, more neutral version that brings out the briny flavor even more. A Filthy Martini uses around 3 cl of brine and is almost soup; a Gibson swaps the olive for a cocktail onion. If you prefer something milder, start with half a centiliter of olive brine. You can find the classic base on our Dry Martini page. If you prefer a softer, more herbal martini, try the Martinez or the Tuxedo.
Serving tip
Chill the glass and keep the gin in the freezer. Use brine from a jar of good olives, not liquid from a tin, which often tastes metallic. Scoop out the olives with a clean spoon so the rest of the jar stays usable for longer.
Good to know
What exactly is a Dirty Martini
A Dirty Martini is a Dry Martini with olive brine added: the salty liquid from the jar containing green olives. It makes the drink milky and cloudy instead of crystal clear, while the salt softens the gin's sharp edges. As a result, it tastes rounder and more savory than the original, without becoming sweeter. The proportions otherwise remain the same: plenty of gin, a small amount of dry vermouth, stirred ice-cold and strained without ice. The standard garnish is an olive; lemon zest would clash with the salt here.
Extra dirty martini: how much brine
The term extra dirty martini simply means more olive brine. While a regular version uses about 1.5 cl, extra dirty moves toward 2.5 to 3 cl, and some bars call anything above that filthy. More brine also means more dilution and more salt, so the gin fades into the background faster than you might expect. Start low and taste with a straw before straining; you can always add more, but you cannot undo it. If you order one at a bar, simply ask for dirty or extra dirty, because every bartender sets the boundary slightly differently.
Making a dirty martini with gin or vodka
You can make a dirty martini with either, and the choice greatly changes its character. Gin brings juniper and herbs that combine with the salt to create a savory, almost herbal drink; choose a classic London Dry at around 43 percent, because a soft modern gin gets lost under the brine. Vodka gives a cleaner version in which the saltiness and vermouth can take center stage, and that is why many people come here. Stir both versions, and both benefit from a bottle that comes straight from the freezer.
Which olives and which brine
Use green olives in brine, not oil. Manzanilla from Spain is the classic choice: firm, slightly nutty and with brine that is salty without going overboard. Castelvetrano is milder and sweeter and gives the drink a rounder profile. Olives stuffed with garlic or pepper also noticeably change the cocktail, so taste the liquid separately first. Olives from a jar containing only water and salt work best; jars with lots of vinegar or citric acid make the drink sharp. Two olives on a pick is the usual garnish, though three is fine too.
Stir, strain and pour
Stirring is the method here, even with brine. Thirty seconds with plenty of ice in a mixing glass lowers the temperature and dilutes it by about a fifth, just enough to tame the alcohol. Shaking makes the drink foamy and even cloudier than it already is, which comes at the expense of the texture. Strain carefully afterward, because a piece of olive or a shard of ice in the glass would undermine all that careful chilling. A fine Hawthorne or julep strainer does the job best; see our cocktail strainers.
Dirty Martini alongside Vesper and Gibson
Three variations on the same framework, each with a different accent. The Gibson is the same stirred Martini with a cocktail onion, which adds savory and slightly sour notes without making the drink cloudy. The Vesper Martini combines gin, vodka and Lillet Blanc and is shaken, giving it a softer, more floral character. Of the three, the Dirty Martini is the most savory and least spicy. Those trying it for the first time usually start here, because the salt makes the alcohol seem friendlier than it is.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Dirty Martini?
A Dirty Martini is a Dry Martini with a splash of olive brine added. The salty liquid from the olive jar makes the cocktail cloudy and savory and softens the gin's sharpness. Nothing else changes: plenty of gin, a little dry vermouth, stirred ice-cold and garnished with green olives.
How much olive brine goes into a Dirty Martini?
1.5 cl is a good starting point for 6 cl of gin. If you ask for an extra dirty martini, add 2.5 to 3 cl, making the drink noticeably brinier. It is better to start low and taste before straining, because you can always add more brine, but you cannot undo it.
Gin or vodka in a Dirty Martini?
Both are common. With gin, you get a spicy, savory drink in which juniper and salt complement each other; with vodka, a cleaner version in which the brininess and vermouth take center stage. With gin, choose a classic London Dry, because a soft modern gin cannot stand up to the brine.
Which glass do you use for a Dirty Martini?
The classic martini glass holds 19 to 21 cl, with a cone-shaped bowl on a long stem. The drink goes into the glass without ice, so you want to keep it small and hold the stem. A wide opening lets the briny aroma of the olive come through well; see our martini glasses.
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