While I do enjoy a good glass of wine, my go-to cocktail of choice is the classic cocktail, a dirty martini. When ordering at a bar or restaurant, I ask for it as filthy as the bartender can make it. I have spent this year working on perfecting my at-home martini, especially because it allows me to use my preferred spirits and making my martini as dirty as I like it. Today, I am sharing my at-home dirty martini recipe with gin using Durham Distillery’s Conniption Navy Strength Gin.
Dirty Martini Recipe with Gin
Let’s talk about what a dirty martini is, what my go-to at home recipe is just in time for the holidays, and my favorite martini glasses and accessories.
What is a Dirty Martini
A dirty martini is a cocktail made with gin or vodka, dry vermouth, and olive juice or brine, giving it a salty, savory flavor. The flavor is versatile depending on how much olive brine you prefer. For me personally, I like my dirty martini with a dry vermouth rinse and more olive brine. I generally prefer all things salty to sweet, so the olives really hit on this preference for me. Also, I like to use blue cheese stuffed olives and incorporate a little blue cheese in my brine and gin mixture in the shaker.
How to Make a Dirty Gin Martini
Ingredients
Instructions
Step One: Vermouth Wash
Pour a splash of dry vermouth into your martini glass, then discard vermouth.
Step Two: Add Gin & Olive Brine
Step Three: Stir
Stir vigorously until the outside of the tin becomes frosty and strain through a double strainer into your vermouth coated martini glass.
Step Four: Serve
Garnish with olives on these cocktail skewers.
What Gin is Best for a Dirty Martini
I have tried quite a few dry or Navy strength gins and far and away my favorite is Durham Distillery’s Conniption Navy Strength Gin. This award-winning gin is full of spices and botanicals such as Indian coriander, caraway, bay leaf, rosemary, and cardamom with juniper. This gin is spicy, yet has a hint of sweetness thanks to the lemon, caraway, and rosemary.
Conniption Gin was co-founded by Melissa Katrincic, who has been blazing trails as the first U.S. female distiller inducted into the prestigious Gin Guild. She and her husband, Lee, run the show, with Melissa leading the charge as the mastermind behind Conniption’s growth into one of the most celebrated gins in the country.
I love the family history of Conniption Gin, which is a kindred connection to why I named my website I’m Fixin’ To. Melissa remembers her grandmother Gertrude telling her, “Don’t have a conniption!” whenever she was acting up as a child. It stuck with her as a playful, spirited way to describe someone who’s a little worked up—and let’s face it, we all have those moments.
But when it came time to name her gin, Melissa flipped the meaning. Instead of referring to a temper tantrum, Conniption Gin is about a “fit of inspiration” in the best way possible—the kind of outburst you have when you taste something so exciting, so bold, you can’t help but rave about it. So, no temper tantrums here, folks—just good times in a glass!
One of my favorite cocktail bars is Durham Distillery’s speakeasy, Corpse Reviver Cocktail Bar and Lounge featuring Durham Distillery liquors in their cocktails. Their dirty martini is served with blue cheese and bacon stuffed olives and is genuinely life-changing. If you are in Raleigh, check out the best rooftop bars in Raleigh NC.
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