With olives already added to a Martini as a garnish (and imparting some flavor accordingly), it was probably only a matter of time before someone added Olive juice to the drink! This addition of the olive juice causes the drink to cloud slightly, thus the moniker Dirty Martini. If you like olives then this may prove to be a favorite drink for you.

A Dirty Martini may also be known as a Filthy Martini, and if you are a real olive enthusiast you might double the amount of olive juice by asking a bartender for an "Extra Dirty Martini" or a "Filthy Dirty Martini"!

1.5 oz Gin

0.5 oz Dry Vermouth

0.5 oz Olive Juice

It is commonplace to use the olive juice from a jar of olives, and although there may be impurities in the jar, many prefer this added character. However, if you wish for a “cleaner” drink there are products available, which are essentially filtered olive brine juice. Try Boscoli Foods Dirty Martini Olive Juice, Collins Dirty Martini Cocktail Mix,  Crate & Barrel’s Dirty Martini Mixer, Dirty Sue, Durty Gurl’s Olive Juice, Martiniware’s Dirty Martini Mix or Santa Barbara Olive Co.’s Dirty Martini Mix.

This amount of olive juice brings a strong salty flavor to the drink, so be prepared for the character of the Gin and the Vermouth to be diminished. If you prefer it with less of a briny taste go for a Dusty Martini instead. Indeed, if you are having a Dirty Martini for the first time we strongly advocate trying a Dusty Martini first.

Stir the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with not one but two, three or even four Olives.

It is not unusual for 1 or 2 olives to be added to the mixing glass, to impart even more flavor, before being stirred and strained for serving.

Sometimes the rim of the serving glass is rubbed with a slice of garlic, a lemon or an olive before serving – we shall leave this to your own individual preferences and experimentations!

Sable & Rosenfeld (and other producers) make vermouth infused olives called “Tipsy Olives”. These make a perfect match for garnishing a Dirty Martini. Alternatively you might like to try using different flavored stuffed Olives (e.g. Blue Cheese, Pimento etc.) for the garnish.

Replace the Gin with Vodka and shake rather than stir, for a Dirty Vodka Martini.

Reduce the Vermouth to 0.25 oz, for a Dry Dirty Martini.

Replace the Gin with Vodka, reduce the Vermouth to 0.25 oz and shake rather than stir, for a Dry Dirty Vodka Martini.

Reduce the Olive juice to a dash, for a Dusty or Slightly Dirty Martini.

Omit the Olive juice, for a Martini.

President Franklin D Roosevelt is accredited with popularizing the Dirty Martini during the 1930’s.

In late November 1943 during the Second World War, Roosevelt met with Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union) and Winston Churchill (UK) in Tehran, Iran. The main aim of the conference was to discuss the opening of a second front against Nazi Germany in France – which the three heads of state agreed to implement in spring 1944.

According to legend, FDR made Dirty Martini’s for the attendees: Stalin didn’t like them, whilst Churchill’s view is unknown. However, given Churchill’s famous penchant for very Dry Martini’s it is unlikely he enjoyed them either.