Dirty Vodka Martini

martini recipe

glass | ottoman | rug | egg chair | sofa | curtains

So I’ve now tried three different dirty vodka martinis trying to figure out which concoction I liked best.

And I have a confession.

Pre-Hudson, I was learning to really dig martinis.  I was tired of paying $12 for a glass of wine at a restaurant  when I could buy a great bottle of wine for $15.  I wanted a “go to cocktail” order that I enjoyed and felt special for those nights out.

So I started ordering dirty vodka martinis and it was becoming my drink of choice.  Then came pregnancy.  So after over a year of leaving my martinis behind, I got my cocktail shaker out again!

I kept making different martinis and I thought, “this doesn’t taste the same.”  But I think the difference is: after not drinking vodka for so long, it no longer tastes the same?  Does that make sense or has that happened to any of you?  I still enjoy wine, beer and tequila, but my martini game has changed.

SO, I’m going to share my favorite combination of the three I tried.  And I’m going to share another vodka recipe that masks the taste of vodka more strongly.

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces of vodka (I used Belvedere)
3/4 ounce dry vermouth
1/2 ounce green olive juice
2-3 large green olives (bonus if they’re stuffed!)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine vodka, vermouth and olive juice in a shaker with ice.  Shake, shake, shake, pour in a glass and top with olives.

martini recipedirty vodka martini

And another vodka drink for anyone who has some rosemary in the backyard!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
1/2 cup sugar
2 6-inch rosemary sprigs
2 oz vodka
Chilled club soda, seltzer or sparkling water

Directions:

Bring lemon juice, sugar and rosemary to a boil in a small saucepan.  Stir until sugar has dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer 2-3 minutes.  Let it cool for one hour and discard rosemary sprigs.

Fill glass halfway with ice.  Add 2 TB syrup to the glass, then add vodka and top with sparkling water.  Garnish with a lemon and/or rosemary sprig.

If you have a favorite vodka drink, do share with the class!  I’d love to hear.  Thanks so much for reading and you can check out more cocktails, like this Bloody Mary or a Whiskey Rebellion, in the food & drink category of this site.  Enjoy and thank you for reading! XO –

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11 thoughts on “Dirty Vodka Martini”

  1. Absolutely love this post! I too have been enjoying making cocktails at home- as opposed to just always having wine. And my quarantine project has been creating a stocked bar at home. My go-to martini right now as been a Hot and Dirty martini. Same idea as yours but with pepper infused vodka, a few shakes a the Tobasco green pepper sauce, and jalapeno stuffed olives. So good! Have also been enjoying a take on a “skinny” Moscow mule. Instead of the ginger beer–I’ve been using a ginger lime flavored sparkling water. Tastes the same and is more calorie friendly as well as budget friendly since ginger beer can get expensive. Cheers!

    1. Ok Elizabeth, this sounds amazing. Thank you for the tips!! You sound like a real mixologist over there, color me impressed!!!

  2. Is there an olive juice you’ve found that tastes better than another? That’s the biggest difference I’ve found between making them at home versus at a restaurant. I also like to make my own blues cheese and bacon stuffed olives, makes an at home martini feel a little more special!

    1. I just buy a big jar of brine olives but I think stuffing your own sounds amazing. Never thought about that with the olive juice but that makes sense. Maybe that’s the mark I’m missing!

  3. Lemon Rosemary Spritz will be amazing for this summer. Moving into our first home this week that has a GIANT rosemary bush in the backyard and this spritz sounds like a MUST for move-in day?! Thanks for sharing!

    1. CONGRATULATIONS!! What a perfect time to nest and get settled!! Rosemary cocktails, rosemary chicken, rosemary roasted veggies… you’re about to have the best!

  4. I’ve really jumped on a basil lime gimlet train during quarantine. Technically gimlets should be made with gin but we ran out and switched to vodka and honestly, I prefer it. You can either make a basil simple syrup or muddle a handful of leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker (I prefer the fresh leaves). 1.5 oz vodka/gin, .5 oz simple syrup, the juice of 1/2 lime (more or less to your taste) and shake over ice and strain into a glass.

    You definitely don’t have to shake it if you don’t have a cocktail shaker, but I think it’s infinitely better when shaken till icy. It provides just a slight dilution. This recipe is also good with lemon juice instead of lime. And if you’re looking for a larger drink to sip (these go down pretty quickly) you can just top it with some sparkling water/club soda for a good spritz.

    We also just made some fresh ginger simple syrup and have been adding a dash to a simple vodka soda with lemon. Delicious!

  5. Kathleen, these cocktails sound amazing! I, too, decided recently that I wanted a go-to cocktail when out (in addition to my beloved Moscow Mule) as ordering a glass wine or a beer wasn’t always sounding good. I had a dirty martini in NYC pre-quarantine and having been wanting to recreate at home. This sounds like a perfect recipe to try -thank you again

  6. Kathleen,
    I just made the second beverage recipe and loved it! I used gin instead of vodka since that’s what we had in the house, and it was the perfect summertime lemonade! Thank you for sharing

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