
Dirty Martini. James Thurber said: “One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.” And wasn’t it W.C. Fields who said: “Buy me a drink and I’ll sing like a canary”? Only these days– with all this new technology, I think the more apt quote might be: “Buy me a drink and I’ll tweet like a canary”
Which is a very funny line and one I have been using for a years, but nobody ever laughed at it before, let alone took me up on it. That is until the geniuses at Dirty Sue, got a slightly inebriated tweet from me several weeks ago. How many times have I said Twitter is not for happy hour, because those tweets can only lead to trouble?
Well maybe not always trouble, because it turns out I am going to live to eat those words, or rather I should say drink those words. Because my tweets led to the offer of a Sippity Sup sample of Dirty Sue Olive Juice, which in turn led to the lovely libation you see right here on this page, The Dirty Martini. Which further leads me to offer you a simple recipe for a classic cocktail that is having a resurgence right now. And I can’t help but wonder if this product from Dirty Sue might have something to do with this cocktail’s reintroduction to the hottest clubs and swankiest parties in Los Angeles.
Dirty Sue is The Original Premium Olive Juice. Like all great stories involving some sort of comeback kid, this one came about rather innocuously. It seems that on an otherwise regular shift at the hip and happen’ Los Angeles restaurant, Jones Hollywood. Bartender Eric Tecosky reached for the gallon jar of olives and realized it was full of olives but void of olive juice. He looked at his long time friend and co-worker Terry Faded and asked, “How come no one bottles olive juice?”
One year and countless tastings later, Dirty Sue was born.
Dirty Martinis have been popular since the days of F.D.R. when he was said to have served one to Stalin. Now that’s delicious irony! So no one wants to mess with that. Nope, the goal of Dirty Sue (in their own words) is ” to offer consumers a better olive juice product for Dirty Martinis than they were used to settling for”.
Most fans of Dirty Martinis have the same problem these guys had; they run out of olive juice long before they run out of olives. Which is only half of the battle. The real problem is quality. Olive juice (or brine) was originally packed in the jars to keep the olives from spoiling– not to be used in a cocktail. The quality of that brine is low and barely discernible from salt water. Dirty Sue is twice-filtered premium olive juice that has been created for the sole purpose of making the perfect Dirty Martini.
Dirty Martini serves 1 CLICK here for a printable recipe
2 oz gin or vodka
- 1/2 oz extra-dry vermouth
- 1/2 oz Dirty Sue olive juice
- 1 or 2 green olives as garnish
Pour the liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with olives.
SERIOUS FUN FOOD
Greg Henry
Sippity Sup
Must make this!
I am stunned! This is fabulous! Fabulous! Oh, when does the restaurant open? Or your trip to Nantes?
step aside, SUP is in the house! If this tastes even half as good as it looks and sounds, then it is a remarkable dish indeed. Very impressive! — S
This is a brilliant dessert! Wow!
Oh, my, my.…
Amazing… simply amazing. I cannot wait to make this !!!! I have loved your week of corn and you definitely saved the best for last!
Amazing. I’m not sure if this is meant to be a dessert or a main course. Whatever, I’ll have it for breakfast even. Very original
Beautiful and innovative recipe. The bacon is the perfect sweet addition to a very savory meal.
You sir, are a master of corn. Great posts this last week!
You don’t think outside of the box.…you have just never been IN the box! Rock on, J‑Greg.
“but I personally don’t like to have tools cluttering up my drawers that only have one job in life. So I rely on a chef’s knife to get the job done.” Funny, Alexis and I were in a kitchen store with all of those uni-tasker tools and I said that you don’t need 90% of this stuff if you just have a good set of knives.
I’ve devoured every one of your delicious corn porn! Please don’t stop.…
Seriously, your posts have highlighted corn beautifully — I love corn fritters and have added corn to pasta before but corn creme brulee is truly unique., Thanks for sharing!
What brilliant ideas and parings, this just sounds and looks amazing. Greg, you are brilliant, simply a genius.
I’ve enjoyed all your posts this week, but this may be the most captivating yet! Sounds like a magnificent starter!
Greg, THANK YOU for doing so many great posts on corn! We’re bookmarking these at the RGB for use the rest of the summer. In fact, I have some chicken stock on the cooktop right now so later tonight, we could do some corn chowder. :o)
Have a great rest of the weekend!
[K]