The Lello Kitchen
The Lello Dirty Martini
Cold, saline and impeccably restrained—the martini we make when the smallest ingredient matters most.
- Prep
- 5 minutes
- Cook
- —
- Serves
- 2 cocktails
- Difficulty
- Essential
At the Lello table
A dirty martini should taste of the spirit first, then vermouth, then a clean olive salinity that lengthens the finish rather than overwhelming it. Chill the glass properly and stir longer than instinct suggests.
Method
- Fill a mixing glass generously with ice. Add the spirit, vermouth and Dirty Martini Juice.
- Stir steadily for 20 to 30 seconds, until the outside of the mixing glass is thoroughly cold.
- Strain into the chilled glasses and garnish each with one olive. Serve immediately.
Cook’s notes
- For a cleaner martini, start with three-quarters of the listed brine and increase to taste.
- A freezer-cold glass changes the drink more than an extra splash of brine ever will.
Substitutions
- Vodka gives a quieter, silkier drink; gin gives more aromatic structure. Neither is a true substitute for the other in flavor, only in role.
- If you omit vermouth, the drink becomes a different, much sharper style of dirty martini.
To serve
Serve before dinner with salted almonds, good potato chips, or a small plate of olives.
Storage & make-ahead
Mix only what you plan to serve. The components keep separately according to their own storage instructions.
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