Make the best easy pickle juice martini, aka the pickletini, with just a few ingredients and about five minutes! It's the latest and greatest dirty martini trend that you don't want to miss.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my super popular creamy matcha martini, blood orange martini or mandarin orange martini!
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
Quick and Easy - From start to finish, you only need five minutes to make a restaurant style shaken martini at home. And it's a low carb cocktail, in case that's your thing. We love simple cocktails around here, like my mezcal ranch water or lavender mint julep. And you must try my apple cider gin and tonic!
Customizable - I’m not gone hold you, I don’t really like the classic dirty martini. I know it’s an age old staple that’s having a big moment with all the girls but frosty lychee martinis are more my speed. But this PICKLE MARTINI! Excuse me?! It hits every time, which should be no surprise because I love me some pickle juice. You can use gherkin, baby kosher or cocktail pickles to create the perfect pickle-tini of your dreams.
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Pickle Juice - Pickles and their juice (aka brine) take the place of olive in a traditional dirty martini to add zesty sour pucker flavor with no need for lime or other acid. You can use kosher dills, sour pickles, and even spicy pickles (my fave) to create the flavor you want.
Dry Vermouth - Use dry or extra dry for the most classic flavor.
Ice - Don't use pebbled or crushed ice in this recipe because it will melt too quickly when mixing the cocktail resulting in a watered down drink.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Gin or Vodka - I prefer to make my gin martini with pickle juice, specifically, Citadelle, Hendrick's or Still ATX gin but you can make a pickle martini with vodka, if you like.
Garnishes - There's so much room for creativity in this pickle juice cocktail. Garnish with gherkins, pearl onions, peppers, and more! As a southern girl, I keep a Del Dixi pickle jar on deck but feel free to grab your favorite brand.
How to Make a Martini with Pickle Juice instead of Olive Brine
Step One: Place a coupe glass in the refrigerator or freezer to chill. It will come out nice and frosty in just a few minutes!
Step Two: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until chilled to the touch.
Pro Tip: If you don't have a jigger to measure out the liquid ingredients, use a standard size shot glass. The measurement is equal to the large side of the jigger.
Step Three: Strain the dill pickle martini mixture into your chilled coupe glass.
Step Four: Garnish with baby pickles, threaded onto a pick, if desired, and enjoy responsibly!
Pro Tip: Make your garnish before you start on the cocktail to have it on standby so you can get straight to sipping!
If you're already a fan of pickle juice and whiskey in the pickleback cocktail, you must check out my easy whiskey drinks, too! The hibiscus hot toddy is a cold weather fave and you can never go wrong with this whiskey and chambord drink. And don't sleep on my berry bourbon smash!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The pickletini is a great freezer door cocktail. You can make it up to a few days ahead of time and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve. Just give it a good shake first and reserve the garnishes until it's time to sip.
Either shaking or stirring works. I've successfully made pickle martinis with both a cocktail shaker and a mixing glass plus strainer combo.
Combine 1 ¼ cup gin, four ounces pickle juice, two ounces of dry vermouth then shake or stir over ice. This pickle juice martini pitcher recipe makes up to four servings. You can adjust the settings in my recipe card below to multiply by the number of servings you want to make.
Yes. The recipe as written makes about 4.5 ounces of liquid, which is enough for three standard shots. Divide the cocktail evenly between three shot glasses and enjoy with your people!
More Favorite Gin Cocktail Recipes
I hope you'll enjoy this gin and pickle juice martini soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this spicy gin drink recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
The Best Pickle Juice Martini
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail Shaker
- 1 coupe glass
- 1 jigger or shot glass
Ingredients
- Ice
- 2 ½ ounces gin or vodka
- 1 ounce dill pickle juice
- ½ ounce dry vermouth
- gherkins baby kosher or cocktail pickles (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Place coupe glass in refrigerator or freezer to chill.
- Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice then add in gin, pickle juice, and dry vermouth.
- Close cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until thoroughly mixed chilled to touch (about eight seconds).
- Strain cocktail into chilled glass. Garnish with pickles, if desired, and enjoy responsibly!
Krysten says
I recently made this pickle juice martini, and it was surprisingly delightful! The combination of the briny pickle juice and the smooth vodka created a tangy, refreshing cocktail that's both unique and satisfying. The slightly sour kick from the pickle juice gave it a playful twist that I genuinely enjoyed.
Marcus Avery says
As someone who enjoys a good pickleback, this recipe definitely hit the mark. Now I'll be sure to always keep some pickle juice in the house!
Marta says
Okay, I absolutely love pickle juice, but even I was skeptical about this pickle juice martini. I'm so glad I pushed back the "HUH?" of it all and tried it, because it is AMAZING. I will be making these more often for sure.