Revamp the dirty martini with grilled olives and smoky bitters.
It’s all about the garnish today in this Grilled Dirty Martini! We’re trying to get the flavor of summer right in your glass. 
So obviously in this drink we’re talking about grilling the olives – but it’s more than that – we’re adding that smoky grilled flavor right in this dirty martini recipe.
I found these grilled olives at the store and knew I had to try this when we pull the grill out. Christie was very excited for this cocktail post, seeing as a dirty martini is pretty much the only kind of martini she drinks. She loves them so much we even turned it into a party shot in these Dirty Martini Shots.
In addition to grilling the olives, I’m adding a dash or two of these cool Oak Bitters I found. Just a little to drive that grilled flavor home but not too much to make it actually taste oaky.
The last twist for this Grilled Dirty Martini is a lemon peel.
But not for the garnish – I added a lemon twist to the cocktail shaker while I shook up this drink.
It added the perfect amount of lemon freshness to the vodka without actually being “lemony”. You with me so far? Just a dash of Oak Bitters without it becoming to “oaky” and just a hint of lemon rind without it being too “lemony”.
Subtle flavors here, that’s the key to this Grilled Dirty Martini.
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Dirty Martini on the Grill
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 ounces vodka
- 1 ounce olive juice
- 1–2 dashes Oak Bitters
- lemon twist
- splash of water
- grilled olives for garnish
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except for the olives to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake very well and strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Add the olives on a pick for garnish.
Notes
If you can’t find grilled olives at the store you can easily make them yourself by putting a few olives onto a skewer, or in a grill basket, and grilling them lightly on both sides.
- Category: Cocktail
