Sippin’ on Gin and Juice: Pickled Martinis

Garnish your signature cocktail with a chic new accessory: pickled anything. Your breath will reek, but you’ll look hip and your taste buds will be happy. No one likes a close talker anyway.

Our obsession with all things pickled landed in our cocktails this weekend. Dirty pickle martinis, not new. Picklebacks, also not innovative. Pickle-infused vodka, the Russians got it down. But, DIY pickle garnishesdesigned for on-demand sour martinis was a revolution to our at-home happy hours and 3-hour martini lunches (yes, they’re back). We’ve tweaked our regular recipe to include gin or vodka in the pickling juice, just in case you don’t get enough in your glass.

Choose a lineup of fruit, like these table grapes, or nail your palate with stronger options like pickled garlic, ginger or jalapeño.

Gin & Pickling Juice

If you like your martinis dirty, save this juice post-pickling and use to flavor your cocktails. Below are our favorite spices but we recommend doctoring up the recipe with your own seasonings like: cloves, red pepper flakes, ginger, allspice, cumin seeds …

• 2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups gin (or vodka)
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons cardamom
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorn
• 3 star anise
• 3 garlic cloves
• All the produce you want pickled into garnish

1. Heat first five ingredients in a pan until sugar is dissolved.
2. Fill tall canning jar with produce and pickling spices.
3. Add liquid to the jar, seal and store on countertop for seven days.
4. Refrigerate after opening.

Our favorite garnishes to pickle:

• beets
• cherries
• jalapeños
• plums
• mangoes
• peaches
• table grapes
• purple or red onion (not recommended for first dates, anniversaries or intimate dinner parties)

When it's too hard to choose a garnish, serve martinis on individual trays sidecarred with several types of pickles.