The One Ingredient Your Dirty Martini Has Been Missing
The dirty martini is the ideal savory cocktail. An iconic martini can vary significantly if you switch up the proportions of vodka or gin, dry vermouth, and olive juice. But there is another savory ingredient that you can add to totally overhaul your cocktail — broth. Yes, you read that right ... broth, the kind you make soup out of.
While it might sound a little bizarre, Michael Moberly, Beverage Innovation Manager at Monin says that it totally makes sense. Broth is salty, savory, and makes a well-rounded addition to spirit-based cocktails. This is just the adult version of sipping on a warm mug of perfect bone broth.
He explains that different types of broth pair well with different types of alcohol — try beef broth with bourbon or chicken broth with gin and vodka. Moberly goes on to explain that for broth cocktail newbies, "Vegetable broth is probably the most versatile, making it the best option for someone trying to play around with warm broth drinks for the first time." He recommends stirring up a dirty broth martini to give this concept a try.
What type of broth should you use in your dirty martini?
While Michael Moberly acknowledges that homemade broth is delicious, he actually prefers the flavor of store-bought broth for this particular application. Plus, a carton of broth from the supermarket will typically be a lot clearer than something homemade, which makes for a prettier drink.
In general, stocks are richer and darker in color because they are made with bones. Broths are lighter in both body and hue because they are made by simmering meat (with sometimes the addition of bones), along with aromatics. For a vegetable base, the terms broth and stock are used interchangeably since no meat is used at all. For your martini, go for the vegetarian version, or you can opt for chicken broth, but avoid stock in this case.
Combine your broth of choice with vodka or gin and something zingy like classic olive brine, pickle juice, or the liquid from pickled jalapeños, and stir with ice. Strain into a martini or coup glass, and garnish with something pickled — a pearl onion, olives, cornichon, or pickled mushroom. Adding broth turns your classic dirty martini into a savory heavy hitter.