The Olive in a Martini (and the Dirty Martini)
Lemon twist or olive? For a lot of drinkers there is no argument. Here is the small art of the martini olive — and what makes a martini “dirty.”
The olive garnish is as old as the martini itself, and it does more than decorate: a good olive seasons the drink and gives you something savoury to finish on.
Which olive
You want a firm green olive that won’t bully the gin — a mild Castelvetrano, a small Manzanilla, or a classic pimento-stuffed olive. Avoid a big winey black olive like a Kalamata; it overwhelms the drink. Whether you spear one, three (an odd number, by tradition) is up to you.
A dirty martini simply adds a splash of olive brine to the glass, turning the drink cloudy and salty-savoury. The quality of that brine matters as much as the gin — the murky liquid from a jar of good olives makes a far better dirty martini than the harsh stuff from cheap ones. Some bars now keep a dedicated “olive juice” for exactly this. Use a brine you would actually taste on a spoon.