The dirty martini, made by adding olive brine to the traditional recipe, is a well-loved twist on a classic cocktail. For a twist on a twist, we created this concoction which uses pickled spruce tips in addition to the usual garnish.

To pickle the spruce tips, we used an infusion of Vietnamese black peppercorns, green peppercorns and long pepper. The combination adds a spicy and savory punch to the natural flavor of the spruce tips. With so many strong flavors at play, it made sense to opt for a vodka martini over gin, to avoid adding the intensity of juniper to the mix.

The final result is a bold martini that combines woody aromatics with rich briny notes and a slight peppery bite. Give it a try!

Pepper Spruce Tip Dirty Martini

Ingredients

Pickled Spruce Tips

• 3/4 cups white vinegar
• 3/4 water
• 1 teaspoon whole Vietnamese black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon whole green peppercorns
• 6 whole long pepper
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup spruce tips

Martini

• 1/2 ounce Spruce tip brine
• 3 ounce Vodka
• 1/2 ounce Vermouth

Garnish

• 2 Green olives
• crack of black pepper

Instructions

Pickle

1. In a small sauce pan, add the vinegar, water, peppercorns and salt and bring to boil. Stir liquid until the salt dissolves. Turn on low and simmer for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool, then add the whole spruce tips. Add to a container with lid and refrigerate. Let the spruce tips pickle for 3 days before using.

Martini

1. Add all of the ingredients with ice and stir.
2. Stain and add to a chilled martini glass.
3. Garnish with two olives, pickled spruce tip and a crack of black pepper.

Notes

Get creative with the spruce tip vinegar! It makes a tasty vinaigrette. 

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