Summer Cucumber Dirty Martini
This dirty martini recipe post was made in partnership with Crate and Barrel. Recipe and ideas are my own.
National Martini Day is here and the best way to celebrate is with a dirty martini, of course! Honestly, it took me some time to acquire a taste for martinis and I think the initial problem was that I was drinking mine with vodka. And once I tasted a gin martini, it was a total game changer for me.
How to best enjoy a martini is a matter of taste, but my preference is definitely a dirty martini (with olive juice). Now with summer just days away, I wanted to stir up a dirty martini that would be perfect for a summer get together. Thankfully, my friends at Crate and Barrel were kind enough to send me everything I needed for a beautiful backyard cocktail party. I wanted a summer twist on a dirty martini so I added fresh cucumber. Cucumber perfectly complements the botanicals in the gin while adding freshness and depth to the boozy classic.
To infuse my martini with cucumber, I grated fresh, peel-on cucumber and let it sit in a metal sieve with a pinch of salt for a few minutes, draining into a bowl. In the meantime, I added gin, vermouth and olive juice to my mixing glass with ice. I decided to use the juice of Castelvetrano olives, which added the perfect amount of brininess to the drink.
After giving everything a good stir, I used my Easton Springed Strainer to strain the icy martini into my chilled Oregon Martini Glasses from Crate and Barrel. And of course, I believe that presentation truly makes the drinking experience. I recommend serving yours with cute cocktail picks and a variety of garnishes so guests can dress them up as they please. I chose lemon twists, cucumber slices, Castelvetrano olives and rosemary sprigs!
And if your crowd is too big to make your drinks individually, martinis are actually great for pre-batching! Make a large batch the night before your get together and then store in the freezer until you’re ready to serve. The Element Metal Silver Tray is really versatile and has enough room to serve up martinis for your whole group. And if you want to serve them with something yummy, I think they would pair so well with Lemon-Marinated Zucchini Shrimp Crostini!
However, if you do serve these martinis to all your friends, I can’t promise that they won’t be showing up uninvited all summer long asking for more!
And if you aren’t already, definitely follow me on Instagram and Facebook, to make sure you never miss a recipe, get tons of behind the scenes pics of everything I’m shaking up, shooting and enjoying!
Additional Featured Products: (1) French Kitchen Marble Tray (2) Patine Scatter Vase (3) French Kitchen Marble and Copper Trivet (4) Modern Stripe Fringe Napkin (5) Easton Stainless Steel Jigger (6) Olivewood Nibble Bowl
Summer Cucumber Martini
Summer Cucumber Dirty Martini
Materials
- ¼ cucumber grated with skin on
- 1 pinch salt
- 5 oz gin
- 1 oz dry vermouth
- ½ oz Castelvetrano olive juice
- Olives, lemon twists, cucumber slices and rosemary for garnish
Instructions
- Add grated cucumber and salt to a sieve over a cup or bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Once the the cucumbers have released juice, stir or muddle to extract juice and set aside. Then add gin, dry vermouth and Castelvetrano olive juice to a mixing glass with ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Add cucumber juice and stir to combine. Finally, strain into two chilled martini glasses and garnish to your liking.
Pre-batched Summer Cucumber Martini
Pre-batched Summer Cucumber Martini
Materials
- 1 cucumber, grated with skin on
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 ½ cups gin
- ½ cup dry vermouth
- ⅔ cup filtered water
- ¼ cup Castelvetrano olive juice
- Olives, lemon twists, cucumber slices and rosemary for garnish
Instructions
- Add grated cucumber and salt to a sieve over a cup or bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Once the the cucumbers appear wet, stir or muddle to extract juice and set aside. Using a funnel, add gin, dry vermouth, filtered water, cucumber juice and Castelvetrano olive juice to bottle. Seal the bottle and give it a swirl. Store in the freezer until ready to use. When ready to serve, give the bottle a shake and pour into a chilled martini glass. Finally, garnish to your liking.
