Extra Dirty Martini

For olive lovers who want maximum brine — bold, salty, and unapologetically savory.

The dirty martini began in 1901 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, where bartender John E. O'Connor started muddling olive garnishes directly into dry martinis — adding a savory, briny dimension to what had been a purely spirit-forward drink. The first written recipe incorporating olive brine appeared in G.H. Steele's My New Cocktail Book in 1931. The drink found a notable champion in President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was known to serve and drink dirty martinis at the White House during his time in office. The extra dirty martini is an amplified version: where a standard dirty uses roughly half an ounce of olive brine, an extra dirty doubles that amount, pushing the cocktail firmly into savory territory where the salt and umami of the brine become the dominant flavors rather than a subtle accent. Among bartenders, a loose vocabulary has developed around brine levels: dirty (one bar spoon of brine), filthy (two spoons), and disgusting (muddled olives, no holds barred). The drink experienced a major resurgence during the vodka boom of the 1990s and has remained polarizing ever since — adored by olive enthusiasts and regarded with suspicion by purists who prefer their spirit to remain unobscured. The quality of the brine matters enormously: fresh, briny green olive juice produces a cleaner result than the salty liquid from commercial jars of pimento-stuffed cocktail olives. For the garnish, plump Castelvetrano or Cerignola olives add a buttery counterpoint to the drink's sharp saltiness.