Dill Pickle Dirty Martini

If you are looking for the perfect fall martini, look no further than my dill pickle dirty martini. I have always been a fan of a good dirty martini. The briny quality of olives combined with gin and dry vermouth makes me so happy. However, on a Wednesday night, when I’ve already had a long week of meetings, and I’m completely out of wine, I might just turn to the gin and Vermouth. And if I’m out of olives…

Last Wednesday was one of those Wednesdays. First, there was the tragedy in Las Vegas. Then, the news that Tom Petty had died of a heart attack. I was sad last year when Bowie and Prince died. But I am devastated by Petty. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been constants in my life. I saw them in concert at Red Rocks and again at the Matthew Knight Arena several years ago. I grew up listening to the Traveling Wilburys and enjoyed the character of Lucky on King of the Hill. When the world looked really bleak for me a few years ago, I queued up the best of Tom Petty and rocked out to Last Dance with Mary Jane. So it’s safe to say that last week was rough.

Mid-week, I was out of wine (not because I drank too much but because we hadn’t made a Grocery Outlet run the weekend before). To cure my obvious grumpiness, hubby suggested I make a mixed drink and my initial meh became a bit more enthusiastic when I realized I had gin, dry vermouth, and pickle juice.

A dill pickle dirty martini doesn’t cure all the problems in the world, but it can improve one night. I queued up the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and made myself a drink. Something about the sweet and salty of this drink just makes me happy. All the better that I have homemade pickles, so that means I have homemade pickle brine with the right combination of allspice, bay leaf, cloves, and dill to make this drink.

So if you are out of olives, don’t despair. A really good dirty martini is still an option. So tonight, I’m going to make myself a dill pickle dirty martini. I’ll sit on my patio and say cheers to Tom Petty in heaven.