Homemade Olive Brine

If you’re a Dirty Martini person, you’re going to want to listen up. Sure, you can pour a little liquid from the olive jar into your martini (or other briny, savory cocktail), but what makes a briny cocktail truly next level is your own homemade olive brine. This little cocktail hack will have guests saying yours is the best dirty martini they’ve ever had. That’s what we’re aiming for: pure briny perfection.

How to Make Olive Brine

You’re basically just infusing things together in a jar, so making your own homemade olive brine only takes a few minutes or active prep before resting it for at least a day.

1. Add the Castelvetrano olives, rosemary, orange peel, and garlic to a clean Weck jar or other airtight glass jar.
2. Add the Champagne vinegar, kosher salt, filtered water, and dry vermouth. Seal the jar and gently shake until the salt has dissolved and everything is well combined. Make sure the olives are fully submerged in the brine.
3. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using. After 24 hours, give the brine a taste and decide if you’d like to continue infusing. 
4. Once the brine tastes how you like it, remove the rosemary, orange peel, and garlic. Keep the olives submerged in the brine and store refrigerated.

Homemade Olive Brine Tips

• Castelvetrano olives really are the best kind of olives, IMO. They’re not too pungent and have a nice buttery flavor and texture. Buy good ones in a glass jar!
• Once you nail this base recipe, feel free to get creative with the add-ins. Try sage or thyme instead of rosemary. Swap the orange for lemon. Experiment with more or less garlic.
• Test your brine after 24 hours. If it tastes the way you want it, remove the add-ins and just leave the olives in with the liquid. But if you want the flavors to be stronger, keep infusing!
• Use the olives as your cocktail garnish or in other Nibbles like my Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives, Fried Olives, and Tomato Burrata Snack Plate.

How to Use Homemade Olive Brine

Obviously, your next Dirty Martini is dying to be made with this homemade olive brine. But that’s definitely not the only cocktail you can use it in. My favorite riffs on a Dirty Martini that use olive brine are my Tomato Martini, Gilda Martini, and my Dirty Margatini (Margarita + Martini).

Use homemade olive brine in my Bacon Bloody Mary and as an optional addition to the low-ABV Vermouth and Soda.

Aside from cocktails, you can use homemade olive brine in my Dirty Martini Dip as well as salad dressings, marinades, and tomato-based pasta sauces.