Dirty Vodka Martini

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Traditional dirty vodka martini. Shaken and served up with stuffed green olives. The dirty martini has to be one of the best cocktails ever, and this recipe will help you make the perfect one, every single time.  

Two Dirty Bird Martinis

 

A dirty vodka martini helped me realize one thing. Turns out I must officially be a grown-up … because I always thought you had to be one to enjoy drinks like Dirty Vodka Martinis.

Remember the old shows like I Love Lucy and Bewitched?  How Ricky and Darren would come home to a fresh martini cocktail at the end of the day?

It just seemed so grown up and sophisticated!

 

2 Dirty Vodka Martinis with bleu cheese stuffed olives

For me, it was sort of the same thing as blue cheese.  It was never my favorite, then all of the sudden, like overnight, I loved it.   A dirty martini with hand stuffed bleu cheese olives — that’s when a martini is truly perfect in my world.  

 

SOME OF THE ITEMS BELOW CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS; I AM A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR US TO EARN FEES BY LINKING TO AMAZON.COM AND AFFILIATED SITES. I AM ALSO AN AFFILIATE FOR OTHER BRANDS. HOWEVER, I ONLY PROMOTE THINGS THAT I LOVE AND THINK YOU WILL LOVE, TOO.  FOR MY ENTIRE DISCLOSURE POLICY PLEASE CLICK HERE.

 

My Favorite Dirty Martini

I have always loved olives, of any kind, and the idea of a dirty martini just sounded good.  It wasn’t until I had a good one that I was hooked. 

A great dirty martini relies on the quality of its very simple ingredients. Your olives, the vodka, and the vermouth. If you shop quality in these departments then you already have gone more than halfway to a perfect dirty martini.

 

dirty vodka martini

 

Great Vodka For Dirty Martinis

It helps to know a bit about your vodka if you want to make a great martini of any sort. We can get into gin martinis another time because that is a whole other topic. But, for vodka martinis, just like gin, the quality of the alcohol makes a big difference. 

This is a cocktail where you are meant to taste the alcohol, not bury it. Use cheap booze in some sort of sugary and syrupy mixer meant to hide it. For cocktails like dirty martinis, you want to taste the spirit, not conceal it. 

These days, there are so many varieties of vodka to choose from. There are great domestic vodkas and of course the ever popular Russian, Polish, Swedish and French vodkas.  

Let’s just say it isn’t hard finding a good vodka. The hard part is picking one among so many!

 

 

Vodkas I Like For Dirty Martinis

The quality of vodka is defined in a few ways. First, the amount of “Heat” it has is important. A good clean vodka doesn’t feel like it is burning your tongue. A good clean taste that is smooth and doesn’t burn your tongue is preferable. 

Next, the type of water and the type of grain, vegetable, or even fruit makes a difference. The best vodkas are made from specific wheat grain. However, there are perfectly good vodkas made from potatoes, grapes, and even beets.

Here are some I can personally recommend:

  • Grey Goose – French vodka
  • Stoli – Often ranked as the best Russian vodka
  • Square One – a great domestic vodka

 

Dirty Vodka Martini with olives

 

Types Of Olives For Dirty Vodka Martinis

I use the bigger Spanish Queen pimento-stuffed olives. The smaller manzanilla olives are a good stand by, if you can’t find the big Spanish ones. If you are feeling extra daring and want to really dirty things up, remove that pimento, and hand-stuff some bleu cheese into those Spanish olives! 

Give an extra little splash of the olive juice to the top of your martini if you like it extra “dirty”.

 

How to Make a Perfect Dirty Vodka Martini by An Affair from the Heart

^Love it? Pin it!^

You don’t want to forget where you found this perfect dirty martini recipe – so make sure you pin it to your favorite Pinterest board before you go!

 

 

Grey Goose Dirty Martini preparation

 

I always chill my glasses before I make them. Fill them with ice and cold water, and let them sit while you gather the rest of the ingredients.  

For me, it’s Grey Goose Vodka, some vermouth, olives and olive juice, plus a martini shaker with ice. I love when you shake them just right and there are little ice chips in the glass!

 

Dirty Vodka Martini view from above

 

Other Martini Recipes We Love:

 

 

Shop my favorite Barware in my Amazon Storefront!

 

Dirty Vodka Martini with Spanish Olives

My Dirty Martini Recipe

We have been making them at home for a while now, and this is the dirty martini recipe we rely on.

 

2 Dirty Vodka Martinis with Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives

Cheers to you and your equally sophisticated taste in martinis! Enjoy!      M.

 

Two Dirty Bird Martinis on a counter
4.45 from 335 votes
Print Recipe

Dirty Vodka Martini

Classic Dirty Vodka Martini is perfectly done, shaken and served up with stuffed olives.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bleu cheese olives, dirty martini, dirty vodka martini, how to make the perfect dirty martini, olives, vodka martini
Servings: 1 martini
Calories: 541kcal
Author: Michaela Kenkel

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces of good Vodka we use Grey Goose
  • 1/2 ounce dry Vermouth
  • 1 ounce green olive juice brine
  • 2-3 large stuffed green olives
  • ice

Instructions

  • Add ice cubes and cold water to a martini glass to chill glass.
  • Add vodka, vermouth and olive juice into a martini shaker, add ice and shake to chill.
  • Drain water from martini glass and strain martini from shaker into the glass.
  • Add olives and serve.
  • Also fabulous with bleu cheese stuffed olives!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 541kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 691mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g

 

Similar Posts

32 Comments

  1. Oooh, this cocktail looks like the perfect one to make on a holiday evening. It is certainly pretty rare to spot. I like failproof recipes, and this one certainly looks like one.

  2. This was the first martini I EVER tried, I used vermouth & gin but threw in an olive brine that was made with chili’s and lemon, I’m not quite adult enough at 60 to try the blue cheese….never got there, maybe a few years down the road…..maybe brave enough to stuff 5he olives with it next time, THIS turned me into a martini drinker! Yum!!! No wonder the old timers used to have their afternoon /evening martini…..thank you! ???

    1. Lisa — I don’t always trust the nutrition calculator. (That’s why I have the disclaimer on there that says not guaranteed accurate) That being said — I looked up the items separately on my own to find that there are a lot of things that will vary the calories – the type of vodka, the proof of the vodka, the kind of olives (if they are stuffed with bleu cheese or not) These are not small martinis either. They have 6 ounces of vodka, and Grey Goose is 69 calories. So the vodka is 414 calories. The addition of regular stuffed olives, brine and vermouth all probably equal another 100-120 calories. So I am guessing it’s more like 550 calories or so. I hope this helps.

  3. Loved these! Made them last night for my hubby and I to celebrate our son’s grad party during a pandemic being done! They were so delicious!

  4. I really want one now!!! Have never had a vodka martini before but I am salivating at the thought, no idea why……………

  5. I tried over a dozen different Vodka Dirty Martini recipes I found online and yours is hands-down the best! Nice job!

    1. Before you get nasty, Tammy, — you apparently missed the “JUMP TO RECIPE” button at the top of the page that would have taken you right to it.

  6. OMGoodness! I’ve made martinis forever as they are my favorite cocktail. This is by far the best recipe that I’ve ever used!!!! I added a little bit more olive juice to make it Filthy. It is so delicious! Thank you! You’re a Genius!!

  7. Is there a favorite brand of Vermouth that you use? You elaborated on the Vodka’s but Martini and Rossi can’t be the only vermouth out there. Also there are sweet and dry Vermouth’s, dry makes the best martini, imo.

    1. 100% use a dry Vermouth. I never seem to have much of a selection of Vermouth, so that is what I always reach for. There is such a small amount in the drink itself, so it’s never bothered me. I have had martinis where they use too much, and Yuck!! That will ruin one for sure!

  8. I want to try to make these but is this recipe really for one martini? 6 oz. seems like A LOT of vodka for one drink 😳😊.

  9. 5 stars
    Great article. I have to say Tito’s is my favorite vodka. I like it better than grey goose. Just an opinion. Always drank grey goose till I tried Tito’s.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.