Cocktails to get you pickled this Christmas
- Pickling liquor is popping up on cocktail menus in the form of the Pickle Martini
- READ MORE: How to save yourself 230 calories… just by swapping your cocktail!
The latest must-have drink for fashionistas, A-list athletes and hipsters alike? Pickle juice. Believe it or not ‘pickling liquor’ is popping up on cool cocktail menus and the Pickle Martini — or variations on it — is tipped to be the tipple to be seen with this Christmas.
At Isabel in London’s Mayfair, a party spot favoured by actresses Sienna Miller and Alicia Vikander, they are serving up a Garden Martini with yellow tomato and samphire ‘brine’ (well, you can’t call it pickle juice when a cocktail costs £29, can you?). While at NoMad, the hip hotel where you’ll find the likes of models Alexa Chung and Adwoa Aboah, actresses Iris Law and Lena Dunham and rock star Courtney Love, those in the know are ordering the Szechuan Gibson, a tangy twist on the classic dry martini with pickle juice, hot szechuan oil made from chilli and Chinese spices, and pickled pearl onions.
Admittedly, it doesn’t sound very glamorous, does it? Pickle juice is the liquid that’s used to pickle something (whether that’s onions, gherkins, yellow tomatoes or samphire) and is generally a mix of diluted vinegar with salt, sugar and various spices. So how has this humble liquor become so elevated and of the moment?
Believe it or not ‘pickling liquor’ is popping up on cool cocktail menus and the Pickle Martini — or variations on it — is tipped to be the tipple to be seen with this Christmas
At Isabel in London’s Mayfair, a party spot favoured by actresses Sienna Miller (pictured) and Alicia Vikander, they are serving up a Garden Martini with yellow tomato and samphire ‘brine’
One of the first pickle juice-based drinks is said to have originated a few years ago in New York’s super-cool Brooklyn, when a bartender munching on pickles was asked by a customer to serve up a shot of whisky followed by a shot of pickling brine. He did as he was asked, tasted it himself, was wowed by the result, and the ‘pickleback’ was born.
The trend spread to the UK and now they are available in hipster bars up and down the country. Meanwhile, Florence Cherruault, founder of The Pickle House, whose Original Pickle Juice (from £7 for 500ml) is available at Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, has published a dedicated book — Pickle Juice: A Revolutionary Approach To Making Better Tasting Cocktails And Drinks (£4.99, amazon.co.uk).
‘Pickle juice is wonderful for cocktails,’ says chef Chantelle Nicholson, who runs London’s hip Apricity (apricity restaurant.com), a low-waste restaurant. ‘It’s great in a Bloody Mary or a dirty martini, but my new favourite is freezing it, then scraping it to create a granita,’ she says.
‘We serve it with marinated tomatoes and it adds an extra level of freshness.’
Some even say that including pickle juice in your tipple could ward off cramp, prevent you from getting a hangover — or rescue you from one the morning after.
That’s because the combination of sugar and salt is effectively a more palatable form of one of those dehydration sachets, packed with minerals such as potassium, sodium and magnesium. A great excuse for making a batch for your Christmas party!
Fancy giving it a try? You can either wait until you’ve finished that jar of pickled cucumbers that’s lurking in the back of your fridge, or make your own.
While at NoMad, the hip hotel where you’ll find the likes of models Alexa Chung (pictured) and Adwoa Aboah, those in the know are ordering the Szechuan Gibson, a tangy twist on the classic dry martini with pickle juice
DIY Pickle Juice
The basic recipe for pickle juice is just four ingredients — vinegar, water, sugar and salt. It’s up to you to add whatever herbs and spices take your fancy — garlic, bay leaves, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, dill, coriander seeds, chilli. Experiment until you come up with a combination that works for you.
Ingredients
- 250 ml water
- 350 ml vinegar
- 70g sugar
- 2 tbsp salt
Add all the ingredients to a pan and heat until the sugar and salt have completely dissolved. Allow to cool and then use — for pickling or in cocktails.
Here are some cocktails to experiment with from The Pickle House recipe book:
In a Pickle
The original Pickle Juice cocktail which inspired so many others, this simple classic has been a hit since its inception!
Ingredients
- 30 ml vodka
- 15 ml pickle juice
- 100 ml ginger ale
- Squeeze of lime
- Ice cubes to serve
- Rosemary and red chilli to garnish
Build all the ingredients over ice and garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a red chilli if you like it spicy.
La Soirée
This is a unique concoction, combining the light sweetness of elderflower with the umami goodness of pickle juice.
Ingredients
- 35 ml Hendrick’s gin
- 15 ml St-Germain elderflower liqueur
- 10 ml pickle juice
- 7.5 ml egg white (or substitute with chickpea water to make it vegan)
- 1 tsp lime juice
- Ice cubes for shaking
- 8 mint leaves, plus 1 mint sprig to garnish
Muddle all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, top with ice, then seal and shake vigorously for ten seconds. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a mint sprig.
Pickled Vesper
Another classic cocktail with a little nudge in the pickle direction.
Ingredients
- 50 ml vodka
- 10 ml dry vermouth
- 5 ml pickle juice
- Ice cubes for shaking
- Lemon rind twist to garnish
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, top with ice and shake vigorously for ten seconds. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
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