Don’t pour that pickle juice down the drain. It’s a cocktail darling

NEW YORK The term “pickle juice” may have become more common on drink menus if you live in an area with a cocktail scene, which I’m sure I do in New York City.

Although chefs and mixologists have long experimented with pickles and pickle brine, they are now receiving a prominent place on beverage menus worldwide.

Pickle juice has sour, acidic, salty, and occasionally spicy flavors. It makes a variety of beverages more lively.

According to Camille Goldstein, managing partner of Muddling Memories, a Brooklyn-based hospitality business that promotes beverages as an experience, pickles are a terrific way to start a savory cocktail.

For a margarita, martini, or even a highball, the sweet-salty brine of a pickle adds a fascinating depth of flavor.

For many years, the Pickleback has been a popular beverage. It is said to have started at Bushwick Country Club, a bar in Brooklyn. It is made up of a shot of whiskey and a shot of pickle brine. Word got out.

Pickle juice is now being used in a variety of cocktails, including micheladas, margaritas, and martinis. Particularly popular is the pickle juice martini, which is a variation on the dirty martini, which is often made with olive juice.

In many cuisine categories, pickles and fermentation are seeing a rebirth.

Jack Wallis, co-owner of the London pub Dram, remarked, “I remember pickle juice cocktails were really big ten to fifteen years ago, and I’m not really sure why it’s becoming a thing again.” Perhaps it’s because people are more conscious of the health advantages of pickled foods and other such items.

He explained that the acidity of the juice in the pickleback would blend in with the whiskey’s strong flavor, contributing to the overall experience.

Rizzo’s Bar & Inn in Chicago, Belle’s Bagels, Delicatessen and Bar in Los Angeles, Maison Pickle and The Penrose in New York, Reata in Fort Worth, Texas, The Loutrel in Charleston, South Carolina, and Old Pony Martini Pub in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, are just a few of the establishments famed for their pickle martinis.

According to bartender Heaven Cluesman, the Penrose serves over 100 pickle martinis every day, which are crafted with ALB vodka and McClure’s Pickles spicy brine. He claims that after shaking, the brine forms a frothy layer on top of the beverage. It’s obvious what’s in the glass thanks to a garnish of a few pickle slices on a skewer.

A spicy pickle martini is made with pickle juice infused with vodka, vermouth, and hot peppers (recipe below) at Casa Thirteen, a restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side where Jewish immigrants sold pickles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to Reinaldo Maria, the bartender, the restaurant produces its own pickles and uses the spicy brine in cocktails. This creates a pleasant small restaurant-kitchen ecosystem.

A pickle juice drink goes well with burgers, steaks, chops, duck, and other rich dinners since pickle juice is a terrific counterbalance to fatty foods. However, keep in mind that it has a high sodium content, so if you are cutting back on salt in your diet, keep that in mind.

Other noteworthy pickle-juice beverages:

The Mr. Pickles shooter, which is served with a hollowed-out pickle filled with pickle brine, is a whisky shot at The Barbershop Cuts and Cocktails in Las Vegas.

Little Bear in Atlanta serves a Pickle Negroni, which consists of gin, aquavit, vermouth, bitter bianco, cucumber, and dill brine.

Additionally, the Hollywood Lounge at Disneyland in California serves a Pickle Michelada, which is topped with a pickle spear and composed of beer, pickle juice, tomato mix, and chile lime spice.

According to Goldstein, the allure of pickle brine is that it blends well with all the other flavors in a drink, including bitter, sweet, salty, sour, and spicy.

Additionally, pickle juice is becoming more common in non-alcoholic beverages. As part of a temporary pickle menu, Popeyes Chicken debuted Pickle Lemonade this spring.

Additionally, V8 Grillo’s Pickles and Sonic have collaborated on a temporary pickle-focused menu that features the Picklerita Slush, a sweet-tart drink prepared with pickle juice, lime, and effervescent pickle flavor bubbles, and garnished with a Grillo’s Pickle Chip.

It’s unlikely that a pickle juice cocktail will appeal to you if pickles aren’t. However, if you enjoy pickles, wait until you’ve had a drink.

Get a pack of Spritz Society’s Pickle Spritzers, which are created with wine, carbonated water, and Claussen’s pickle juice, to enjoy a pickle cocktail at home. Or search for V8 Grillo’s Pickles’ canned Dill Pickle Bloody Mary mix (non-alcoholic). Drink it as a mocktail or mix it with a shot of your preferred alcoholic beverage.

Here is a recipe:

You may use the drained brine from any store-bought spicy pickles, but the bar uses hot peppers to enhance their pickle juice. To make your cocktail hotter, you may also add a little pickled hot pepper brine.

A 75-ounce container of hot pickle juice

One ounce of vodka (any vodka will work, although Grey Goose is used at the bar)

A half-ounce of dry vermouth

Garnish with pickled jalapeño or pickled basque pepper (optional).

Pour ice into a cocktail shaker. Pour in the vodka, vermouth, and pickle juice, then shake until the shaker’s outside is completely chilled. Pour through a strainer into a martini glass. If desired, garnish with the pickled pepper. Serve chilled.

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For The Associated Press, Katie Workman writes about food on a regular basis. Dinner Solved! and The Mom 100 Cookbook are two of her family-friendly cooking cookbooks. Her blog is located at themom100.com.Her email address is Katie@themom100.com.