Hot and Crabby Martini

By Mary Parks | 4 Minutes

Perhaps you’re familiar with a hot and dirty martini: a riff on the classic dirty that combines olive or pepper brine with hot sauce. Made with Maine Garum Company Green Crab Garum, the hot and crabby is our simplest cocktail yet and the perfect twist for a dirty martini lover.

I used a combination of olive and pepperoncini brine for this recipe with a hint of El Yucateco green hot sauce. Made with habanero, El Yucateco packs a floral punch and combined with the brines results in a greenish cocktail. I prefer using a neutral vodka (like ISCO’s structural Vodka) for this recipe to balance the umami and salinity of the garum and brine.

Do not measure with your heart when building this cocktail or you’ll be left heartbroken.

COCKTAIL INGREDIENTS & MATERIALS

  • jigger

  • 2 oz vodka

  • 0.5 oz olive brine

  • 0.5 oz pepperoncini brine

  • 1 dash green crab garum (or 1 bar spoon DIPPED in garum since it packs a punch)

  • Hot sauce to taste (I used El Yucateco)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Add measured spirit, brines, hot sauce, and garum to a shaker then add ice.

  2. Shake until the outside of your shaker is frosty (~20 seconds) then pour through a strainer into a chilled cocktail glass. Straining removes the ice chips and any flecks of olive or pepper and is a very important step for a smooth, properly diluted martini.

    Tip: If you’re a slow martini drinker, try pouring half of your martini into a little glass or “sidecar” over ice so it stays cold.

  3. Express/ squeeze a lemon peel over the top of the martini. You should see a fine mist settle over the top.

  4. Garnish with an olive or pepperoncini.