Pearl Onion-Infused Martini

11. June 2007 Baked Goods + Desserts + Drinks 0

From the Dr., I learned how to order and drink martinis. When we were at Applewood in Brooklyn last year, he ordered their pearl onion martini. The onion flavor was strong, but it made for a perfect drink after a stressful day at work. Any new obsession costs money, so I infused my own vodka a few months ago to save $16 per drink. Last night, I took the bottle out of the freezer and we finally made our own martini at home.

There are several ways to make a martini. We like vodka-anything, so I recommend Kettle One vodka for this recipe. You can pick up dry Martini & Rossi vermouth from any liquor store. We also prefer our martini shaken instead of stirred. When you shake the vodka with ice cubes, some of the ice melts and adds a little water to your drink. This softens the bite of the alcohol. Of course, too much water will make the drink limp, so practice makes perfect. We also like our martinis dirty which only means including the olive brine in the drink. While James Bond may find errors in this recipe, we’re quite happy with it.

Ingredients:
1 bottle Kettle One vodka
1 small bag of pearl onions, peeled, some halved
dry vermouth
1 jar of olives with brining juice
ice cubes

1. Using a large pickling jar, combine the onions and the vodka. Let sit in room temperature. Save the original vodka bottle for later.
2. After a week and a half, strain the infused vodka back into the original bottle. Discard all the onions. Store in the freezer until ready to make your own martinis.

For the martini:
1. While preparing martini, put ice cubes in cocktail glass with a splash of vermouth. Set aside to chill.
2. Using a martini shaker, combine ice cubes, two shots of the infused vodka and a shot of the olive brine. Shake well.
3. Discard ice cubes and vermouth from cocktail glasses. Strain contents of the mixer into the glasses. Garnish with a couple of olives.