James Bolt’s Dirty Martini

James Bolt | Charleston, SC

Tying for second place in our blind dirty Martini tasting, James Bolt’s recipe calls for two types of gin: Four Pillars Olive Leaf gin, which counts olive leaf tea and olive oil among its distinctive botanicals, and a half ounce of navy strength gin. To that combination, Bolt adds dry vermouth, Cerignola olive brine and, to round out the savory notes, two dashes each of saline solution and The Bitter Truth olive bitters. Perhaps more than any other it had a true-to-life olive flavor that Punch editor-in-chief Talia Baiocchi described as “meaty, almost like drinking a Castelvetrano olive.” 

Ingredients

Serving: 1

  • 2 ounces Four Pillars Olive Leaf Gin
  • 2 ounces Four Pillars Olive Leaf Gin
  • 1/2 ounce navy strength gin, preferably Four Pillars
  • 1/2 ounce navy strength gin, preferably Four Pillars
  • 1/2 ounce green Cerignola olive brine
  • 1/2 ounce green Cerignola olive brine
  • 1/4 ounce dry vermouth, preferably Dolin
  • 1/4 ounce dry vermouth, preferably Dolin
  • 2 dashes saline solution (10:1, water:salt)
  • 2 dashes saline solution (10:1, water:salt)
  • 2 dashes The Bitter Truth olive bitters
  • 2 dashes The Bitter Truth olive bitters

Garnish: Cerignola olive

Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
  2. Stir for 12 to 15 seconds.
  3. Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass.
  4. Garnish with a Cerignola olive.

Tagged: dirty martini, gin

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