Dirty Sue

Dirty Sue is the very definition of a product fit to a niche market. At first it may seem like a frivolous bar accessory meant to collect dust next to the specialty glasses designed for the drink-of-the-week. Speaking as a former bartender and a frequent appreciator of the Dirty Martini, I can say that Dirty Sue is a welcome addition to any bar.

Dirty Sue is high-quality olive brine bottled for improved taste and convenience. For any bar that makes a high volume of Dirty Martinis, or for the people who drink them regularly, it’s a messy and often wasteful process to build the drink. In any jar of Spanish olives, the ratio of olives to brine makes it so just a few Dirty Martinis will leave the olives on the top without any brine in which to soak. Life outside of the brine isn’t kind. Nobody likes the look, let alone the taste, of a dry, shriveled olive. Busy bars often end up losing the majority of a given jar this way. Those olives that don't dry out get ruined when the shriveled olives start to grow mold.

But when it comes to what goes into our favorite drinks, convenience is only a minor consideration next to taste. This is why Dirty Sue is so surprising. Unlike most bottled flavors at the bar, Dirty Sue is superior to the traditional source. The experience starts off sharp and distinct, then finishes more like a fresh olive and less like nondescript pickling brine. The product is so potent, in fact, that it would better serve the recipe to tweak the proportions to avoid overwhelming the drink. My recommendation is to use no more than half an ounce of Dirty Sue when building a martini, but everyone's tastes are different and it's worth playing around with the proportions to get it exactly how you like it.

Dirty Sue plays it smart and allows the olive juice to retain its natural color instead of leaning on the neon palette so common in many mixers and liqueurs. In regard to presentation, there is no difference between an old-style Dirty Martini and one using Dirty Sue.

Dirty Sue is available in two bottle sizes. Ideal for the bars and restaurants is the 750 ml bottle, while the 375 ml bottle better suits the at-home wet bar. At $6.00 a bottle, it’s well worth it. The smaller bottle has enough in it for 25 Dirty Martinis, as opposed to the rough handful available in a normal retail jar of olives.

For an excellent Dirty Sue Martini, follow this recipe:

In a tin shaker half-full with ice, add one quarter to one half ounce of dry vermouth. Jostle the ice to allow the vermouth to coat each cube. If you like your martinis extra-dry, dump out the remaining vermouth that has collected at the bottom. Next, add two and half ounces of your preferred vodka or gin, followed by a half ounce of Dirty Sue. Make sure to shake the bottle of Dirty Sue before pouring. Shake the cocktail well and strain it into a chilled martini glass garnished with three olives. All that's left is to drink it and enjoy the fact that your hands aren't covered in olive brine.