Alright, so let’s talk about my recent adventure with making a dirty margarita. I mean, who doesn’t love a good margarita, right? But I wanted to kick it up a notch. So, I started looking into what exactly makes a margarita “dirty.”
Basically, it’s the addition of olive brine. Yep, that salty, tangy juice from your jar of olives. Sounds kinda weird, I know, but trust me, it works! I was a little skeptical at first, but I figured, hey, gotta try everything once, right?
Here’s what I did:
- Grabbed the booze: I started with a decent tequila – nothing crazy expensive, but not the cheap stuff either. I went for a reposado because I like the slight oaky flavor it adds.
- Limes, limes, limes: You gotta have fresh lime juice. The bottled stuff just doesn’t cut it. I squeezed a bunch of limes – my arm was killing me by the end of it!
- Orange liqueur: Cointreau is my go-to. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth it for the smooth, orange-y goodness. Some people use triple sec, which is fine too, but I prefer Cointreau.
- The secret ingredient: Olive brine. I used the brine from a jar of Castelvetrano olives. These olives are mild and buttery, so the brine isn’t too overpowering.
Now, for the mixing part:
- I started with about 2 ounces of tequila. Gotta be generous, right?
- Then, I added 1 ounce of Cointreau.
- Next up was 1 ounce of fresh lime juice.
- And finally, the moment of truth: ½ ounce of olive brine. I was a little nervous about how much to add, so I started small.
- I threw everything into a shaker with a bunch of ice and shook it like crazy for about 20 seconds. You want it nice and chilled.
- I rimmed a glass with salt – I used kosher salt because it’s got a good texture. Just rub a lime wedge around the rim and dip it in the salt.
- Strained the margarita into the glass, and garnished with a lime wedge and a couple of olives.
The verdict?
It was actually really good! The olive brine added a subtle saltiness and a little bit of funk that balanced out the sweetness of the liqueur and the tartness of the lime juice. It wasn’t overly salty or olive-y, just… interesting. It’s definitely a drink you have to try to understand.
I played around with the amount of olive brine a few times. I found that ½ ounce was perfect for my taste, but you might want to start with ¼ ounce and see what you think. It really depends on how strong you want the olive flavor to be.
Anyway, that’s my dirty margarita story. If you’re looking for a twist on a classic cocktail, give it a shot! You might be surprised at how much you like it.
