Your Next Dirty Martini Needs Fat-Washed Vodka

How do you like your martini? You can choose vodka or gin, sweet or dry vermouth, olives or onions, and shaken or stirred. If you love a dirty martini and olives are your garnish of choice, you may have noticed how your drink changes if you swap pimento olives for unctuous Castelvetranos or a salty, fatty blue cheese-stuffed variety. The addition of some richness through fatty ingredients softens the mouthfeel, balances the acidity and bite, and coats your palate. It's a totally different drinking experience — one that you can amp up even further with fat-washing.

Fat-washing alcohol is the process of combining your booze of choice with liquid fat. The alcohol extracts flavors from the fat you choose, infusing them into your drink. It's a chance to add even more flavor to your cocktail without changing the ratio of liquids, as well as giving your drink a richer, more creamy mouthfeel.

When it comes to flavors, the world is your oyster. Wash rum with coconut oil for a tropical take, pair bourbon with duck fat for something super-savory, or add a nutty note to gin with sesame oil. But if you stan a dirty martini, look to your favorite garnish for inspiration and wash your vodka with olive oil.

To make fat-washed vodka, begin by selecting the right olive oil. Spring for a nicer extra virgin olive oil you enjoy, as both the richness and the taste will be imparted into your drink. It's important to consider how long olive oil lasts after it's opened, as it will have lost some of its flavor if it's older.

Then combine one cup of vodka with 1/4 cup of olive oil in a blender and set it on high to combine. You can also combine them in a jar with a tight lid and shake vigorously to combine. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for a few hours, up to a few days, then put the container in the freezer. The olive oil will separate and solidify, allowing you to scoop out most of the fat. Remember the crucial straining step after fat-washing your alcohol is to put it through a double layer of cheesecloth or use a coffee filter to remove any remaining frozen oil. Keep your olive oil-washed vodka (or any other fat-washed spirits) in the refrigerator so the fat doesn't get rancid.

Now it's time to make an easy dirty martini. Simply replace the vodka in your recipe with the fat-washed version you've just created. Notice how that extra flavor balances the brininess, mellows the sharpness of the vodka, and shifts your drink from something cold and bracing to savory and smooth.