A Dirty Little Secret.

The Dirty Martini is what happens when one of the world’s most elegant cocktails loosens its tie. Its construction remains reassuringly simple: gin or vodka joined by dry vermouth and a judicious splash of olive brine, chilled hard and finished with one or three olives. A useful starting point is 2 1/2 ounces gin or vodka, 1/2 ounce dry vermouth, and 1/4 to 1/2 ounce olive brine; stir with ice for a silky, crystal-clear drink, or shake if you prefer it colder, cloudier, and a touch more diluted.

The idea is hardly new. Cocktail historian David Wondrich traces its ancestry to 1901, when New York bartender John E. O’Connor reportedly muddled olives into a Dry Martini; written evidence of brine entering a Martini-style cocktail appears by 1930.

Then came Franklin D. Roosevelt, perhaps the Dirty Martini’s most presidential champion. FDR famously presided over a pre-dinner White House cocktail hour – nicknamed the “Children’s Hour” – where the commander in chief himself took charge of the shaker. His Martinis generally began with gin and dry vermouth, but Roosevelt was an enthusiastic improviser, occasionally adding absinthe, fruit juice, or, most importantly for our purposes, a splash of olive brine.

The final requirement is one FDR would have recognized immediately: the proper glass. Forget the oversized modern fishbowl. A Martini deserves a small, elegant, stemmed cocktail glass—ideally the classic Nick & Nora glass—chilled before pouring so the drink stays icy while the stem keeps warm fingers safely away. A Dirty Martini may be dirty, but there is no reason it shouldn’t dress for dinner.

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