Pickle juice drinks that pack a punch

Mixologists are no strangers to pickles but the ingredient is finally getting a "star turn" on drinks menus everywhere, said The Independent. The liquid is being used to add a "zing" to an array of cocktails from martinis to margaritas.

"Pickles have become a defining food of Gen Z," said Ben Sixsmith in The Spectator, and the juice left over from humble jars of gherkins has been inspiring all sorts of "eccentric" concoctions.

"Well, excuse me," said Victoria Moore in The Telegraph, "but if you want to meet the real pickle generation then look at us Gen X-ers, who celebrated our single-digit birthdays with pickled onions on cocktail sticks stuck into a foil-covered orange." We've been feasting on cornichons for decades; using the leftover juice to "add piquancy to drinks isn't a trend – it's a no brainer".

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

It's not just the leftover juice from mini cucumbers, either. "Across the country pickled onion, beetroot, pickle, jalepeño and even oyster brine are appearing on bar menus," said The Guardian. And olive brine has, of course, been a key ingredient in dirty martinis for over a century.

But "how do we get dirty without being downright scummy?" Only use brine that's "reasonably fresh", said drinks writer Alice Lascelles. "You don't want stuff that's been sitting in the fridge for six months getting all manky."

For a cocktail that packs a punch, try making a "tangy margarita", said Moore. Add 50ml of tequila to an ice-filled shaker, along with 25ml of triple sec and the same of lime juice, and 10ml of pickle juice and strain into a salt-rimmed glass.

The leftover brine also makes a "terrific" lemonade, as the pickle pairs perfectly with the acidity of lemons.

But the simplest drink you can make is pickle-flavoured soda. Just mix 20ml of your favourite pickle juice with 200ml of sparkling water. "It doesn't get easier than this."