Creative Drinking

A Scot classic: The Watson Inn Pickle Martini

Dinner and a cocktail at one of my all-time favorite spots tonight. Watson Inn in Watsontown, PA. The drink? The Pickle Martini, specialty of the house. At least it was when I first discovered this homey little place back in 2002. The drink has long since disappeared from the menu but everyone there knows it and they have been happy to serve it to me, one after the other, for the last ten years.  I have since started seeing this on menus here and there, most commonly called "the dirty pickle" or something along that vein, sometimes made with vodka, sometimes with gin. This particular version is still my favorite.

The recipe is pretty simple, though it never tastes as good at home as it does at Watson Inn. It's all about their pickles and as hard as I have tried, I can't make it quite as good. It's essentially just a dirty martini but with pickle instead of olives. I started out ordering it with Vox, can't remember why. I eventually switched to Ketel One, can't remember why.

Ingredients:

• Ketel One
• splash of dry vermouth
• splash of pickle juice

Shake vigorously and strain into well-chilled martini glass. serve with dill pickle spear. yum.

Sidenote: I'm a creature of habit and my usual bartender wasn't there tonight (for the second time in a row- EEK!) but the same girl who i first encountered last time (about a month ago) knew me and my drink on sight and made it perfectly. 
Bonus points. Big tip.

www.watsoninn.com if you ever happen to be that way...it is worth a stop. In addition to the pickle martini, the crab cakes are delightful. I recommend pairing the two.