Special Thursday Happy Hour – Hot, Dirty and Bleu
It’s a holiday weekend, so why not start a little early, right? A couple of weeks ago, while we were at Lola in Cleveland, we tried one of their signature martinis -- Hot, Dirty & Bleu -- and really enjoyed it.
So, continuing the apparently recurring themes of reconstituting other restaurants drinks and a new affinity for spicy drinks, here it is:
3 oz Vodka (and use the good-stuff)
¼ oz Olive-brine (from the jar of olives you’re going to use as a garnish)
¼ oz Dry vermouth
~5 drops Tabasco (or other hot sauce)
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass and serve with a skewer of bleu-cheese stuffed olives. The cold, cold martini, the salty-bleu cheese-olive taste and the spicy hot sauce are a really great mixed sensation. I recommend using a vinegar based hot-sauce (if you have one) and nothing that’s been thickened – I think it will disperse better in your drink. Also, while I'm a fan of the traditional gin-martini as well, I think hot sauce and gin sounds really terrible.
(Of course, you can make it as “hot”, as “dirty”, or as “dry” (varying the vermouth) as you like – that’s sort of the joy of martini-making…)
Bottoms-up!
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