We Tried the Olive Garden Caesar Salad Martini—and We Hate To Say We Loved It

2024 was a banner year for martinis. Following the success of the Espresso Martini trend in 2023, it seemed like 2024 was all about the Dirty Martini. From pickle brine-infused martinis to Dolly Parton's Dirt Road Martini (which features iced tea and Giardiniera!), martinis are trending dirtier—no, downright filthier—than ever before. And now, there's a drink going viral on TikTok that begs the question: Is there such a thing as a martini that's too dirty?

What Is the Olive Garden Martini?

We first saw the Olive Garden Martini posted by user Alessandra Pizzorni, a cocktail content creator, on TikTok. The divisive video, which has amassed nearly 1 million views so far, walks through how to make a dirty martini inspired by the fast-casual Italian chain and its famous salad (of *the* soup, salad, and breadsticks combo).

Pizzorni's Olive Garden Martini features a spritz of vermouth, ice-cold gin (or vodka) fresh from the freezer, brine from a jar of garlic-stuffed olives, brine from a separate jar of Manzanilla olives, and most controversially, store-bought Olive Garden Italian dressing and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. (Note: a second take on the drink swapped in pepperoncini brine for one of the two olive brines to "mouthwatering" success, according to Pizzorni.)

In the video, Pizzorni adds all of the contents to a cocktail shaker with ice, shakes it, then strains the cocktail into a martini glass rimmed with what appears to be Parmesan cheese. It's garnished with a skewer stacked with tomato, basil, a chunk of Parmesan, a lemon slice, and a garlic-stuffed olive, along with an extra sprinkle of Italian seasoning and some crouton "floaters" on top.

Now, it's hard to discern if this video is haute cuisine, high art, or just plain parody, but needless to say, it got our attention. So much so that it prompted us to make a salad-inspired martini of our own. But why do Italian when you can tackle the king—nay, emperor—of all salads? Behold: our Caesar Martini.

How to Make Our Caesar Salad Martini

We're all for a dirty martini, but a salad martini didn't inspire confidence. Though curiosity got the best of us, and our test kitchen had to give it a try. We'll admit: we wanted to hate this—but it was not nearly as bad as we thought it'd be. In fact, we were going back for sip after salty sip.

Upon trying the drink, Allrecipes Senior Producer Nicole McLaughlin's first impression was, "It's not that bad!" Not a ringing endorsement—but she adds, "If someone told me it was a Dirty Caesar martini, rather than Caesar salad, I'd probably be okay with it."

It makes sense. The Caesar dressing adds umami from the anchovy and tanginess from the lemon. The straining removes any unwanted texture—you can use a sieve for extra assurance—and the flavor of the dressing and brine brilliantly masks the alcohol bite.

Dishes inspired by cocktails and cocktails inspired by dishes are trending, so adding salad dressing to a savory cocktail like a martini or Bloody Mary is kind of a brilliant flavor shortcut. McLaughlin asserts that the Dirty Caesar Martini (as she's renamed it) is "perfect for those who like 'em filthy!"

Add 2 ounces of vodka (or gin), 1 dash of dry vermouth (optional), 2 teaspoons of your favorite store-bought Caesar dressing, and 2 teaspoons of olive brine from garlic-stuffed olives to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, then strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with garlic-stuffed olives. You can rim the glass with lemon juice and Parmesan cheese, but we preferred the version without.

Fair warning: you may just need an after-dinner mint after downing this garlicky, savory sipper.

Read the original article on ALLRECIPES