Chicken Soup Martini 🐓🍜🍸

Watch this video on YouTube.

My journey into savory soup cocktails started in 2018. I was a lead bartender at a small cocktail bar in Oklahoma City.

It was time to create the winter cocktail menu and this idea of a chicken soup cocktail had me in an absolute chokehold. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Day and night I would ponder the possibilities. The brothsibilities? Idk.

Fast forward to 2023. I’ve created a number of so called “BROTHTAILS” and had a pretty solid template for them.

Now you’d think that would be all fine and dandy but for some reason, it still wasn’t enough for me. My mission to spread the brothspel of salty, savory cocktails compelled me to enter a new arena of brothdom.

Enter: The Chicken Soup Martini. 🐓🍜🍸

Welcome to the deep end of the dirty martini pool 🏊‍♂️

When I developed this recipe for the olive oil slingers and general cool kids over at Graza the idea was to utilize both olive oil offerings in different ways. (They offer a cooking and a finishing oil)

The first is a mirepoix infused gin using their cooking oil to sweat the aromatics and do a simultaneous fat wash & infusion. This lends the drink a great backbone of savory vegetable flavor as well as a rich, full bodied mouthfeel.

The manzanilla sherry adds a nice zip and maritime freshness & the bouillon “brine” stands in for the olive brine you’d typically find in a dirty martini—adding salt, umami, and a light roasted chicken flavor (my mouth is watering).

For garnish I used graza’s finishing oil which brings lots of beautiful grassy aroma to the drink and coats your mouth with velvety fruity picual olives. 🫒
All in all this was a pretty silly idea that ended up tasting pretty darn good.

SO, here’s how to make it!

🐓🍜🍸🐓🍜🍸🐓🍜🍸

1. Finely chop Mirepoix and gently sweat in EVOO until fragrant and onions are just translucent. (About 2-3 minutes)
2. Add 100g of Mirepoix to a sealable container along with 8 oz or 1 cup of Gin. 
3. Allow to infuse overnight before freezing and straining through a coffee filter. (Freezing before filtering allows the oil to solidify and makes it easier to strain from the liquid!)
4. Meanwhile, combine chicken bouillon, salt, MSG, and hot water and bottle. 
5. Once all your prep is done, keep everything in your refrigerator or freezer until you’re ready to serve!
6. Let’s make the martini! Add chilled gin, sherry, bouillon and saline to a frosty mixing glass and stir over ice for 15-20 seconds or until everything is VERY cold and diluted to your liking. 
7. Pour into a frozen coupe or favorite cocktail glass and garnish with a drizzle of finishing EVOO!.
8. Enjoy the perfect marriage between chicken soup and a martini! 

For Mirepoix Gin:

30g Carrot
30g Onion
30g Celery
10g EVOO (graza )
8 oz Gin (we used Four Pillars ‘Olive Leaf Gin’)

For Chicken Bouillon ‘Brine’:
½ tbsp Roasted Chicken Bouillon (we used ‘better than bouillon’ brand)
4 oz or 120ml of hot water
Big pinch kosher salt (about 3g)
Pinch of MSG (about 0.75g)

For Saline Solution:
Dissolve 20g of kosher salt into 100g or 100ml of water

For the Drink:
2 oz Mirepoix Gin
½ oz Manzanilla Sherry
¼ oz Chicken Bouillon Brine
2-4 Drops Saline Solution (to taste)