This Salty Gin Makes a Superb “Dirty G&T”

I have a suggestion that I know year-round dirty Martini drinkers will either bristle at or be pleased by, and that’s OK with me. That suggestion is: It’s nice out. How about a Dirty G&T instead?

The idea isn’t exactly new; Fanny Chu’s Dirty Martini Highball has been a reader-favorite recipe on Punch for years, and I’ve come across olive lemonades and dirty spritzes, too. But I must confess that I’m not typically a dirty Martini drinker (sue me! I like it classic and with a twist!), so I’d never considered myself a devotee. 

Recently, though, at the new-school pub Dean’s, I didn’t realize that the house G&T would follow a similar template. I was pleasantly surprised at the saltiness and the more subtle brininess of the drink. As I slurped oysters and let the cool spring breeze waft through the windows and over me, I thought, if not for the passing taxis and tourists of the West Village, I could imagine myself lounging seaside. And whether you load your Martinis with olives or not, I think you could get behind this drink, too.