NEW YORK (AP) — If you have a cocktail scene in your neck of the woods (and it’s safe to say that I do in NYC), you might have noticed the words “pickle juice” appearing more often on drink menus.
Pickles and pickle brine have been an ingredient that mixologists — and chefs -- have played with for a long time, but they're finally getting a star turn in beverage menus around the world.
Pickle juice is salty, tangy acidic, and sometimes a little spicy. It adds zing to all kinds of cocktails.
“Pickles are a great gateway into savory cocktails," says Camille Goldstein, managing partner of Muddling Memories, a Brooklyn-based hospitality company that promotes beverages as an experience.
"The sweet-salty brine of a pickle really creates an interesting depth of flavor for your margarita, martini or even a highball.”
A drink called the Pickleback has been popular for years. Said to have originated at a Brooklyn bar called Bushwick Country Club, it consists of a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle brine. Word spread.
Now, pickle juice has been making its way into all kinds of cocktails, from margaritas to martinis to micheladas. The pickle juice martini, in particular, has taken off; it's kind of a twist on a dirty martini (usually made with olive juice).
It's all part of a pickle and fermentation renaissance in many food categories.
“I remember 10-15 years ago (pickle juice cocktails) were really big and I’m not really too sure why it’s become a thing again,” said Jack Wallis, co-owner of the London bar Dram. “I guess maybe it’s the heath aspect — people are becoming more aware of the benefits of pickled foods, and stuff like that.”
In the pickleback, he said, the juice's acid “is going to cut through the bold flavor of the whiskey but it's also going to complement it, adding something to that experience.”
Watering holes known for their pickle martinis include Rizzo's Bar & Inn in Chicago; Belle's Bagels, Delicatessen and Bar in Los Angeles; Maison Pickle and The Penrose in New York; Reata in Forth Worth, Texas; The Loutrel in Charleston, South Carolina; and Old Pony Martini Pub in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, among other places.
At The Penrose, they serve up about 100 pickle martinis a day, made with McClure’s Pickles spicy brine and ALB vodka, says bartender Heaven Cluesman. Once shaken, he says, the brine creates a foamy layer on top of the drink. A garnish of a couple of pickle slices on a skewer makes it clear what’s in the glass.
Casa Thirteen on the Lower East Side of Manhattan (where Jewish immigrants sold pickles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) makes a spicy pickle martini with pickle juice spiked with hot peppers, vodka and vermouth (recipe below). The bartender, Reinaldo Maria, says the restaurant makes its own pickles, and cocktails are a good way to use the spicy brine — a nice little restaurant-kitchen ecosystem.
Pickle juice is a great foil to fatty foods, so a pickle juice cocktail is a nice accompaniment to burgers, steaks, chops, duck and other rich meals. But note: It contains a lot of sodium, so if you are reducing salt in your diet, keep that in mind.
Other pickle-juice drinks of note:
The “Mr. Pickles” shooter at The Barbershop Cuts and Cocktails in Las Vegas is a shot of whisky served with a hollowed-out pickle filled with pickle brine.
You'll find a Pickle Negroni with gin, aquavit, vermouth, bitter bianco, cucumber and dill brine at Little Bear in Atlanta.
And at the Hollywood Lounge at Disneyland in California, there’s a Pickle Michelada, made with beer, pickle juice, tomato mix and chile lime seasoning, garnished with a pickle spear.
“The beauty of pickle brine is that it plays nicely and favorably with all the other aspects of flavors in a cocktail, aka bitter, sweet, salt, sour and spicy,” says Goldstein.
Pickle juice is appearing in more non-alcoholic drinks as well. Popeyes Chicken introduced Pickle Lemonade this spring as part of a limited-time-only pickle menu.
And V8 Grillo’s Pickles has partnered with Sonic on a limited-time, pickle-centric menu including the “Picklerita Slush,” a sweet-tart beverage made with pickle juice, lime and fizzy pickle “flavor bubbles” (topped with a Grillo’s Pickle Chip).
If pickles aren’t your thing, then it’s unlikely a pickle juice cocktail will be either. But if you like pickles, don’t knock it ’til you’ve sipped it.
To try a pickle cocktail at home, pick up a pack of Spritz Society’s Pickle Spritzers, made with wine, carbonated water and Claussen’s pickle juice. Or look for canned Dill Pickle Bloody Mary mix (non-alcoholic) from V8 Grillo’s Pickles. Enjoy it as a mocktail, or use it as a mixer and add a shot of your favorite spirit.
Here's one recipe:
The bar enhances their pickle juice with hot peppers, but you can use the strained brine from any store-bought spicy pickles. You could also add a splash of brine from pickled hot peppers to bump up the heat in your cocktail.
.75 ounce spicy pickle juice
1½ ounces vodka (the bar uses Grey Goose, but any vodka will do)
.5 ounces dry vermouth
Pickled basque pepper or pickled jalapeno to garnish (optional)
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the pickle juice, vodka and vermouth and shake until the outside of the shaker is ice cold. Strain and pour into a martini glass. Garnish with the pickled pepper, if desired. Serve cold.
Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com.
For more AP food stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/recipes.
A spicy pickle martini, made with jalapeno pickle juice, vodka and vermouth, appears Casa Thirteen on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. (Jack Barbour via AP)
A dirty pickle martini, made with vodka, spicy pickle brine and a pickle garnish, is displayed at The Penrose bar in New York. (Katie Workman via AP)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills fans arrived early and lingered long after the game ended to bid what could be farewell to their long-time home stadium filled with 53 years of memories — and often piles of snow.
After singing along together to The Killers' “Mr. Brightside” in the closing minutes of a 35-8 victory against the New York Jets, most everyone in the crowd of 70,944 remained in their seats to bask in the glow of fireworks as Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World” played over the stadium speakers.
Several players stopped in the end zone to watch a retrospective video, with the Buffalo-based Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” as the soundtrack while fans recorded selfie videos of the celebratory scene. Offensive lineman Alec Anderson even jumped into the crowd to pose for pictures before leaving the field.
With the Bills (12-5), the AFC's 6th seed, opening the playoffs at Jacksonville in the wild-card round next week, there's but a slim chance they'll play at their old home again. Next season, Buffalo is set to move into its new $1.2 billion facility being built across the street.
The farewell game evoked “a lifetime of memories,” said Therese Forton-Barnes, selected the team’s Fan of the Year, before the Bills kicked of their regular-season finale. “In our culture that we know and love, we can bond together from that experience. Our love for this team, our love for this city, have branched from those roots.”
Forton-Barnes, a past president of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, attended Bills games as a child at the old War Memorial Stadium in downtown Buffalo, colloquially known as “The Rockpile.” She has been a season ticket holder since Jim Kelly joined the Bills in 1986 at what was then Rich Stadium, later renamed for the team’s founding owner Ralph Wilson, and then corporate sponsors New Era and Highmark.
“I’ve been to over 350 games,” she said. “Today we’re here to cherish and celebrate the past, present and future. We have so many memories that you can’t erase at Rich Stadium, The Ralph, and now Highmark. Forever we will hold these memories when we move across the street.”
There was a celebratory mood to the day, with fans arriving early. Cars lined Abbott Road some 90 minutes before the stadium lots opened for a game the Bills rested most of their starters, with a brisk wind blowing in off of nearby Lake Erie and with temperatures dipping into the low 20s.
And most were in their seats when Bills owner Terry Pegula thanked fans and stadium workers in a pregame address.
With Buffalo leading 21-0 at halftime, many fans stayed in their seats as Kelly and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed addressed them from the field, and the team played a video message from 100-year-old Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy.
“The fans have been unbelievable,” said Jack Hofstetter, a ticket-taker since the stadium opened in 1973 who was presented with Super Bowl tickets before Sunday’s game by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. “I was a kid making 8 bucks a game back in those days. I got to see all the sports, ushering in the stadium and taking tickets later on. All the memories, it’s been fantastic.”
Bud Light commemorated the stadium finale and Bills fan culture with the release of a special-edition beer brewed with melted snow shoveled out of the stadium earlier this season.
In what has become a winter tradition at the stadium, fans were hired to clear the stands after a lake-effect storm dropped more than a foot of snow on the region this week.
The few remaining shovelers were still present clearing the pathways and end zone stands of snow some five hours before kickoff. The new stadium won’t require as many shovelers, with the field heated and with more than two-thirds of the 60,000-plus seats covered by a curved roof overhang.
Fears of fans rushing the field were abated with large contingent of security personnel and backed by New York State troopers began lining the field during the final 2-minute warning.
Fans stayed in the stands, singing along to the music, with many lingering to take one last glimpse inside the stadium where the scoreboard broadcast one last message:
“Thank You, Bills Mafia.”
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) remains on the field to watch a tribute video after the Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y.(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Fans celebrate after the Buffalo Bills scored a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Fans celebrate and throw snow in the stands after an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Aga Deters, right, and her husband Fred Deters, walk near Highmark Stadium before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Michael Wygant shoves snow from a tunnel before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Alec Anderson (70) spikes the ball after running back Ty Johnson scored a touchdown against the New York Jets in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
FILE - The existing Highmark Stadium, foreground, frames the construction on the new Highmark Stadium, upper right, which is scheduled to open with the 2026 season, shown before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, Oct. 5, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Salt crew member Jim Earl sprinkles salt in the upper deck before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
