Pickle vodka is easy to make. Drink it on the rocks or as a shot. It’s also a delicious addition to a martini or Bloody Mary. Or give the gift of infused vodka to the pickle enthusiast in your life.
If you love pickles and briny cocktails like dirty martinis, you’ll love pickle vodka.
It takes the smooth flavor of vodka and adds undertones of dill pickles. Great for sipping on ice or adding to cocktails.
The pickle flavors come at the end of the sip and sit at the back of the tongue. With each mouthful, you get dill, vinegar, and a hint of garlic.
Infused vodkas are simple to make
Flavored vodkas add a fun twist to cocktails. But when you’re buying vodka at the store, you don’t always want to commit to a full bottle of something with a super specific flavor.
However, it’s easy to make your own infused liquor, like today’s recipe for pickle vodka.
This dill pickle vodka recipe requires just 3 ingredients.
- Vodka
- Pickle brine from a jar
- A couple of pickles
Plus, this recipe is a cinch to double or quadruple if you’d like to make a bigger batch.
What kind of vodka should I use?
When making pickle vodka, I recommend going with a middle of the line plain vodka. You don’t want to go with something too cheap, because the astringent alcohol flavor can overpower.
But you also don’t need to go with the highest end vodka either, since you’ll be adding your own flavor agents. Something in the realm of $12 to $20 will work fine.
What type of pickles should I use?
I recommend dill pickles for this infused vodka. The salt and dill flavor really works with a hard alcohol.
But you can also try other types of pickles if you’re a fan. Experiment with bread & butter, sweet, sour, or spicy pickles.
You could even try using other pickled vegetables like jalapeños, pepperoncinis, or banana peppers.
I recommend using standard-sized dill pickles. However, if you don’t have whole pickles, you can go with a roughly equal amount of spears.
How to make pickle vodka
Get a small jar with a lid. (Here I used an old jelly jar that I thoroughly cleaned.)
Fill it with 4 parts vodka and 1 part brine from a jar of dill pickles. (See the exact amounts in the recipe box below.) Stir to combine.
Add 2 dill pickles, making sure that they’re totally covered by the liquid.
Screw on the lid. Move the jar to the refrigerator.
Refrigerate for 2 or 3 days. Every day give the mixture a stir & taste. Once it has reached your preferred level of pickle flavor, remove the pickles from the jar.
The pickles lose their crunch in alcohol, since they’re no longer in a vinegar brine. So I usually toss them. However, if you’d like, you can eat them or use slices of them as a garnish.
Enjoy the dill pickle vodka right away. Or store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. It will last almost indefinitely in the fridge.
The brine sometimes separates a bit from the vodka. So stir before enjoying.
Ways to use it
The crisp bite of dill pickles really shines through in this infused vodka.
You can sip pickle vodka straight up on the rocks. Or have it as a shot.
It’s great in a pickle martini with extra dry vermouth.
Or use it in a vegan bloody Mary instead of plain vodka.
Great DIY gift idea
Dill pickle vodka is also a fun DIY gift for any pickle lovers in your life.
Martini gift basket
Give pickle vodka along with vermouth and a jar of cornichons (for garnishes) for build-your-own martinis. A set of martini glasses would be fun here too!
Bloody Mary gift basket
Or make a quadruple batch of my Bloody Mary recipe to use as a mix. Put the Bloody Mary mix in a jar with a ribbon.
Then gift it along with the jarred pickle vodka & celery salt. A set of highball glasses would be a nice touch too!
(Is your pickle loving friend not into alcohol? Make them pickle salsa instead!)
Pickle vodka
Ingredients
- 1 cup vodka
- ¼ cup pickle brine from jar of pickles
- 2 dill pickles
Instructions
- Pour vodka into a small jar along with dill pickle brine. Stir to combine.
- Add 2 dill pickles. Make sure that the pickles are totally covered by the liquid. If they're too tall, you can cut them in half. Then screw on a cap to the jar.
- Refrigerate the pickles in vodka mixture for 2 to 3 days. Give it a stir every day and taste it to see if it is your preferred level of pickle-ness. Usually two or three days is plenty for me, but if you'd rather go a little longer, that's fine too.
- Once it has reached your preferred amount of pickle flavor, remove the dill pickles from the jar. They will have softened while no longer in their vinegar solution.
- You can enjoy the dill pickle vodka right away. Or cover and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
David
Pickles + cocktails? Yes please!!
Cadry Nelson
You can say that again!
Shellie
Time for me to pick up some vodka. This sounds great. 🙂
Cadry Nelson
I can’t wait to hear what you think, Shellie!
Scott W Rudolph
I wonder how this would work with gin? We prefer both gin martinis and gin bloody marys.
Cadry Nelson
You could easily make pickle infused gin instead. The vast majority of the time, I’m more of a gin fan too. But in this case, I felt like the pickle flavor would have less to compete with by using vodka (since gin has notes of pine). Give it a shot (no pun intended), and let me know!
Natalie Quay
I can’t wait to try this out! I’m going to try it with garlic olives too.
Cadry Nelson
Oh, I like the way you think!
Dan
Going to try it with jalapeno garlic olives in my bloody spicy mary
Cadry Nelson
Sounds great! Let me know how it goes!
Emily
Great recipe, I appreciate that you allow the ingredients to be flexible based on individual taste and preference. Storage and use tips are also excellent! Thank you, this makes a great pickle vodka. I like a few garlic cloves in mine too.
Cadry Nelson
Thank you, Emily! What a good idea to add garlic cloves. That sounds delicious!