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    Home » Cocktails

    Make your own pickle vodka

    Updated: May 1, 2025 · Published: Nov 28, 2021 by Cadry Nelson · This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 12 Comments

    Jump to recipe
    Text overlay: Make your own pickle vodka. Jar with pickles, vodka, and brine.

    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.

    Hand holding martini behind tray with jigger, pickle vodka, and cornichons.

    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.

    In this post:

    Jump to:
    • Why readers love this recipe
    • Infused vodkas are simple to make
    • What kind of vodka should I use?
    • What type of pickles should I use?
    • How to make pickle vodka
    • Ways to use it
    • Great DIY gift idea
    • 📖 Recipe

    Why readers love this recipe

    5 stars

    “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.” – Emily

    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.

    1. Vodka
    2. Pickle brine from a jar
    3. 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

    Here’s how to make the recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

    Two full sized pickles in jar with vodka and brine.

    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

    Bloody Mary drink on tray with tomato juice, jigger, lime, and hot sauce.

    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!)

    Jar marked "pickle vodka" on table with pickles and jigger.

    If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!

    📖 Recipe

    Pickles in jar of vodka, infusing flavor.

    Pickle vodka

    Author: Cadry Nelson
    5 from 5 votes
    It's easy to make your own pickle vodka. It's great in a martini, Bloody Mary, or enjoyed on its own over ice. It's also a fun DIY gift for a pickle-loving friend.
    This recipe is enough for about 6 shots of pickle vodka or 2 martinis.
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 4 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 minute minute
    Resting time: 2 days days
    Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Course: Drinks
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: alcohol, cocktails, shots

    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.

    Notes

    The pickles lose their crunch in the alcohol, since they’re no longer in a vinegar brine. So I usually toss them. However, if you’d prefer, you can eat them or use slices as a garnish.
    A batch of pickle vodka will last almost indefinitely in the refrigerator.
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    Nutrition

    Calories: 95kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 476mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

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    About Cadry Nelson

    Cadry Nelson is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer behind Cadry’s Kitchen, and the author of Living Vegan For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Since launching her blog in 2009, Cadry has been making plant-based cooking approachable, and reimagining classic comfort foods. Her work has been featured in NBC News, Buzzfeed, Yahoo, Parade, VegNews, and more. She regularly appears on local TV shows, demonstrating to a broad audience how easy vegan cooking can be.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 5 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    1. Emily

      April 03, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Cadry Nelson

        April 03, 2022 at 1:13 pm

        Thank you, Emily! What a good idea to add garlic cloves. That sounds delicious!

        Reply
    2. Dan

      December 11, 2021 at 11:04 am

      Going to try it with jalapeno garlic olives in my bloody spicy mary

      Reply
      • Cadry Nelson

        December 11, 2021 at 1:09 pm

        Sounds great! Let me know how it goes!

        Reply
    3. Natalie Quay

      December 02, 2021 at 2:11 pm

      5 stars
      I can’t wait to try this out! I’m going to try it with garlic olives too.

      Reply
      • Cadry Nelson

        December 02, 2021 at 2:12 pm

        Oh, I like the way you think!

        Reply
    4. Scott W Rudolph

      November 30, 2021 at 12:08 pm

      I wonder how this would work with gin? We prefer both gin martinis and gin bloody marys.

      Reply
      • Cadry Nelson

        November 30, 2021 at 12:14 pm

        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!

        Reply
    5. Shellie

      November 28, 2021 at 5:01 pm

      Time for me to pick up some vodka. This sounds great. 🙂

      Reply
      • Cadry Nelson

        November 29, 2021 at 9:45 am

        I can’t wait to hear what you think, Shellie!

        Reply
    6. David

      November 28, 2021 at 3:57 pm

      5 stars
      Pickles + cocktails? Yes please!!

      Reply
      • Cadry Nelson

        November 29, 2021 at 9:45 am

        You can say that again!

        Reply

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