The 9 Unique Martinis To Add To Your Cocktail Bucket List

From espresso martinis to Long Island Iced Teas, the most popular cocktails of all time are almost universally found on bar menus. But every now and then, an imaginative establishment steps outside the box and inserts an innovative drink into its lineup. This especially leaves the world with a number of martinis far outside of the classics — the flavors and additives of which are so peculiar that they're enough to make you want a taste.

A throwback to the original martini recipe consists of a few key elements: gin, vermouth, orange bitters, and optionally, the iconic skewered olives or lemon twist the libation is so known for. These days, however, bars and restaurants around the world have found ways to take the beverage to unexpected heights, working in odd ingredients like burger seasonings and even marine animals. The adventurous drinker will want to take a look at these incredibly unique twists and add them to their list of martini must-haves.

The history of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich reaches back to 1901, when the first recipe for it turned up in the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics. Written by Julia Davis Chandler, the author called the combination "original," which at the time of the article's release, it most certainly was. Little did Chandler know, though, that the iconic sandwich would soar to the heights it did, now being enjoyed during countless school lunches and midday snacks over the generations.

We can imagine Chandler especially wouldn't have pictured the wholesome combination to one day become the inspiration behind a martini. That's right -– at Chicago's Blue Line Lounge and Grill, you can order a Peanut Butter and Jelly Martini. While we can take a wild guess at what the fundamental ingredients in this refreshment are, the establishment doesn't disclose exactly what that might be as it does with its other beverages. The product's vague description instead simply states, "House secret!" However, the ambiguity of it hasn't scared customers away. It has received several glowing reviews from customers adventurous enough to try it. One online user said, "It shouldn't taste amazing, but it does. A perfect sweet drink, get it after dinner." Another person shared similar sentiments, writing, "[It's] a delicious dessert in a glass."

Pickles are one of those foods you either hate or love. And despite the vast amount of people who opt to have vinegar-drenched cucumbers removed from their meals, there's a crowd of die-hard fans out there that'll gleefully put pickles on everything and anything they can. Some love them so much they drink the juice right out of the pickle jar. Luckily, they no longer have to resort to that, as a trip to The Belfry in New York City presents pickle fanatics with a more sophisticated alternative: the Pickle Martini.

While The Belfry's drink menu dedicates an entire section picklebacks, the Pickle Martini — labeled a "Belfry Favorite" — stands out among the queue of cocktails. Made with vodka and your choice of sour or spicy pickle brine, The Belfry's unique martini has made for one of the ultimate yet simple ways to use pickle juice, yielding an extra dirty martini that's sure to take on the distinctly tangy, salty flavor of its star ingredient.

Anyone who loves to habitually toast up an everything bagel for breakfast each morning should whip out their martini glass for the next item on the list. Vanderpump à Paris, a Parisian-inspired restaurant located in the Paris Las Vegas hotel, found a way to combine the seemingly unrelated breakfast food and boozy beverage. It's always 5 o'clock somewhere, after all.

The Le Dirty Bleu is the brainchild of the restaurant owner and "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Vanderpump's daughter, Pandora Vanderpump-Todd. What starts as a classic dirty gin martini gets thoroughly upgraded by its half-lined rim, which is crusted in none other than everything bagel seasoning. You can spot each of the spices that define the popular seasoning: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion, garlic, and salt, all adhered to the glass by simple syrup. And to really make it akin to the well-loved breakfast food, there's a sprig of rosemary and blue cheese stuffed olives inside as well.

A Caesar salad is all good and healthy — everyone knows that. But so is balance, right? So why not take that nutritional meal and liven it up in an unexpected way? To be more exact, head on over to Shy Shy in New York City and try the green goodness in the form of an untraditional martini.

It feels almost illegal to take something as nourishing and wholesome as a salad and cross it with alcohol. The cocktail bar located in Chelsea pushes the barrier in the boldest and most creative way, taking core elements of the classic salad and infusing it into the drink, which is simply called the Caesar. Shy Shy's martini consists of Ketel One Vodka washed with extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, and lemon zest, plus Dolin Dry Vermouth. However, what brings truth to the refreshment's name and adds the most character to it would be the garnish that comes alongside it. Each glass is served with a side salad, aka a singular piece of Romaine lettuce with an anchovy and cheese atop it. Rumor has it, you're meant to take a bite of this little salad before sipping on your drink. Sounds like a fun and perfectly acceptable way to get your veggie servings, if you ask us.

Unbeknownst to many, sudden jellyfish blooms have become a rising problem in our oceans. The increasing overpopulation of these marine animals is due to a number of factors, including but not limited to climate change and the overfishing of other species. In turn, fishing industries in places like Japan have been struggling as jellyfish swarms kill vast amounts of other ocean animals. A solution to bring the growing number of jellyfish down has been to incorporate them into cuisines. And though Western cultures, such as the United States, have yet to jump on this trend, this food resource is now widely integrated in Asia.

One place excess jellyfish are being put to use is at Fura, a restaurant in Singapore. This ingredient-driven eatery prides itself on a planet-friendly menu, which prioritizes the use of foods that are considered invasive species or are abundantly available. Hence the creation of its Jellyfish Martini, which contains additional unique components like fish leaf and spirulina. The bar's co-founder, Sasha Wijidessa, told The Drinks Business, "Essentially what we have is a broken ecosystem, so we're trying to reintroduce that balance." This means you may not always be able to order a Jellyfish Martini. "Say in 10 years if this picks up and the world starts to consume jellyfish, and we find that balance in the ocean's ecosystem, then it's an ingredient we should move on from," Wijidessa explained.

Red Robin has found a way to serve customers burgers in more than 25 different ways, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise that they found a way to transform the American dish into a drink. But somehow, it's still as confounding today as it was when the joint first announced the concept in 2023. In October of that year, Red Robin held a two-week sweepstakes in which the public could sign up for a chance to win a Burgertini kit.

This box consisted of most of the core elements you'd need to make the super savory cocktail, including a Red Robin branded cocktail shaker, stainless steel cocktail pick, stemless martini glass, pickle brine, beef bone broth, cocktail napkin, and finally, a $25 gift card to the eatery. The giveaway has unfortunately closed, but you can still run to Amazon to purchase the most fundamental ingredient needed to create the drink: the Red Robin Signature Seasoning Blend. A bottle is composed of a mix of sea salt, spices, and dried vegetables, perfect for adding flavor to anything from fries to salads — or, apparently, martinis. After mixing up the seasoning blend with all the aforementioned components into one salty drink, Red Robin suggests you add a cherry tomato, slice of bacon, pickle chip, or a chunk of a brioche bun to garnish the finished product.

Of all the things you should reconsider ordering from a sushi restaurant, excessive condiments may be at the top of the list. And that includes wasabi. Because of how pricey this paste is, customers are unfortunately often served an imitation version of it, which is actually made from horseradish. This is where that strong, overwhelming heat comes from, leaving many people regretting piling it atop their sushi.

Miami's Novikov Restaurant, however, doesn't shy away from incorporating the real deal into its offerings. On its Chinese and Japanese fusion-inspired menu, you can find a Wasabi Martini made from vodka, wasabi, pineapple, basil, lemon juice, and yuzu. One look at the drink won't leave you questioning its use of the titular ingredient, as it has the natural-looking, olive-hued color that genuine wasabi possesses. Also cueing you in on its use of high-quality wasabi is the fact that real wasabi is able to be detected by its more nuanced flavor. It has a less intense bite compared to the horseradish version, and there's even a slight sweetness to it. This is likely the reason Novikov's Wasabi Martini is described as not having the same pungent, harsh taste the green paste is typically associated with, allowing for an overall smoother and more pleasant experience than one would expect.

That pot of water you just used to boil your pasta? Don't throw it out just yet. There are several reasons you should always keep pasta water in the fridge – to throw it away would be depriving yourself of what's referred to as "liquid gold." Starch is released from the pasta when brought to a boil, giving water a cloudy appearance in addition to the savory taste provided by the salt you added when cooking the noodles. This briny water can be used to thicken sauces or even help your homemade bread rise. And as discovered by Marc Vetri, the owner of a restaurant in Philadelphia called Fiorella, it makes for a wonderful addition to cocktails as well.

Fiorella is an Italian establishment that serves an assortment of pasta, from rigatoni and ricotta gnocchi to orecchiette and ravioli doppio. Well, the liquid in which this vast amount of pasta is cooked doesn't go to waste. It's repurposed into Fiorella's Dirty Pasta Water Martini. There's full transparency in this drink's name, as the reserved pasta water is used in lieu of the usual dry vermouth you'd find in a martini. This eyebrow-raising swap isn't just good for minimizing food waste, though — it's more purposeful than that. It creates a remarkably silky texture with a deep and salty taste that pairs well with — you guessed it — any pasta dish.

The Porn Star Martini's name alone should be reason enough to classify it as an extra dirty martini. However, it doesn't contain any bit of olive brine. The cocktail's provocative label is really the wildest part about it, as it is otherwise composed of pretty standard and typically well-liked flavors, such as vanilla vodka, syrup, passion fruit, and Prosecco. Those looking for a slightly more eccentric and intriguing version of this drink, though, should head to Manhattan for Bar Bonobo's take on the drink: the CornStar Martini.

While the Porn Star Martini already elevates the usual martini, the CornStar Martini takes it a step further by using vanilla popcorn syrup. The drink hones in on its titular ingredient even more by not only having a few pieces of popcorn plopped into the drink's frothy top layer of foam but by being served alongside an entire plate of the buttery, crunchy treat. But if you're worried about the drink being overwhelmingly reminiscent of movie theater popcorn in an artificial, kitschy sort of way, don't fret. According to an Instagram user whose account is dedicated to reviewing martinis in The Big Apple, "The passion fruit and vanilla flavors actually cut that complete buttery and salty taste."