There’s a reason that the dirty martini is considered a classic drink. The umami flavor from ingredients like olive brine gives it a savory taste distinct from sweeter beverages featured on many bar menus, and its balanced flavor pairs well with food.
In fact, savory cocktails have enjoyed a surge in popularity over the last several years, with trendy restaurants adding new specialty drinks featuring umami notes and a variety of liquors. Cocktail recipes with MSG can be found on foodie blogs, in leading cuisine publications and shows, and at fine dining establishments.
Cocktail Recipes with MSG Are on the Menu
An article in Punch Drink focused on the rise of the MSG martini and the reasons for its appeal. Monosodium glutamate appears naturally in foods like parmesan cheese and tomatoes, and the use of MSG as an ingredient makes vegetables, meats, and even popular fare like Doritos and Chick-fil-A® even more appealing to our tastebuds.
Channing Centeno, who developed the drinks menu for Cantonese restaurant Bonnie’s in Brooklyn, New York, shared that in addition to the MSG-olive brine solution used in their martini, other bar offerings use the ingredient; it even shows up as part of a highball’s salt rim.
Centeno attributes the popularity of the MSG martini to MSG’s craveable flavor: “It’s one of those ingredients that makes you think, ‘Do I like this?’, so you take another sip. Before you know it, it’s gone.”
Want to try your hand at making some umami cocktails at home? Variations of the MSG martini recipe abound online, and if you’re not a martini fan, you can find many other cocktail recipes with MSG. Impress your friends by adding umami flavor to margaritas and bloody Marys, or make your own MSG solution to boost any savory cocktails.
Umami Martini
Ingredients
- 2 ounces of gin
- 1 ounce of dry vermouth
- Pinch of MSG
- Ice
- Olive optional
- Lemon twist as garnish
Instructions
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Stir the gin, vermouth, and MSG together with ice. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with an olive and lemon twist as desired.
Bloody Mary Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 46 oz. cans tomato juice
- 1 10 oz. can beef bouillon
- 1 teaspoon coarsely-ground fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon MSG *
- 4 oz. lemon juice
- 1 5 oz. bottle Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
- Tabasco sauce to taste for heat
Instructions
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Combine tomato juice, beef bouillon, pepper, celery salt, MSG, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
When serving, you can pour the drink over ice but that’s not necessary since the drink mix has already been chilled (you may want to chill the vodka ahead of time as well). For a garnish, use a celery stick, green olive, and/or lemon or lime slice. If adding vodka to the drink consider 1 shot (1½ ounces) in a 4 ounce drink.
*MSG is usually sold as Ac’cent® flavor enhancer or Ajinomoto® umami seasoning.
