My usual martini order is wet, or even 50/50, but sitting inside Le Loup, the ambitious new concept by chef and southern restauranteur Ford Fry (owner of The Optimist downstairs) and staring at a page detailing 7 martini variations throughout its history, I am intrigued to try the Gibson. Typically, a Gibson is a martini with a simple swap of an olive garnish for an onion, but Beverage Manager and NYC bar veteran Kenneth Vanhooser and Beverage Supervisor J.A. Harrison have turned it into more of a dirty martini cousin with the addition of a homemade spiced onion brine.
I ask Kenneth if he’ll tell me what’s in it. “Sure,” he smiles playfully. “We say [it’s a] secret recipe, but we don’t have secrets. We’ll tell anybody what’s in anything at any time. Because nobody will be able to recreate it exactly.” (The brine has celery, carrots, coriander, celery seed, mustard, pickling spices, and saffron and its addition makes this beyond a shadow of a doubt the most delicious Gibson of my life.)