Grilled Cheese Martini
Every September I end up with tomatoes that are too soft to slice and too good to throw away. This year they went into a glass.
A grilled cheese cocktail is not a new idea, and I want to say that plainly. Bartenders were steeping buttery sourdough sandwiches in vodka and rum back in 2011, straining out the fat through cheesecloth and calling it a grilled cheese martini. The internet went through a parmesan espresso martini phase after that. And there is a tomato soup martini going around right now with a tiny sandwich balanced on the rim.
I did not want to infuse cheese into liquor. That version goes cloudy and a little greasy, and it is more stunt than drink. What I wanted was the feeling of tomato soup and grilled cheese on a cool evening, served in something clear and cold and grown up.
So the soup half is heirloom tomato water, which is the cleanest, most concentrated tomato flavor you will ever taste and looks almost like water in the glass. The sandwich half is exactly that, a grilled cheese, cut to one inch and set across the rim on a cocktail pick.
It tastes like a savory martini with a tomato vine on the finish. Then you eat the sandwich. It ties everything together rather nicely.
Heirloom tomato water
Makes about 1 to 1 1/2 cups. Start this the day before.
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4 large or 5 to 7 medium ripe heirloom tomatoes
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1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
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Rinse the tomatoes. No need to core or peel.
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Cut into chunks and pulse in a blender or food processor with the salt until pulpy and finely chopped, not smooth.
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Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth or a clean flour sack towel, set it over a deep non reactive bowl, and pour in the pulp.
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Refrigerate 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
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Do not press, stir, or squeeze the cheesecloth. Gravity only. Squeezing is what turns clear tomato water cloudy, and cloudy is the difference between a cocktail and a smoothie.
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Discard the solids. Cover and refrigerate the tomato water, and use it within 3 days.
Taste it before you build anything. It should read bright, savory, faintly sweet, and salty enough to notice. If it tastes thin, your tomatoes were watery, and another pinch of salt will pull it back into focus. Season the tomato water, never the finished drink.
Overripe, split, and ugly tomatoes are ideal here. Softness is an advantage, and mixed varieties give you more flavor than a single type.
The martini
Makes 1.
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2 ounces London Dry gin, or vodka
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1/2 ounce dry vermouth
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1/2 to 3/4 ounce heirloom tomato water
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Cracked black pepper
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1 mini grilled cheese, on a pick
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Put the glass in the freezer at least 15 minutes ahead. Cold is not a detail here, it is most of the drink.
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Fill a mixing glass two thirds with large ice cubes. Add the gin, vermouth, and tomato water.
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Stir smoothly along the inside wall for 30 to 40 seconds, keeping the ice turning as one mass. No churning or splashing, which chips the ice and clouds the drink.
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Strain into the frozen glass in one motion.
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Crack black pepper over the surface and set the sandwich across the rim.
Start at 1/2 ounce of tomato water and work up. Tomatoes vary enormously, and it is easy to add more and impossible to take it back.
Serve it immediately, with the sandwich still slightly warm if you can manage the timing.
Variations
Tomato forward, closer to the restaurant style: 3 ounces gin or vodka, 1 ounce dry vermouth, 1 1/2 ounces tomato water.
Dirty tomato: add 1/4 ounce olive brine along with the tomato water and garnish with an olive alongside the sandwich.
Green tomato: make the tomato water from green tomatoes for something sharper and grassier, and add two drops of hot sauce.
Alcohol free: 1 1/2 ounces non alcoholic gin, 1 1/2 ounces non alcoholic dry vermouth or white aperitif, 3/4 ounce tomato water, stirred 30 seconds. Do not add water or top it up, since non alcoholic spirits have less structure to begin with and dilution leaves you with flavored water. Note that some bottles labeled 0.0 still run up to 0.5 percent alcohol, similar to kombucha, so check the label if you are avoiding alcohol completely. For a true zero, stir 3 ounces of well seasoned tomato water until frigid and serve it with the pepper and the sandwich.
Which gin, and a word about vermouth
For a savory martini, use a juniper forward London Dry. Tanqueray and Beefeater are the reliable ones, and gins with a touch of salinity are especially good in brine driven martinis, which is essentially what this is. Vodka gives you a softer drink that puts the tomato right out front. Both work. Gin makes it a cocktail, vodka makes it tomato water with a spine.
Now the part that ruins more home martinis than anything else: vermouth is wine, and it oxidizes. Refrigerate it the minute you open it. An open bottle of dry vermouth is good for about a month in the fridge and starts fading within days on a warm shelf. If your martinis have ever tasted dusty or slightly sour, that was the vermouth, not you. Buy the small bottle.
Notes and troubleshooting
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Cloudy tomato water means the cheesecloth got pressed or stirred. Strain it again through a coffee filter.
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Flat or dull flavor means the tomato water needs more salt.
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Harsh and hot on the palate means it was under stirred. Go the full 30 to 40 seconds.
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The sandwich falls apart when it was cut warm, or cut by pressing instead of sawing.
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Make ahead: tomato water keeps 3 days refrigerated. Garnishes are best the same day, and a few seconds in a dry pan revives them.
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For a party: stir the liquids in a pitcher without ice, keep the pitcher in the freezer, then pour straight into cold glasses. Cut the sandwiches last, right before people arrive.
Frequently asked questions
What does a tomato water martini taste like?
Bright, savory, and faintly sweet, closer to a dry martini than a Bloody Mary. Tomato water carries the flavor of a ripe tomato without the body or acidity of juice.
Why is my tomato water cloudy?
Because the pulp was pressed, stirred, or squeezed. Gravity alone gives a nearly clear liquid. Strain it again through a paper coffee filter to fix it.
How long does tomato water last?
About 3 days covered in the refrigerator, or several months frozen in cubes.
Can I make this without alcohol?
Yes. Use 1 1/2 ounces non alcoholic gin, 1 1/2 ounces non alcoholic dry vermouth, and 3/4 ounce tomato water, stirred and strained. For a true zero percent drink, serve seasoned tomato water stirred until frigid with the pepper and the sandwich.
Gin or vodka?
Both work. A juniper forward London Dry reads as a proper savory martini, while vodka pushes the tomato to the front.
Does dry vermouth need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Vermouth is wine and oxidizes once opened. Refrigerate immediately and expect about a month of good flavor.
Can I use regular tomatoes instead of heirlooms?
Yes, though heirlooms and mixed varieties give more flavor. Overripe and split tomatoes are ideal.
