The 3-Ingredient Vodka Cocktail I’ve Been Making for over a Decade

It’s high summer as I write this, which means it’s peak tomato time. Fresh, ripe, juicy tomatoes are one of summer’s best qualities, and I’m fully committed to a meal plan that consists of at least 45% tomato. I’m happily feasting on all the stuffed BLTs, pasta with fresh tomato sauce, and thick slabs of tomato toast that I can eat. That said, I’m always looking for different ways to use tomatoes. 

So, meet my new favorite cocktail: the tomato martini. It’s just like a classic martini, but you replace the vermouth with tomato water. I love it because it’s a lovely, fresh-tasting, simple cocktail that uses fresh tomatoes in a totally different way. So if you’re looking for outside-of-the-box ideas to use up tomatoes, why not try drinking them instead?

There are a few different ways to make a tomato martini (incorporating pulp, omitting the pulp, infusing the tomato liquid, etc.), but all of them require tomato water. “Tomato water” sounds painfully bougie, but it’s really just the juice leftover when you squish a ripe tomato. 

If you want super fancy, mostly clear tomato water, you can run tomatoes and a little salt through a food processor and then strain the mixture overnight through multiple layers of cheesecloth. The liquid that drains through the cheesecloth will be surprisingly translucent and lacking the expected red tint. 

If, like me, you care less about the color and can’t prep in advance, you can do it my way and grate a tomato on the large holes of a box grater. Then strain the pulp through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing down on the solids to extract all of the juice. The resulting liquid will be very red and tomatoey — and is just as good in my opinion. (A medium-size tomato yields about 2 ounces of water.)

To your tomato water, add a hefty pinch of kosher salt, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and 2 ounces of gin or vodka in a shaker.  Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass. I’ll garnish it with a little cherry tomato or two, if I have them on hand. The result is like the freshest Bloody Mary of all time. 

Much like a good Bloody Mary, there are seemingly endless ways to riff on this cocktail. 

• Add herbs. Throw some basil, or my personal favorite cilantro, into the shaker to get muddled up and add herby flavor to the drink.
• Add spice. Add a pinch of cayenne for a spicy take, or add berbere for smokiness and depth.