Why tomatoes belong in your martini this summer
A little time and a few bar essentials can turn the summer’s best produce into a drink you won’t soon forget.
The tomato’s limited yet lush seasonal run never lacks in possibility. But once you’ve had a respectable number of ripe, peak season tomatoes layered on toast, with noodles or in salads, grab the cocktail shaker and head to the bar.
“When tomatoes really shine, that’s when you want to add them to a cocktail,” said Shannon Ponche, a bartender at I Sodi in New York City. “If you want to eat it, then that’s when it should go into your drink.”
A fine way to start incorporating the tomato’s vegetal flavour into your next drink is by making sweet-savoury, lightly acidic tomato water. Set a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl, add blended tomatoes and salt, and use the liquid that falls through in your next cocktail. The process takes little effort but, like a good cold brew or iced tea, it requires a slow, unhurried drip for the best results. (For the impatient, you should have enough for at least one cocktail after 20 to 30 minutes.)
Then, add it to a martini. By making a batch of tomato water with green heirlooms, the green tomato martini takes on a pale green hue. Combined with gin, dry and blanc vermouth, the drink pairs the distinct booziness of a traditional martini with a romp through the garden.
Prefer your martinis on the dirtier side? Add a bit more tomato water. Think of it almost as you would an olive brine, Ponche said. “Some people like a really dirty martini, and some people like just a splash,” she added. “Play around and see how much you like for yourself.”
If you’re looking for a non-alcoholic option that feels especially summery, combine your tomato water with fresh lemon juice and a touch of simple syrup for a take on lemonade. Or add non-alcoholic beer, cider or ginger beer.
For more instant gratification, grab a muddler (or the back of a wooden spoon or the end of a rolling pin). Smash a handful of yellow cherry tomatoes with sugar and salt, then add tequila, vermouth and lime juice, and top with sparkling wine to get a bright, bubbly yellow cherry tomato spritz.
Or, to make a rose-hued sherry-tomato cobbler, crush slices of red heirloom tomato with citrus and a simple tomato simple syrup, add amontillado sherry and strain over crushed ice. The tomato simple syrup adds candied complexity that plays off the nuttiness of the sherry. Leftovers can be used in most other cocktails that call for simple syrup.
Tomatoes play especially well with other summer fruits, Ponche said. Add a few strawberries or watermelon cubes to the shaker, spear cherry tomatoes on to a skewer, or add a sprig of mint, basil or dill.
(Good) tomatoes are abundant yet fleeting. Before the inevitable return to any-season bloody marys, grab a few ripe, heavy handfuls and get shaking.
Recipe: Green Tomato Martini
This pale green, gin-forward martini variation gets both its colour and lightly earthy, vegetal flavour from tomato water made exclusively with green tomatoes. If you’re looking to tint your drink another colour, feel free to swap in yellow or red tomatoes when making the tomato water, which takes very little effort but does take time. Save leftover tomato water in the refrigerator for two to three days and use in other rounds of martinis, combine with a light beer and a little hot sauce over ice, or use in place of water in lemonade.
By Rebekah Peppler
Volume: one drink
Ingredients:
- Ice
- 60ml London dry gin
- 30ml green tomato water (see tip)
- 15ml blanc vermouth
- 15ml dry vermouth
- Pickled green tomato or lemon twist, to finish if desired
Preparation:
1. Freeze a martini or Nick and Nora glass for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour. (You can also opt to fill the glass with ice and water, stir for 30 seconds, pour out the ice and water, and pour the finished drink into the now-chilled glass.)
2. In a cocktail shaker or mixing glass filled with ice, combine the gin, green tomato water, blanc vermouth and dry vermouth. Stir until very cold, about 30 seconds, then strain into the chilled cocktail glass. If serving with a pickled green tomato, thread a skewer through it, add to the glass and serve.
Tip: To make the green tomato water, combine 1 pound coarsely chopped, very ripe heirloom green tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon fine salt in a medium bowl. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes, then transfer the tomatoes and any released juices to a blender or food processor and pulse until a puree forms. In a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth, strain mixture into a bowl overnight in the refrigerator. Do not stir or press on the solids. The next day, discard the solids. Tomato water will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Recipe: Sherry-Tomato Cobbler
Muddled fresh tomatoes and sweet-savoury tomato simple syrup create layers of flavour in this summery take on a classic sherry cobbler, and a dry, nutty amontillado sherry adds even more complexity. To make the crushed ice at home, simply add standard ice cubes to a bag, wrap in a towel and crush with a rolling pin.
By Rebekah Peppler
Volume: one drink
Ingredients:
- 2 (1cm-thick) slices of ripe heirloom tomato
- 1/4 medium lemon
- 15ml tomato simple syrup (see tip)
- 75ml dry amontillado sherry
- Ice, plus more crushed ice, for serving
- Cherry tomatoes, for garnish, if desired
Preparation:
1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle together the tomato slices, lemon and tomato simple syrup. Add the sherry and ice cubes. Cover and shake vigorously.
2. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a chilled highball or Collins glass and top with enough crushed ice so that it mounds above the rim. Garnish with the cherry tomatoes and serve with a straw.
Tip: To make tomato simple syrup, roughly chop 1/2 large heirloom tomato, and add to a saucepan with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt. Muddle until the tomatoes are fully smashed and the sugar and salt start to dissolve. Add 1/4 cup water, stir to combine, then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and continue to just barely simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool completely, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to release all the liquid. Discard the solids. Refrigerate syrup in a tightly covered container for up to 1 week.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Rebekah Peppler
Photographs by: David Malosh
©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
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