February 12, 2025

The Gibson Cocktail

No, the Gibson cocktail was not named after Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers who hit a clutch home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

The Gibson is a classic and a ducky break from the prevalent olive martini as it is garnished with a pickled onion rather than the familiar olive or lemon twist.

History

The Gibson is said to be created by San Francisco businessman Walter D.K. Gibson in the late 1800s on a visit to his favorite local watering hole, the Bohemian Club. Gibson believed eating onions had the added benefit of prevented colds, so he added this particular garnish. Thereafter, the Gibson martini cocktail appeared in the 1908 book, The World’s Drinks And How To Mix Them by William Boothby.

And if you remember, this gorgeous little martini-varietal including pearled onion was featured in the Alfred Hitchcock film from 1959 North by Northwest. There on a train ride into Chicago both Cary Grant and young blonde actress Eva Marie Saint share a precious and romantic cocktail moment.

Your local grocery store may carry a variety of pearled onions or pickled onion brands. Mezzetta is a popular bartender standard and one we recommend. Just a heads up that although it is the featured “garnish” for this cocktail, the onion flavor will impact positively or not so positively the taste of your drink. So if you’re the adventurous type you may want to test the many pearled or pickled onion brands before inviting everyone over to your place for featured cocktail night.

The choice of which onion to use with Gin or Vodka is based on personal taste as we mentioned. But the rule of thumb is that the pickled brine works best with Vodka while herbal infused onions might be best with a Gin.

Ingredients

  2 ounces London Dry style gin or Grey Goose Vodka
3/4 ounce dry vermouth
2-3 pickled cocktail Bermuda onions, for garnish and some ice

Instructions

  1. In a mixing glass 2/3 filled with ice, pour in the gin and vermouth. Stir with a mixing spoon (do not use a shaker) until well-chilled.
  2. Strain into a chilled coupe or Martini glass.
  3. Garnish with a couple of pickled Bermuda onions speared with a cocktail pick. And serve.

One more thing! You may be asking what is vermouth? Vermouth is a fortified wine, meaning liquor has been added to the wine to preserve it. There are two main types of vermouth: sweet vermouth (usually red) and dry vermouth (usually white). You’ll want to select a dry white vermouth for the Gibson. Once opened the vermouth remains good to serve for about three months.

A Gibson is very special and we at IrishTipple absolutely love it!

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