Hear us out: Everything bagels and booze are an underrated combo. But forget the generous schmear of cream cheese. While you’re at it, lose the bagel, too. Everything bagel spice—an umami-rich, crunchy blend of poppy seeds, toasted sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and salt—is the martini rim garnish we didn’t know we needed.
Not convinced? Skeptics should tune their attention to Las Vegas’s Vanderpump À Paris, which features Le Dirty Bleu, an everything bagel spice-rimmed dirty gin martini complete with blue cheese-stuffed olives. It’s a super savory drink ideal for those allergic to saccharine-sweet cocktails.
The restaurant is the creation of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Lisa Vanderpump, whose love of alcoholic beverages is well-documented. (See: “Overserved with Lisa Vanderpump.”) But the addition of everything bagel spice was the idea of Vanderpump’s daughter, Pandora Vanderpump Sabo.
“There’s nothing like the hint of a little onion and garlic to make this the perfect savory drink!” she shares. We’re inclined to agree.
Vanderpump À Paris has served Le Dirty Bleus for awhile now—the drink has been on the menu since the early days of the spot’s opening in April of 2022—but it’s freshly on our minds because of this year’s upcoming Academy Awards. Those who’ve seen the much-lauded film Everything Everywhere All at Once know what we’re talking about.
Spoiler alert: An everything bagel gets major screen time.
Le Dirty Bleu Recipe
Adapted from Pandora Vanderpump Sabo, Vanderpump à Paris, Las Vegas, NV
Ingredients
Instructions
Fill your martini glass with ice and water to chill. Set aside.
In a mixing glass, add your gin and olive juice and fill with ice. Stir for 45 seconds until the mixing glass is frosted and ice cold.
Working quickly, discard the ice from the martini glass and place the everything bagel spice on a plate. Using a small brush or the edge of a napkin, wipe simple syrup under the rim of half of martini glass and immediately roll it in the everything bagel spice. If any of the spice is on the inside of the rim, wipe it away. (This prevents bits of everything bagel spice from floating into your martini.)
Add the vermouth to the martini glass. Roll the glass so the inside is coated with vermouth, then discard the liquid. Strain the gin and olive juice mixture into the glass.
Garnish with 3 blue cheese-stuffed olives skewered onto a sprig of rosemary.
*How to Make Extra-Thick Simple Syrup
Add 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and let simmer until thick and syrupy, about 5 mins. In a pinch, corn syrup can also work.
Last Updated: June 5, 2023
