It ’s sour . It ’s briny . For some , it ’s disgust . For others , a godsend .
It ’s the pickleback jibe , an strange combination of drinking whisky and pickle seawater that has quickly become a bartending staple . Case in point ? Kelly Lewis , manager of New York City ’s popularCrocodile Lounge , forecast she sellsat least100 pickleback blastoff every hebdomad .
Pickleback loyalist may swear by it , but how did this peculiar conjugation make its way into cocktail culture ? On today’sNational Pickle Day , we rack up the liquor story books to chance out .
PICKLEBACK HISTORY , AS WE KNOW IT
As cyberspace fable has it , Reggie Cunningham , a former employee of Brooklyn dive barBushwick Country Club , invented the guessing in March 2006 . He was half bartending , half breast feeding a katzenjammer with McClure ’s pickles , when a client challenge him to join her in doing a shot of Old Crow Bourbon dynasty whisky followed by a shot of pickle succus as a chaser . As he nostalgically secern YouTube channelAwesome Dreams , " the rest is history . "
Cunningham proceed on to put in the coupling to more and more customer , and the demand raise so much that he decided to bear down an extra dollar per shot , just for the addition of fix saltwater . After that , the mixture spread like wildfire , with bars across the world from New York to California and China to Amsterdam adding " pickleback " to their menu .
THE PICKLEBACK ‘S UNCLEAR ORIGIN
Sure , Cunningham may havenamedit the pickleback burgeon forth , but after review mixed reports , it appears pickle juice as a chaser is scarcely novel . In Texas , for example , pickle brine was paired with tequila well before Cunningham ’s find , according toMen ’s Journal . And in Russia , pickles have long been used to succeed vodka shots , according to anNPRreport on traditional Russian cuisine .
regrettably , no true , Britannica - sanction record of the pickleback ’s origin exist , like so many do for other popular drinks , from theManhattanto theGin Rickey ; it ’s cyberspace hearsay — and in this case , Cunningham ’s tale is on top .
SO , WHY PICKLES ?
Not sold yet ? Sure , a pickle ’s most coarse fellow isa sandwich , but the piquant snack and its seawater have terrific taste - masking powers .
" citizenry who do n’t like the taste of whiskey love taking picklebacks because they completely cut the taste , which makes the shots very easy to drink , " Lewis told Mental Floss . " Plus , they sum a bit of salt , which blends nicely with the placid tone of Jameson . "
Beyond preference masking , pickle juice is also a commonly usedhangover cure , with the mind being that the piquant saltwater willreplenish electrolytesand reduce cramp . In fact , after a famed NFL " pickle succus game " in 2000 , during which the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the Dallas Cowboys in 109 degree atmospheric condition ( with the Eagles crediting their trainer for recommending they drink the sour juice throughout the game),studieshave seemed to confirm that drinks with a vinegarish base like jam juice can serve boil down or lighten muscle cramping .
WAYS TO PARTAKE
While nub pickleback ingredients always necessitate , well , jam , each stripe tends to have a signature expressive style . For example , Lewis verify by Crocodile Lounge ’s admixture of pickle brine and Jameson ; it pairs perfectly with the bar ’s loose savory pizza served with each crapulence .
For Cunningham , the " Pickleback OG , " it ’s Old Crow and brine from McClure ’s pickles . And on the more daring side , rather than doing a chaser shot of pickle juice , Café Samof Pittsburgh mixes jalapeños , homemade pickle juice , and gin together for a " hot and moody martini . "
If pickles and whiskey are n’t up your bowling alley , you may still get in on the pickle - liquor move with one of the newer version , include a " beet pickleback " or — gulp!—the pickle - egg and Jägermeister shoot , also known as anEggermeister .
