You can now buy “drinking pickle juice” that comes in a can

2018 is the year of the pickle. Not content with enjoying the occasional acidic green sausage fished from the bottom of a 10-year-old jar, people have apparently decided that every food under the sun needs to be crossed with a pickle in one way or another. First we had pickle slushies. Then it was pickle ice cream. Now we’ve made it to November, there seems to be little sign that the madness will stop.

Credit: Pixabay/SKuptsova

Since pickles have now conquered all aspects of food, one company has taken the next logical step in the bar snack’s bid for total world domination. Thanks to Washington D.C-based pickle specialists “Gordy’s Pickle Jar”, it is now possible to buy a can of pickle juice. The food industry might just have hit rock bottom.

“Fine Brine” offers fanatics a slightly more sophisticated alternative to secretly sipping juice from a crusty old pickle jar. Available in 12oz four-packs, the drink is supposedly designed as a mixer for drinks at the twisted end of the spectrum. If you’re a fan of picklebacks or pickled martinis, this could well be what you have been waiting for. As for the rest of us, the idea sounds even stupider than pickle soap – apparently, also a thing.

According to company founder Sarah Gordon, the cans are everything that the ardent pickle fan has been missing from their fridge. Speaking to “Tasting Table”, Gordon revealed that “It’s literally a burst of acid and flavor all in one that brightens cocktails and dishes in a very subtle, balanced way. It rounds out cocktails and cooking recipes similar to how a pinch of salt does.”

Even if the idea of drinking pure pickle juice fills you with disgust, there are some potential uses for the new product. Fine Brine itself is actually a by-product of Gordy’s “Hot Chilli Spears”, meaning that it has a real zing and chilli heat to it. This makes it a potentially interesting, if slightly disturbing addition to the kitchen cupboard. In her interview, Gordon also added that “It’s a very natural extension of our existing product line, as we have always encouraged our customers to repurpose their leftover brine and to start thinking of pickle juice as an ingredient in its own right.” Maybe there is a reason to buy canned pickle juice after all.

As strange as it might seem, the rest of the world look like their getting on board with this next stage in pickle evolution. Gordy’s Pickle Jar are apparently, “just starting to really roll out distribution,” suggesting that sales are surprisingly strong for what is literally leftover vinegar and old chillies. In fact, if you head to the Gordy’s website, you’ll find that the new product is “Temporarily Sold Out” – proof that pickle juice cans might not be as mad as most of us thought.

There’s still a way to go before drinking pickle juice in public becomes socially acceptable. But for those who’ve had to keep their pickle obsession to themselves, this new product is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Maybe making everything taste like it belongs under the counter of a shabby speakeasy isn’t as bad we all thought.