Follow me here: You’ve bellied up the bar to mind your own business over a peaceful drink. Then, you witness something beyond the pale: a bartender pouring an ice-cold lager… and garnishing it with three olives and a squeeze of lemon. It almost feels sacrilegious, but it turns out that this isn’t an isolated incident. Enter: the Oklahoma Martini.
This definitive non-Martini might sound like nightmare fuel to some, but judging from the internet’s heated response, the pseudo-cocktail clearly has a fanbase of its own. The controversial drink has riled up social media over the past few weeks, offending Martini lovers and beer nerds alike: “It’s the soul of a michelada” one user shared. Another simply stated “hate fills me.” The root of this chaos? A reel from Viviana Gonzalez, @the_vivi_label, a Tulsa-based blogger who took to Instagram to share her favorite way to drink a Miller Lite. According to the video’s caption, Gonzalez has been drinking light beer with olives and lemon for years, but only recently heard a bartender refer to the drink as the Oklahoma Martini.
While some Oklahoma residents in the video’s comments say they’ve never seen this drink before, Instagram users from other states like Minnesota and Wisconsin have claimed the drink as their own. Is the Oklahoma Martini really just a spinoff of the long-adored South Dakota Martini, which sees its beer garnished with pickle slices? Or perhaps it’s a cousin of the Lunchbox, a beer-based cocktail popularized at beloved Oklahoma bar Enda’s Bar & Grill made with equal parts Coors Light and orange juice with a shot of amaretto. This drink’s other regional alter egos seem to include the Redneck Martini, the Poor Man’s Martini, Trailer Park Martini, or Arizona- and California-adjacent Desert Martini.
Beyond the drink’s origins, the brand of beer best suited for the olive and lemon treatment is also in contention. While some assert that PBR, Michelob Ultra, or Miller High Life are better options than the poster’s preferred Miller Lite, Gonzalez set the record straight with her definitive ranking: “Top choice is Miller Lite, but if not available I’ll take Coors Light, Michelob Ultra or High Life. Basically any light lager, I’ve even done Peroni like this!”
Over on TikTok, another video demonstrating how to make an Oklahoma Martini blew up. This version opted for Coors Light and an additional splash of olive juice for some extra brininess. This user’s account typically posts “golf course drinks,” so maybe this is a hint to who could possibly be drinking these concoctions?
Love it or hate it, it looks like the Oklahoma Martini is well positioned to keep spreading. Will it be the drink of the summer? Doubt it. But as beer lovers embrace light lagers again and the Dirty Martini remains ultra-popular, maybe this savory combination isn’t such a crime.
*Image retrieved from @the_vivi_label on Instagram
