If you are going to travel down the organic food road, why not embrace it whole hog and order your drinks organic as well? In most areas such commitment to eating and drinking clean is not an option, but in several New York eateries, organic drinks are moving into the mainstream.

The whole concept of organic alcohol might seem a bit off, after all the idea behind alcohol is to create a concoction that might not be pure in its intentions -albeit an often tasty and comforting one. But the movement behind bringing alcohol into the organic realm involves using ingredients and spirits distilled from grains, fruit or sugarcane that have been certified organic. One restaurant that is on the forefront of the clean drink movement is Counter, an East Village vegetarian-slash-vegan bistro. The eatery has always served organic food and when the restaurant decided to start serving liquor the logical choice was to pursue organic spirits as well.

In addition to giving the clientele more options, organic drinks are helping to give clean eating a different image. The picture of a hemp clothed, clove smelling hippie knocking back a Cosmopolitan does not ring quite true. Organic alcohol just might be the bridge needed to span the gap that the colorful, stylish, hair product loving population is afraid to cross, lest they end up in an all brown, hemp clothed world where everything reeks of patchouli. Below is The Dirtiest Martini recipe served up on a daily basis by Counter.

The Dirtiest Martini

4 ounces basil-infused organic vodka*
1 1/4 ounces olive juice
Splash of vermouth
3 pitted Spanish green queen olives, skewered
1 organic basil leaf.

Shake the liquid ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled martini glass, and garnish with the olive skewer and basil leaf.

*To infuse the vodka, place 10 basil leaves in a 750-ml bottle of organic vodka (Rain vodka, distilled in Kentucky from organic corn, is a good choice) for two hours. Be careful not to over infuse. You want a mild flavor and fragrance, not basil cologne.