Brine from pickled onions, beetroot, pickles and even oysters is now a fixture on bar menus across the UK

If Donald Trump has ruined Diet Coke for you, perhaps the answer is following Dua Lipa’s lead. In a now viral video, the pop star empties the best part of a can of it into a cup filled with ice. To this she adds the brine from a tub of pickles, followed by the brine from a tub of jalapeños. Using both hands, she sips it like it’s hot chocolate.

It may seem like the latest in a series of drinks-based social experiments that only the most successful and famous can get us to try (see Tom Hanks’ Diet Cokagne, or Diet Coke and champagne). But in truth it seems the singer is on to something. Over the past few months, when it comes to cocktails, there’s been a notable uptick in all things salty and filthy.

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