Have a vodka bottle that needs to be finished. There are as many various types of mixed drinks as you can dream of, all with amazing vodka cocktails to try! Due to its delicate flavor, vodka readily takes on the flavor of a beverage. Consequently, it complements almost anything (unlike more distinctive liquors like whiskey). Almost anything is allowed when drinking vodka!
There are classy libations like the Gimlet and Cosmo, fruity vodka brews like the Bay Breeze, scorching libations like the Bloody Mary, and intriguing libations like the endless types of martinis. These vodka-based cocktails should be part of every enthusiast’s recipe collection. I want to go slowly to begin. Try these two-ingredient vodka beverages.
What is Vodka?
The two main ingredients used to make vodka are grains or potatoes. The clear liquor was historically associated with Russia and Poland, but it is now produced worldwide. The worldwide vodka market includes contributions from all of Europe and the United States. It’s consumed everywhere. The U.S. is close behind Russia and Eastern European nations regarding alcohol consumption. In addition, vodka is the most often used alcoholic beverage in cocktails, mixed drinks, and shots, making it a must in any bar.
Vodka falls into a broad and diverse group of alcoholic beverages, and unlike certain other spirits, its manufacture is not subject to any fixed rules. Because grain is typically fermented and distilled to create vodka, which has a Russian heritage, it is frequently referred to as a “neutral grain spirit.” This can be any grain the distiller uses, including corn, rye, and wheat. Although almost anything can be used to make vodka, you can discover varieties made from beets and grapes. Poland and other potato-growing regions, including Idaho and Scandinavia, have long been known for their potato vodka.
Here are the Top Vodka Drinks
Vodka Gimlet
Give this vodka gimlet a try! This classy retro cocktail has a sleek aesthetic and a tart, refreshing flavor. Why use vodka to make a gimlet when gin is the preferred spirit? It has a smoother flavor. The vodka gimlet is a pleasant alternative, even though we adore the botanical flavors that gin adds. This is how to do it! A variation on the traditional gimlet, normally made with gin, is a vodka gimlet.
A traditional cocktail called a gimlet is created with two parts gin and one part lime juice. There may be a splash of soda water added occasionally. Substitute vodka for the gin in the gin-based variant. What’s in a vodka gimlet, exactly?
Classic Moscow Mule
The traditional Moscow mule is here! Although this beverage was created in the 1940s, it is currently enjoying popularity. It looks impressive, tastes tangy and bubbly, and it drinks easily. It takes three ingredients and 3 minutes to prepare, making it ideal for gatherings or a relaxing evening on the patio. It might be one of our favorite drinks, next to the margarita. However, how can we choose just one? Here’s the recipe for this cool vodka cocktail!
A Moscow mule is not mixed in a cocktail shaker because the drink’s main component is the ginger beer’s carbonation. It’s blended in the mug and poured over ice to maintain the carbonation. Not even a cocktail shaker is required! It is one of the simplest cocktail recipes available as a result. What you should do is:
Vodka Tonic
Test out the vodka tonic! This Gin & Tonic variant emphasizes citrusy bubbles over alcoholic beverages. Tonic water is a carbonated beverage that is also somewhat sweetened and includes quinine. While vodka blends seamlessly with tonic water, gin is more botanical and alcohol-forward. Because of this, the alcohol content of some drinks may be completely undetectable (take caution!). Even though it’s straightforward, there are a few tricks to preparing the perfect vodka tonic. Here’s how to prepare this cocktail with just two ingredients!
Tonic water was traditionally used in cocktails for its subtle flavor and to provide bubbles to the liquor. It has a flavor that is simultaneously fizzy, sharp, sweet, and a little sour. There are many different tonic water brands available nowadays. Our favorite brand is Q Tonic, which comes in little cans just enough for a few drinks and has a fantastic flavor.
Cosmopolitan Cocktail
Yes, it’s a Cosmo, with its bright pink hue and zesty, energizing flavor. Specifically, a Cosmopolitan cocktail. This fantastic beverage is ready to liven up your upcoming gathering, whether a dinner party or cocktails with friends on the patio. It occasionally causes purists to scoff and was at its height in the 1990s (hello, Sex and the City). BUT! The Cosmo is a simple sour cocktail that is worthwhile to consume; its stunning hue is justification enough.
Here, Alex and I have given it a contemporary twist. This is how to do it! We’ve created many cocktail recipes for you, the home cook, Alex, and me! You don’t need an expert mixologist to prepare our drinks because they are simple to make! We have many variations of classic cocktails, like the French 75, the Moscow Mule, the whiskey sour, the gin fizz, and more.
Vodka Sour
The Cosmopolitan Cocktail, another fancy-named beverage, and the vodka sour are comparable. The Cosmo is just a vodka sour tinted bright pink with cranberry juice. Of course, it substitutes orange liqueur for the bitters and white egg foam (in this case, Cointreau). A Vodka Gimlet is an alternative to the vodka sour! The gimlet’s key distinction is that lime juice is used instead of lemon juice.
Additionally, bitters and white egg froth are skipped. Both of these are fantastic cocktails that we wholeheartedly suggest trying! Prepare yourself for this vodka sour, then!
A unique vodka cocktail you must try is the vodka sour! This beverage has a white egg foam that creates a creamy, frothy topping and is refreshingly sweet and tangy. It has a retro feel because of the foam, making it dazzling for entertaining. But because it’s so simple to cook, it’s ideal for a relaxed evening with cocktails or a lazy afternoon on the porch. Since Alex and I both enjoy sour drinks like the Whiskey Sour, we decided to try them all.
Classic Bloody Mary
Read on! Alex and I have created more homemade cocktail recipes than we can count. Let us assure you that we have spent a lot of time perfecting the Bloody Mary mix recipe. It turns out that there are a few tricks to preparing the best possible version of this traditional cocktail. The greatest Bloody Mary recipe is provided below: simultaneously salty, sour, flavorful, and hot.
Although it’s perfect for breakfast, we’ll admit we want these anytime. Unlike most cocktail recipes, this one makes enough Bloody Mary mix for four cocktails. You can use it for entertaining or store the leftovers in the refrigerator if you only want one serving. Here’s how to create a Bloody Mary the right way:
Vodka Cranberry Cocktail
The vodka cranberry cocktail is one of the simplest to prepare. It merely has a small number of components and has a tangy, refreshing flavor. Even better—or worse?—it is simple to swallow. So that the alcohol is not overpowering, the flavor is perfectly matched. We had some extra cranberry juice after preparing Cosmos, and Alex and I both enjoy cranberry cocktail recipes.
We made a vodka cranberry drink with the leftovers, and it was delicious. This is how you create the traditional, straightforward cocktail. Unbelievable as it may seem, the cranberry firm Ocean Spray (you know, the one) invented this popular beverage. What a sales tactic! We still enjoy them, even though they were created in the 1940s.
White Russian
The ingredients for the White Russian cocktail are vodka, heavy cream, and coffee liqueur. It’s a Black Russian variant made with just vodka and coffee liqueur. The Black Russian was allegedly invented in 1949 in a hotel bar in Brussels for the American ambassador to Luxembourg (read more about that here). Therefore, the beverage is not Russian; it was just given the vodka’s name. In Oakland, California, in 1955, the tradition of adding cream to a White Russian was born.
It gives the beverage a richness and creamy mouthfeel that are nearly latte-like (and spiked, no less!). The 1998 cult classic film The Big Lebowski contributed to the White Russian’s meteoric rise in popularity. By chance, this is where we heard about this beverage! After seeing the main character, “the Dude,” consume beverage after beverage… It would help if you gave it a try for yourself.
Vodka Collins
The Vodka Collins cocktail is a highball beverage with vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda water. It’s a variation on the traditional drink the Tom Collins, which has been around since at least 1869 and was allegedly named after a waiter by that name in London. The tall glass it is served in is frequently referred to as a “Collins glass,” and it has given rise to numerous varieties, such as the John Collins (with whiskey).
Unknown to when the Vodka Collins first appeared, it is a well-liked variant on the theme. Although you might not realize it right away, the ingredients are identical to those of sparkling vodka lemonade. You will require the following ingredients:
Vodka Soda
Watering down spirits is a long-standing idea. A highball drink called vodka soda is created with vodka, lime juice, and soda water. The cocktail, created in the 1880s, is related to the Gin Rickey! A few years after it was first developed with bourbon, it quickly gained popularity with gin by mixing the liquor with lime juice and soda water. The Aperol Spritz, Ranch Water, Mojito, and Whiskey Highball are more cocktails that use this idea.
This drink appeals to some individuals since it is regarded as a “healthy cocktail” and contains fewer calories than a typical cocktail. This beverage contains 135 calories, of which 131 are provided by the 2 ounces of vodka. What is the calorie count of a vodka soda? What about in comparison to other cocktails? Here is a comparison of several common beverages and vodka soda’s calorie content:
What does Vodka Taste Like?
Vodka is infamous for having a bland flavor. Instead, the mouthfeel, or texture on the tongue, is a stylistic distinction between brands. Absolut, for example, has an oily, velvety feel with a hint of sweetness. Others, like Stolichnaya, are clear, watery, and have a medicinal aftertaste. However, the vodka industry of today goes much beyond these earlier traits, making it challenging to group all vodkas into a small number of specific categories.
If you try enough different kinds of vodka, you will start to notice the distinctions. There are substantial variations among vodkas, and vodka is not always flavorless or odorless. Vodka has a delicate flavor that frequently resembles a clear grain. It’s comparable to the flavor distinction between bottled water and tap water. You can readily detect when you drink unfiltered water if you pay attention to it.
Another phrase you may hear is vodka’s heat. This is another sign of a vodka’s smoothness—the burn that becomes apparent on the tongue or back of the throat when you drink it straight. The care a distiller takes to produce a clean vodka, notably in the number of distillations and the filtering technique, frequently determines the heat. Premium products are typically smooth and unobtrusive, whereas less expensive brands can cause mouth and throat burning.
Flavors
The market for flavored vodka has grown, and every taste you can imagine is available somewhere. Popular vodka flavors include those that taste like chocolate, espresso, and various chocolates and desserts. Vodkas are flavored with various fruits, including melon, pineapple, pomegranate, and many kinds of berries. Vanilla and citrus (a single fruit or a combination of fruits) are the most widely consumed flavors. Even more unusual flavors exist, such as salmon, bacon, hemp, and tobacco, though they are typically novelties that don’t stay on the market for long.
Some flavored vodkas are made using the age-old infusion technique, which involves steeping fresh fruit, herbs, and other components in a finished vodka. However, many vodkas merely mix in extras like extracts of natural or synthetic flavors. Most are bottled at 70 proof because of the flavoring additions.
Additionally, simple is creating your vodka infusion. You may make flavor combinations that are interesting to use in a range of drinks by starting with clear vodka and combining fresh fruits, herbs, and spices.
How to Drink Vodka?
Vodka is usually consumed neat, either slowly as a sipper or swiftly as a shot. It goes down easier if the bottle is chilled, and some prefer to serve it on the rocks. For a smoother drink, straight vodka can also be shaken or mixed with ice before being filtered into a glass.
Its lack of flavor makes it so popular as an ingredient in cocktails. This makes it possible for a drink’s other components to take center stage, which is why vodka is used in cocktails and shots with every conceivable flavor and aesthetic. It functions equally well in vodka and soda, mixed drinks with layers of fruit, and martinis.
Is Vodka Good for your Health?
Vodka can improve your body’s blood flow and circulation, which can help you avoid clots, strokes, and other cardiac conditions. Additionally, vodka can reduce cholesterol. And it’s typically regarded as lower-calorie booze for people watching their weight. Vodka was created for much more than martinis and mules. You might be surprised to find that the spirit was initially developed as a form of medicine (something Princess Margaret would have known given her indulgent morning ritual) and that it continues to have several health advantages.
Therefore, keep this in mind the next time you decide what kind of cocktail to order: Natural antiseptics and disinfectants are found in vodka. It can be used to clean your home, heal wounds, and relieve toothaches. You might be shocked by how many cleaning and hygiene items you use around the house, including alcohol. Vodka can improve your body’s blood flow and circulation, which can help you avoid clots, strokes, and other cardiac conditions. Additionally, vodka can reduce cholesterol. And it’s typically regarded as lower-calorie booze for people watching their weight. (See these “healthy” vodka cocktail recipes.) Of course, everything is in moderation.
Conclusion
Vodka is often distilled at least three times because it is a rectified spirit. Some are distilled five or more times. The number of distillations a vodka brand’s product has undergone is regularly stated in the advertising. The number of distillations will likely impact how pure and supple the final product is. This is true in general. On each trip through the still, vodka frequently loses its “heads” and “tails.” These distillate components are at the top and bottom of a batch of finished goods. If the distillate is only the “heart,” the vodka is purer and has fewer impurities.
Vodka may be filtered after distillation, frequently using charcoal. Vodka doesn’t need to age and is always ready to drink. However, it is diluted with water to reduce the alcohol content from still strength to bottling proof, typically 40% by volume (ABV, 80 proof). 100-proof vodka and above are available, though less frequently.
