Something New To Do With Vodka

[MrWookie]

I've had a bottle of Fris and a bottle of Rain in my bar for quite some time now, but I seldom reach for them. Generally, they sit idle while I make myself something with gin, whiskey, brandy or occasionally rum. One of the few things I do consistently use vodka for is the so-called Drink Without a Name, which I got out of Paul Harrington's book:

2 oz vodka
1/4 oz Cointreau
1/8 oz Chartreuse

Stir w/ ice, strain, and garnish w/ a twist of orange.

This is a good drink, but I'm not often in the mood for Chartreuse's bizarre herbal kick, so I don't make it that much. Consequently, I'm looking for something else to do with vodka and turning to the El D Forum for help. I figure the readership here is most likely to come up with things that aren't sugary concoctions named after the female anatomy or have their creativity stop at the vodka martini or vodka plus some mixer. Here are the things I'm looking for in the drink.

1. It should taste good.
2. Vodka should be the best choice for the liquor in the drink, and not just filling in for something else like in the vodka martini.

Thanks for the help, guys, and I'll be sure to report back on anything that sounds interesting.

[El Diablo]

Wookie,

vodka
muddle w/ some basil and mint
lime juice

Drink on a hot day.

[adsman]

I just love the Caipiroska, which is a Caiprinha with vokda instead of cachaca.

Muddle half a lime cut into wedges and two teaspoons of sugar in an old fashioned glass. Fill the glass with ice and add a good dollop of vodka.

[guids]

infused vodka.

I have a bottle of fresh cherry infused that I mix with diet sprite, its good, and also a bottle of dried jalapeños that I actually havent tried, I will probably have some saturday w/ a bloddy marry and some steak and eggs for bfast to kick off a long day of drinking.

[divides_by_zero]

I'm not a huge fan of vodka - I generally turn to it as the night progresses since I can't taste the difference anyway.

Having said that - I was incredibly pleasantly surprised by how well white cranberry juice mixed with it. Everyone is familiar with the vodka cranberry, but I still felt like it was just liquor and a mixer. The white cranberry is much subtler and just seems to complement the vodka properly.

I then add a splash of ginger ale or sprite because I like a little carbonation to tie it all together.

Cliff notes: Vodka, White Cranberry Juice, Ginger ale (or light soda of preference)

[BeaucoupFish]

[ QUOTE ]
infused vodka.


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Flavoured / infused vodka was incredibly popular about 12 years or so ago, at least in London. I used to live around the corner from the Dog Star in Brixton, and they had tons of variations at that time (I particularly enjoyed the Mars Vodka - yum!). This was before Smirnoff etc started bottling vanilla and other variations.

[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
infused vodka.


[/ QUOTE ]

Flavoured / infused vodka was incredibly popular about 12 years or so ago, at least in London. I used to live around the corner from the Dog Star in Brixton, and they had tons of variations at that time (I particularly enjoyed the Mars Vodka - yum!). This was before Smirnoff etc started bottling vanilla and other variations.

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Yeah, we did that about the same time in a bar I worked in. Lined up 30 bottles of stoli and went sick. One of the most interesting was the banana vodka. In Australia there is this banana candy crap, and we stuffed them into one bottle. Girls went sick for it. We kept all the bottles lined up behind the bar with a light behind them, and duplicates in the freezer. Served straight up.

[miajag]

[ QUOTE ]
Wookie,

vodka
muddle w/ some basil and mint
lime juice

Drink on a hot day.

[/ QUOTE ]

Add some tonic and that sounds quite excellent.

[El Diablo]

mia: Ugh, I actually meant to add soda to that. Not tonic, though!

All: Infused vodkas are pretty common in quite a few bars in SF. Generally they are a more intense flavor than most flavored bottled vodkas. Hangar One is one brand that has some really great intense flavored vodkas, Kaffir Lime being my favorite.

[MrWookie]

El D,

Basil? That's something I didn't expect to see at all, but I now have to try this drink.