VODKA MADE SIMPLE

BY

KYLE SABRAW
 COPYRIGHT 2016

KYLE SABRAW

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Vodka Made Simple

Vodka is an underrated and misunderstood liquor. At its most basic,

it’s cheap, flavorless and completely inoffensive, like a primetime
sitcom on CBS. And, because it is completely flavorless and
inoffensive, most people never really give it a second thought after
it’s gone (much like a primetime sitcom on CBS). It is often times
a person’s first experience with any distilled spirits (in the U.S. at
least), and, for most people, is usually just used as a means to an
end. I’m hoping this book will change your thinking on that.

For as popular as it has become, vodka has been mostly forgotten

about by modern “craft” bartenders and mixologists, and many
have declined to promote its usage. In the past ten years or so, the
cocktail world has awoken from a 50 year slumber, and has moved
past the overly sweet, fruit juice and sexual innuendo heavy drinks
of the late 20th century and moved on to bolder, more complex
cocktails. Whiskey and gin have become the darling of the modern
craft cocktail movement, while vodka has been left behind and
looked down upon, almost as if it were to be blamed for dark ages
of bartending. It’s not vodka’s fault though. Really. Sure, it’s not
going to be as exciting as a 25 year old single malt Scotch, or as
intense as a 100 proof rye whiskey, but it has its own great
qualities and nuances if you’re just willing to give it your time and
a little extra love.
There are hundreds of different bottles of vodka on the market
now, from dozens of different distilleries, and even some celebrities
have their own vodka lines now! It has become incredibly trendy
and, because it is so cheap and easy to produce, the market has
been flooded with these low quality offerings. The sad thing for
me, as a former bartender, is many people randomly pick one of
these bottles and stick with it, simply because trying to find a good
bottle can be difficult or a bit intimidating. After reading this book,
you’ll have the knowledge to branch out and start you way on
discovering this fascinating spirit. You’ll learn what exactly makes
vodka unique, what goes in it and how it’s made, and a few
different ways to use it, and a short list of vodka bottlings to buy.
I’ve even included a free sample of my book Booze Basics! So read
on, and discovery the world of vodka!
What Exactly is Vodka?
What is vodka? Before we start to really drink it or mix with it, we
should know exactly what vodka is and isn't. Vodka is defined in
the United States as a spirit without any defining taste, odor, or
characteristics. It cannot be aged, have any additives that change
the taste, odor, or coloring, and has to be put into the bottle at a
minimum of 80 proof, or 40% alcohol.

That's it.

There are no long aging times, no ancient stills to be used, no exotic

fruits or spices, not even any rules on what it has to be made from.
There are no wooden barrels stacked up in warehouses, waiting for
years for the vodka to be ready, no endangered tropical fruit that
can only be harvested once a year, no airs, and no pretentiousness.
Vodka can be made from almost anything; wheat, corn, potatoes,
and beets are all used to make vodkas that are popular around the
world. At its heart, vodka is just the pure essence of a cocktail-it's
stripped down, no-frills, nothing in your way intoxicating
fun. There is nothing to stop and savor and contemplate over; it is
a true everyman's (or woman's) spirit. Reasons like these are what
helped it grow from a niche product that Eastern European
immigrants drank to one of the most popular spirits in the world,
and the number one selling spirit in America.

Unlike Bourbons, Scotches, or Tequilas, Vodka can be produced

anywhere. Vodka has traditionally been the drink of Eastern
Europe, with it being made mostly in Russia, Poland, Sweden and
Finland. However, there has been an explosion of vodka brands in
the past fifty years, and many new bottlings have come from the
United States. American vodkas are usually made from a mix of
grains, such as barley and wheat, while Poland has prided itself on
rye and potato based vodka. Russia and Sweden have made
spectacular wheat based vodkas, and the Finns have historically
used barley for theirs. Less commonly used ingredients are corn,
like in Rain vodka, grapes, such as in Ciroc, or sugar beets, such as
in BET. While vodkas aim to please as many drinkers as they can,
and so have little in the way of character or body, these different
vodkas can end up having subtle differences, which will be
discussed later in this book.

While there are no strict rules on distillation, almost all distilleries

do a few things the same way. The wash, or fermented liquid, is
poured into a still, and distilled several times until the liquid gets as
close to 190 proof, or 95% alcohol, as possible. After the wash
reaches the desired proof, the distiller will filter it several times-
usually through charcoal, sometimes through diamonds-and bring
the final alcohol content down to 80 proof (or 75 proof in Europe)
and bottle it without any aging. The number of distillations and
filtrations differs from distiller to distiller, with many using the
number of these as a marketing point. The only major producer
that is an exception to this process would be Karlsson's Gold
potato vodka, which only distills their vodka once to create a very
flavorful, full bodied product that seems to push the boundaries of
what a vodka can be.

Vodka as a final product looks deceptively simple to make. It's

perfectly clear, and contains just alcohol and water. How hard can
distilling it be? What buyers don't see is all the hard work and raw
goods that go into each bottle. Remember the Karlsson's Gold that
was mentioned earlier? Well, behind each 750ml bottle is an
amazing 17lbs of potatoes that were grown, harvested, fermented,
and distilled! The process is almost the exact same for each bottle
of vodka on the market, and many producers take pride in where
their product was grown (44 Degrees North's potatoes are grown
at 44 degrees north latitude), when it was harvested (Absolut's
winter wheat), how many times it was distilled (L'Chaim vodka is
distilled 18 times), and what water was used (LEAF uses Alaskan
glacier water). While each of these distillers has something unique
about their production process, all vodkas are made in the same
basic manner: fermentation, distillation, hydration, filtration, and
bottling.

The first step in the process is the fermentation. The distiller

chooses the base material he or she wants to use, usually barley,
rye, wheat, or potatoes (really, anything with fermentable sugars
can be used). These are then ground up, soaked in water, and
heated to extract the sugars. Yeast is then added to the slurry. The
yeasts consume the sugar, and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide
as byproducts. The yeasts continue to ferment the sugars until the
desired proof, or alcohol by volume (ABV) is reached. The low
alcohol solution, or wash, is then strained off of the solids and
added to a still.

The next step of the process is distillation. The process of

distillation is made possible because of the chemical differences
between alcohol and water. Because alcohol is less dense, it takes
less energy to heat it and boils at a much lower temperature than
water does-173 Fahrenheit compared to 212 Fahrenheit. Since
water cannot boil until it reaches 212 Fahrenheit, if the distiller can
keep the temperature close to 173, he or she can boil off a vapor
that is almost completely alcohol, making for a cleaner and more
pure product. However, as the temperature rises and more water is
included in the distillate, more impurities, or congeners, are
included in the product. Some of these congeners can add extra
flavor and body to a spirit, but most vodka distillers aim to include
as few of these as possible. Other congeners can cause some to be
sick, and need to be distilled out entirely. M ost of these congeners
are in the beginning and end of a distillation cycle, called the heads
and tails. The distiller has to decide when to cut, or discard, these
parts. M ost distillers will then re-distill the heads and tails until
they get their desired product.

There are two types of stills that most modern distillers use:
alembic, or pot stills, and Coffey, or column stills.

The alembic (pot) still uses an older technique and is not usually
used by vodka distillers today. In a pot still, the wash is poured
into a large copper kettle, or pot, that has a long tapered neck on
top. The wash is then heated by a heating element on the bottom
of the kettle, bringing the temperature of the wash over
173 Fahrenheit, the boiling point of alcohol. Since alcohol boils at a
lower temperature than water does, it will turn into a vapor first,
leaving the water behind in the kettle. The alcohol vapor then
travels up the neck, and down into coiled copper pipes inside a tub
of cold water. The water cools down the pipe, causing the alcohol
vapor to re-condense into a liquid. The liquid then drips out of the
pipes as a higher proof liquid, and is added back into the kettle to
be redistilled until it reaches the desired quality/strength. The
drawback with this method is the kettle must be shut off and
cleaned in between each distillation, which makes each run take
significantly longer than with a column still, and the temperature is
typically harder to control. On the plus side, though, pot stills are
much better than column stills at keeping the congeners in spirit,
which some distillers aim to do.

The second type of still usually used is a Coffey, or column still

(sometimes called a "continuous still"). This still was invented by a
man named Aeneas Coffey in the 19th century, around 1800 years
after the alembic still. This still is preferred by most distillers
because of its ease of use and ability to make a more pure spirit. A
column still is shaped like a giant copper cylinder. Inside the
cylinder is a series of perforated plates with tubing to let liquid and
vapor move between plates. Steam is pumped in to the bottom of
the still, and the wash is pumped in close to the top. The wash
flows across the plates and down the tubes, called "downcomers",
while the steam rises to the top through the perforations. As the
steam rises, it heats up the plates, which heats up and distills the
wash. As the wash hits each plate, it recondenses and redistills.
Each time it redistills, it becomes higher in alcohol, and more and
more congeners are left behind on the plates; in essence each plate
acts as a separate distillation in the still (this is one way most
distillers can claim their vodka is distilled "x" number of times).
Then, like the pot still, the alcohol vapor exits the still through
piping near the top, recondenses through cold water, and comes out
as a liquor. Another advantage to the column still is that there is no
need to shut off the still between runs, allowing the distiller to
produce large volumes of product quickly and cheaply, which
vodka distillers love.
At the end of the distillation process, the liquor produces is
usually around 190 proof, or 95% ABV. Since this is far too
alcoholic and raw for most consumers to drink comfortably, the
distiller then adds water to bring the liquor down to around 110
proof, or 55% ABV. This is not done as simply as dumping a few
buckets of water into a vat of vodka. Like I mentioned earlier, since
alcohol and water have two different densities, the water needs to
be added in a slow, methodical manner in order to let the two
properly combine.

After the water is added, the vodka then needs to be filtered. There
are usually two filtration steps. The first filtration is done to
remove any congeners or impurities that might have made it
through the distillation. This step usually consists of running the
vodka through charcoal. The charcoal bonds to certain organic
elements, (and even a few non-organic, such as chlorine), taking
them out of the solution. This can be done in any number of ways.
Some distilleries filter their vodka drip-by-drip through a column
of charcoal, while other pump their vodka through charcoal filled
tubing. Still others simply let their vodka sit in a vat of charcoal,
and empty it out after a period of time.

The second step is "chill filtration"; this step is necessary to

achieve a crystal clear spirit. Even after the charcoal filtration,
small amounts of proteins are still present in the vodka. These are
unnoticeable until the vodka is brought down below freezing, or 32
degrees Fahrenheit. At these temperatures, the proteins can come
out of the solution and coagulate, which causes a cloudy
appearance. This doesn't change the flavor at all, but it can make
the vodka look slightly dirty. To prevent this, the vodka is brought
down to freezing temps, allowing the proteins to coagulate, and is
then run again through a very fine filter.

Once all of these steps are completed, the vodka is ready for
bottling. Since vodkas by law cannot be aged, all that's left to do
for the distillery is to further dilute it to a drinkable level. In the
United States, distilleries will usually bring their vodkas down to
80 proof, or 40% ABV before bottling, while in Europe the vodkas
are usually bottled at 75 proof, or 37.5% ABV. Some distilleries do
bottle higher proof vodkas, though; Solichnaya, Smirnoff, and
Absolut all have 100 proof bottlings available on the market.
Vodkas are rarely bottled above 100 proof though, and cannot, by
law, be bottled under 80 proof in the U.S. The only exceptions to
this law are flavored vodkas, which are usually bottled at 70 proof,
and Skinny Girl “Bare Naked” vodka, which is also bottled at 60
proof. Skinny Girl bottles their vodka at such a low proof because
it is really the only way to reduce the number of calories in a
bottle. Since there are only two ingredients in vodka, and one of
them is already calorie free, the only way to reduce the number of
calories is to reduce the amount of alcohol in the vodka. In essence,
consumers are paying a premium for a bottle that is 70% water. So,
really, the only way to drink and still stick to a diet is to drink less.
A Little Bit of History

Distillation has been a part of human civilization for almost as long

as humans have had a civilization. A process that describes
distillation was written about by Aristotle around 300 BC, but it
was not extensively used until the Arabs learned it from the
Greeks. In fact, the root words for alembic and alcohol are Arabic
(al-ambic and al-kohl). The first large scale distillation of alcohol,
however, was started in Italy in the 12th century. Originally the
work of alchemists and monks, alcohol distillation was largely seen
as a way to produce a sort of miracle "cure-all", which they called
"aqua vitae", or "the water of life". Various herbs and berries were
also added to aqua vitae in order to combat different diseases;
juniper berries were added to treat kidney diseases, and wormwood
and sage were added to treat digestive ailments. The Italians,
though, were distilling wine to make a type of rough brandy. To
find the earliest examples of what we today would call vodka, we
have to go farther north.

Vodka as we know it was first distilled in either Poland or Russia.

These countries have competing claims on who was the first to
distill a neutral spirit from grain, and both have compelling
evidence on their side. Italian merchants traded in both areas, and
mentions of "aqua vitae" show up in both countries' written
records around the same time in the early 15th century. Both
countries have long histories of farming hardy crops perfect for
distilling, such as rye, barley, and potatoes; even the word "vodka"
can trace its origin to both a Polish (woda) and Russian (voda)
origin. The one thing we know for certain is that the Russian
peasantry was the first to perfect the art of distilling vodka, and
Russia was the first country to develop a large scale vodka
distilling and exporting industry. Finland and Sweden, also later
became global exporters of their wheat based vodkas. All the
arguing over the providence of vodka though, seems a little silly.
After all, all the time wasted arguing over the beginnings of vodka
is time that could be spent enjoying it.

Like the rest of the world, Russian, Polish, and Scandinavian

distillers considered vodka as a type of medicine. They also add
different herbs and spices to their vodka, not only to increase the
medicinal benefits, but also, at times, to soften the rough edges and
make it more palatable. Honey was a popular additive, as was
bison grass (which is still popular today). In the Scandinavian
countries, caraway and dill were the herbs of choice, and their
vodkas eventually evolved into what we now call "Aquavit" or
"Akvavit" (notice the similarity to "Aqua Vitae"?). These distillers,
in essence, created the first flavored vodkas, hundreds of years
before "Whipped Cream" and "Smoked Salmon" flavors became
popular.

In the U.S., it seems like vodka has always been the drink of choice
for most people. Since it has almost no offensive taste or aroma it
is perfect for amateur mixologists, underage drinkers, and hardcore
alcoholics. This has not always been the case, however. In fact,
until the middle part of the 20th century, vodka was more of a
niche product than anything.

In the early part of the 20th century in the U.S., vodka was rarely
found outside of cities with large eastern European communities.
Bartenders at the time saw it as a novelty, and rarely mixed with it.
The first time a vodka cocktail was mentioned was in 1905, when
one was mixed up for some visiting Russian dignitaries in New
York; no recipe was mentioned, however, and that particular
cocktail, like so many others, has been lost to history. The first
vodka cocktail to have its recipe published was the "Russian
Cocktail" from the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans in 1911. This
cocktail was simply a mix of vodka and rowanberry cordial,
although today bartenders will substitute a combination of
kirschwasser and Cherry Heering for the hard to find cordial. The
Savoy Cocktail book, published in 1930, lists a handful of vodka
cocktails served by Harry Craddock at the Savoy Hotel in London,
but there is no way of knowing how often he had requests for
them. It was around this time in the United States, right in the
middle of Prohibition, that vodka started gaining popularity among
a small group of bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts in New York,
sort of an Art Deco “bartender’s handshake”. It was still, however,
not much in the public consciousness, and wouldn’t be until after
World War II, when two men got together and invented a drink that
would change cocktail history.

Prior to 1934, the only imported vodka into the U.S. was
Wolfschmidt, which had more or less failed to gain a foothold aside
from recent European immigrants. Ralph Kunnett, though, saw an
opportunity and purchased the rights to the Smirnoff name and
recipe from the Smirnov family. He moved production of the vodka
to Bethel, Connecticut in 1934 and…failed. Aside from the large
Polish and Russian communities present at the time, no one else
was as taken with the vodka has he was. He threw in the towel and
sold the company to John M artin, president of the Heublein
Company, who had been in the liquor business since the 19th
century. He rebranded the vodka as “Smirnoff Whiskey”,
advertising that it had “No Smell, No Taste”, and sales of the
product…remained flat. It had a following in the Northeast and
M id-Atlantic, but couldn’t seem to break out of the eastern
seaboard. That all changed in 1941, though, when he went to Los
Angeles to visit Jane Weeks, his actress girlfriend who would later
become his wife. The two went to the Cock N Bull Tavern, owned
by a mutual friend named Jack M organ. As fate would have it, Jack
M organ was also having some problems with a product-his
homemade ginger beer. So he, John M artin, and Ralph Kunnett,
whom M artin had kept on as the president of the Smirnoff division
of Heublein, stayed up all night mixing and testing and tasting
cocktails, and eventually settled on a combination of two parts
ginger beer, one part Smirnoff, and a squeeze of lemon. To round
everything out, they served in copper mugs Jack M organ’s
girlfriend produced, and the M oscow M ule was born. While the
lemon was eventually swapped out for lime, the drink has
remained unchanged and is still popular over 70 years later.

The M oscow M ule was at the forefront of change in the United

States. We had an uneasy alliance with Soviet Russia during World
War II, and relations were, if not cordial, then at least civil in the
next couple of years after the war. John M artin and Jack M organ
had successfully popularized Smirnoff and the M oscow M ule
during and after the war (helped out in no small part to the
Hollywood stars that frequented the Cock N Bull Tavern), and
Smirnoff’s 1952 “It will leave you breathless” advertising
campaign rocketed vodka’s popularity in the United States. Pre-
1950, vodka was selling around 40,000 cases annually, and by 1955
it was selling over 4 million. It was no doubt helped by hip young
actors and actresses, and the slightly exotic and taboo aura of
drinking something associated with the enemy.

Vodka’s upward climb was almost unstoppable, and by 1967 it had

surpassed gin as the best-selling white spirit in the U.S. This was
fueled not only by the sense of rebelliousness with the younger
crowd of the U.S. at the time, but Heublein had paid United
Artists to have James Bond call for a Smirnoff M artini “shaken,
not stirred”, in 1962’s hit “Dr. No”. In 1965, Stolichnaya, which
means “From the Capital”, became distributed on a small scale in
the U.S. and became the first 100% Russian made product available
in the country. It remained a bit player in the market until 1972,
when a historic deal was struck. Russia supplied Pepsi-Co with a
large distribution of Stolichnaya, and Pepsi-Co supplied Russia
with a large distribution of Pepsi. The influx of a new and imported
“premium” vodka again skyrocketed vodka’s popularity, and by
1976 vodka was the number one selling spirit in the U.S., finally
beating out whiskey.

In the 1970s and 80s, the last of the old school bartenders retired,
and many of them were unable or unwilling to pass down the
knowledge they had acquired over their years of bartending. These
two decades were arguable the nadir of American cocktail culture.
The old “brown, bitter, and stirred” cocktails were out, and quickly
made, larger, and sweeter cocktails were in. Cocktails like the
“Fuzzy Navel”, “Sex on the Beach”, and “Long Island Ice Tea”
became staples in American clubs and bars. These were quick and
easy to make, and did not require any jiggering (measurement) or
fresh ingredients. The ultra-sweet liqueurs also helped to mask the
low quality vodkas that started flooding the markets, and turned
any drink slinger into a mixologist. The 80s and 90s also saw the
popularization of flavored vodkas. Stolichnaya and Absolut were
first on the market in the late 1980s, and the market exploded in
the 90s and 00s. Almost every flavor imaginable was sold, from
lemon and honey to cotton candy and jalapeno. All of these, except
for a very small handful, were made with cheap vodka and artificial
flavorings, colorings, and aromas. The 1990s also saw the birth of
“super-premium vodkas”. Up until then, vodkas were seen as a
more utilitarian or “party” liquor, with a price point to match. That
all changed when Sidney Frank, owner of Sidney Frank Importing
Company, saw the market’s need for a top shelf vodka with a top
shelf price, and launched Grey Goose vodka in the middle of the
decade. Grey Goose, of course, became a run-away hit and sales
took off. Even 20 years later, it is one of the best-selling spirits on
the market. Without him, brands like Ultimat, Ciroc, and Crystal
Head might not exist.

The 90s, thankfully, also saw the beginning of a movement that

wanted to return bartenders and cocktails to their roots, and elevate
the craft into something respectable again. The new bartenders
espousing the virtues of “craft cocktails” preached using fresh
ingredients, high quality spirits and bitters, and…scoffed at vodka
and anyone who used it. There began a backlash against what was
seen as everything that was “wrong” with the cocktails and
cocktail culture of the previous thirty years. Since it was by nature
flavorless and odorless, it was dismissed as the “tofu” of the
cocktail world, and was seen as something only to be used by the
most amateur of bartenders in clubs or dives. M any craft cocktail
bars carry only one or two bottlings, and some have even stopped
carrying it completely. Vodka continues to be extremely popular,
though, and makes up 1/3rd of alcohol sales in the U.S., and we are
now seeing a new trend of cocktail bar not only tolerating, but
embracing vodka and the place it has in a proper bar. It seems we
have, in 2016, come full circle and vodka is once again a valued
member of a back bar. Vodka, after, pays the bills.
Vodka Types
As mentioned before vodka can technically be made out of
anything that can be fermented and distilled, as long as the end
product is unaged, flavorless, odorless, and distilled and bottled
above a certain proof. This can make for some wildly different
vodkas available. Some are good, some are outstanding, but many
are very bland or just plain awful. M ost vodkas are made out of
either barley, corn, wheat, rye, potatoes, or some combination of
those. None is really better than the other, but, if you taste closely,
there are differences in each that can be discerned. Some vodkas
hold up better in cocktails than others, and some are better neat or
on the rocks than others. Each type of vodka made from a single
distillate has a unique taste and body that sets it apart, and, as you
become more familiar with the products, it can become easier and
easier to identify through tasting alone. People will be impressed
by your highly refined palate.

One important thing worth mentioning is that, even though there

are hundreds of vodka bottlings available in the U.S., there are far
fewer distillers. M any distillers bottle the same vodka under
different labels. Some are owned by the distiller, but many more are
owned by third party companies, who simply buy the vodka, slap
on a label, and bottle and sell it. These can companies can usually
be found by looking closely at the label. On vodkas distilled and
bottled by the same distiller, it will often be labelled “Distilled by”
or “Distilled at”, while vodkas bottled by a third party company
will be labelled “Produced and Bottled by”. It is important to keep
this in mind when tasting different vodkas, as some may be
identical recipes with different labels.
Wheat
Some of the most popular vodkas on the market are wheat based
vodkas. These include Absolut, Grey Goose, and Ketel One. The
wheat used in vodka distilling is very different than the wheat used
to make bread. For bread making, bakers need a high gluten (a
wheat protein) with large grains, whereas vodka distillers prefer a
low gluten, high starch wheat. Winter wheat, or wheat planted in
the fall and grown in the winter, is also highly desirable, as the
harsh weather stunts the plants growth and concentrates the
fermentable sugars. Wheat based vodkas are some of the mildest
vodkas and can be easily overpowered by other ingredients in
cocktails, and so must be used with few or mild tasting mixers.
They are light bodied, with a slightly acidic, citrusy taste and
usually have a longer finish. They are perfect in Vodka M artinis,
Lemon Drops, and Tom Collinses.

Rye
If you could only have one bottle of vodka in your cabinet or
freezer, the best choice would be a rye vodka. These vodkas tend
to be medium bodied, slightly spicy (spice spicy, not hot spicy)
and piquant, and mildly oily, with a sharp, quick finish. They are
almost always more flavorful than wheat based vodkas, and hold
up well in just about any cocktail, and are especially suited for
Bloody M arys and Vodka Tonics. Rye vodkas are also good chilled
or on the rocks, and are very well suited for Zakuski plates (which
will be discussed in the last section). S obieski is highly
recommended and is the best all-around vodka on the market. It
works well in just about any cocktail, is a decent sipper, and can
almost always be found for less than $15/bottle. Belvedere and
Chopin rye are rare examples of premium vodkas that are worth
the price, and S quare One Organic is also a vodka worth having,
but can be hard to find.

Corn
Corn based vodkas constitute a small segment of the market, but
are worth seeking out. They are medium bodied, slightly sweet,
and very “clean” tasting. They work well in cocktails where they
can prop up other ingredients, but usually have a hard time
carrying a cocktail on its own. Best used in 50/50 Vodka M artinis,
and Vespers. The best examples would be Rain Organic Vodka,
Deep Eddy, and Platinum 7x.

Potato
The heaviest and most flavorful vodkas on the market are potato
vodkas. These vodkas tend to be full bodied, oily, slightly “earthy”
or “green” tasting, and creamy. They tend to not play well with
others, and can be difficult to work seamlessly into a cocktail. For
this reason, potato vodkas are best consumed chilled while eating
salty or fermented foods, or on the rocks. Popular bottlings include
Luksusowa (LUKE-su-SOva), Blue Ice, and Chopin. Karlsson’s
Gold makes a very unique product that most people would have a
hard time calling a vodka. While it meets most of the definitions, it
is definitely not flavorless or odorless. It is heavily aromatic, with
a tangy, earthy, peppery flavor. It makes for a very interesting
Vodka M artini, and even better with the addition of a few drops of
Peychaud’s bitters.
Still other vodkas use a mix of grains, or no grains at all. S mirnoff,
S kyy, and Ultimat all use a combination of wheat/barley/corn/rye
to achieve the most neutral tasting spirit they can, while Ciroc
produces a very high quality vodka using grapes. These vodkas are
all best used as mixers where taste/body/character isn’t really an
issue, and the main priority is really just getting tipsy. A vodka-
and-trendy liqueur/mixer is what works best for vodkas such as
these.

Despite the differences in distillates, there a few things that all

non-flavored vodkas will have in common. They will all be crystal
clear, with a mild flavor and aroma, and bottled at 80 proof or
above (75 proof in Europe). M ost of the vodkas listed here can be
switched out for any other kind in a cocktail, with the exception of
potato vodkas (especially Karlsson’s Gold). The results will be a
little different, but enough for most people to notice.

Flavored Vodkas
Flavored vodkas also make up a huge part of the market place.
Who among us has not had a fruit flavored vodka, such as Absolut
Citron or Ciroc Pineapple? These bottles are ubiquitous in just
about every full bar in America, and are exceptionally easy to work
with. The big drawback, if it is a drawback to you, is that almost
all of these are made with artificial flavorings and copious amounts
of sweetener, and are bottled at less than 80 proof. There are very
few examples of distillers that use no artificial flavorings in their
bottles. Two of them, Hangar One and Charbay, produce high
quality vodkas worth the price. Both steep their flavorings in 190
proof spirits, then redistill, blend, filter, and dilute to create their
signature vodkas. M ost other companies simply add artificial or
natural flavorings into their products, completely cutting out any
actual fruits or botanicals. Still, these vodkas tend to be cheaper,
and are perfect for parties and clubs where the main focus is not on
the cocktails. However, for a quality cocktail, Charbay or Hangar
One flavored vodkas are indispensable.

Flavorings are not limited to fruit, though. Like it was mentioned

before, pretty much any flavor under the sun has been added to
vodkas. Whipped cream, cotton candy, maple syrup, and smoked
salmon flavored vodkas have all been released with varying
success. These are all obviously chock full of artificial colorings
and flavorings, but, really, they aren’t going to be purchased for
their quality. There are also several herb and spice flavored vodkas,
including Absolut Peppar (various peppers), Zubrowka Zu (bison
grass), and cucumber (various brands). Other flavored vodkas have
become so popular they are considered their own category of
spirits! Gin, for instance, is a vodka that is flavored with juniper
and other botanicals, and absinthe is a high proof vodka flavored
with wormwood. Kummel, popular in Germany, is vodka flavored
with dill, and Aquavit is vodka flavored with caraway. Really, if
you think about it, almost all spirits are just flavored vodkas,
anyway.

As I mentioned earlier, legally there can be nothing added to vodka,

aside from flavorings to create flavored vodka. There are, however,
exceptions for a few different additives. By law, vodkas are
allowed to have small amounts of glycerin, citric acid, and
sweetener added to their final product. As long as they don’t
impact the taste or aroma, vodka producers are allowed to add
these to help with the consistency of their product. They can’t
however, add enough that it is immediately noticeable.

Notes on Baiju
One other relative to vodka is China’s native spirit, Baiju. Baiju has
been made in China for hundreds of years, but is only now starting
to get any recognition outside of Asia. Baiju can be made from
anything fermentable, but sorghum, rice, and wheat are most
commonly used. It is a clear spirit with a very, very mild taste, a
medium to thin body, and a very distinct aroma. Baiju has a very
unique production process. The grains are soaked, ground into a
powder, formed into bricks and then air dried. As these bricks dry,
they cultivate a mix of yeasts, fungus, and molds called “qu”
(pronounced “chew”), which gives the baijus their unique aromas.
The yeast ferments the grains as they dry, which differs from
Western techniques that use a wet mix to ferment the grains into a
beer. After the grains are fermented, it is added to a pot still filled
with water and distilled. The Baiju is then rested for six months,
diluted with water, and bottled. Because the flavor is so mild,
baijus are classified based on their aroma. The four main types are
Strong Aroma, Weak Aroma, Sauce Aroma, and Rice Aroma.
Strong Aroma, Weak Aroma, and Rice Aroma baijus are all named
quite literally, while Sauce Aroma baijus are so named due to their
soy sauce like aroma. M ost Baiju brands are hard to find in the
U.S., but if you can find it, Moutai is a brand worth picking up.
Like most other spirits, Baiju is best drunk at room temperature in
order to get the full aroma, or as a chilled shot.
Easy Vodka Cocktails and Vodka
Recommendations

Cocktails! Vodka is the O+ spirit of the cocktail world. There is no

cocktail I can think of where it would completely kill the drink. It
won’t work as well in drinks made for a specific spirit, but the
cocktail will still be drinkable. Vodka also works places other
spirits won’t; can you imagine a Scotch and cranberry juice, or a
Kamikaze made with rum? Doesn’t sound appealing, does it?
Before we get to mixing, though, let’s go over the basics of home
bartending.

There are a few basic tools you are going to need:

A pint glass (also known as a mixing glass)

A shaker tin (or cocktail shaker, or mixing tin)
A Hawthorne strainer
A handheld citrus squeezer
M easuring cups and spoons, or jiggers.

There are two different types of cocktail shakers you can buy. The
easiest to find is a “Cobbler” shaker. This shaker is a three piece
set, which consists of the shaker tin, a top with a strainer, and a
cap. All ingredients go into the shaker tin, then the top and the cap
are placed on the shaker tin and the cocktail is shaken. When the
cocktail has been shaken enough, all that needs to be done is to take
the cap off of the built in strainer and pour the cocktail into the
glass. Simple as that.
The other type is a “Boston” shaker. This is the type favored by
most professional bartenders as it serves a double duty. It consists
of a pint glass and a shaker tin. The ingredients and ice are put into
the pint glass and the shaker tin is put over the top of the pint
glass and then given a good smack on the top to create a seal. The
cocktail is then ready to be shaken.

When shaking the cocktail, be sure to shake with the pint glass
closer to you and the shaker tin closer to your guest (or pets, or
anything breakable or stainable). This is because if the seal created
by the shaker tin isn’t strong enough, the pint glass will take a
flying leap and do a triple gainer across your kitchen as you are
shaking it. This will usually happen the first time you invite
someone over for cocktails. Even if you have done this a hundred
times before and never had a problem. And especially if you have
been talking up your “mixology skillz”.

When you are done shaking the cocktail, separate the two halves
by giving the shaker tin another good whack, this time on the side,
just above where the tin and glass meet. This should break the seal,
but sometimes you may need to do this more than once. Shaken
drinks are always poured from the shaker tin, not the pint glass.

The big drawback to a Boston shaker set up is the lack of a built in

strainer. A separate strainer called a “Hawthorne Strainer” will have
to be purchased to get the drink out of the shaker tin without
making a mess. These strainers have a long handle connected to a
circular end with a spring and some feet on the top. Place this on
top of the tin and hold it on there with your index finger and use
the rest of your hand to hold onto the tin; or, you can simply place
the pint glass inside the shaker tin, as if you were stacking them on
top of each other, and strain it that way, using the glass to keep the
ice in the shaker tin. This is affectionately known as a “ghetto
strain”. Cobbler shakers, of course, do not have this problem.

Some finer establishments even do away with a separate strainer,

and instead encourage their bartenders (almost always female) to
strain their cocktails using their fingers instead, usually to the
delight of their customers (almost always male). I don’t
recommend this, though. It’s terribly messy.

A handheld citrus juicer might not seem like it, but is also very
important. The single handed, lever type juicers not only extract
the juice from citrus fruits, but also the oils from the skin, which
lend a depth and brightness to cocktails and can be one of the
differences between a good cocktail and a great one. Electric juicers
and reamer type juicers not only fail to capture the oil in the juice,
but the electric juicers can also include the bitter pith and
connective tissue from the flesh of the fruit.

If you wanted to expand your home bar a bit, you could add a
jigger (specialized “v” shaped measuring cups for cocktails),
muddler (looks like a tiny baseball bat), julep strainer (a long
handled soap dish with holes), cocktail glasses (also known as a
martini glasses), rocks glasses, and highball (or Collins) glasses.
These are optional, though; any long handled spoon can be used for
a cocktail spoon, the handle from a wooden cooking spoon can be
used to muddle and tablespoon/teaspoon measurers and measuring
cups can be substituted for jiggers. You will, however, need a
mixing glass and cocktail shaker to properly mix cocktails.

There are two main ways to serve cocktails. “Up”, meaning

without ice, or “on the rocks”, meaning with ice. M any vodka
cocktails are “built” cocktails, meaning all the ingredients are
simply poured into an ice filled glass and served “on the rocks”.
These are the types of cocktails you would see in dive bars or
sports bars, and don’t require precise measurement or any stirring
or shaking. White Russians, vodka tonics, and Cape Cods (vodka
and cranberry) are the most popular “built” vodka cocktails. These
cocktails exist simply as a way to make vodka more easily
drinkable, as a means to an end. Others cocktails, though, do need
the full measure/shake/stir/strain treatment. The Lemon Drop
cocktail would be a good example of this.

The Lemon Drop has multiple ingredients that need to be carefully

balanced and incorporated; it contains vodka, lemon juice, triple
sec, and simple syrup (a simple mixture of equal parts sugar and
water). We could just eyeball the measurements and hope for the
best-and this works for many situations-but we wouldn’t get the
quality cocktail that we are looking for. We could add too much
vodka (is there even such a thing?) and make the drink too boozy,
or we could add too little simple syrup and have it come out sour
and bitter. So, we need to measure all the ingredients in a jigger (or
mixing cups or spoons, whichever you have on hand) before we
combine them.
Lemon Drops are almost always served “up”, or in a cocktail glass
(or, at the very least, in a glass with no ice). This means that the
cocktail cannot be built, as cocktail glasses are not meant to hold
ice; we would either need to stir or shake the cocktail in a separate
container before straining it into the glass. As a general rule of
thumb, any cocktails that include fruit juices, such as this one,
needs to be shaken. This is because the viscosity between the fruit
juices and other ingredients is so different that if the cocktail
wasn’t shaken it wouldn’t combine properly. To properly shake a
cocktail, fill your mixing glass full with ice (or, if using just a
cocktail shaker, fill it 2/3 of the way), and shake vigorously for
approximately 10-15 seconds. When shaking, make sure the ice
hits top of the shaker; remember, we’re trying to wake the cocktail
up, not rock it to sleep, so really put some muscle into it. Once the
Lemon Drop is shaken, it can be strained into the cocktail glass and
served.

If the cocktail does not have any fruit juice, however, it can
probably be stirred. Neither Vodka M artinis nor Vespers contain
fruit juices, and both are stirred in a mixing glass rather than
shaken. Cocktails like these are usually stirred for two reasons.
When cocktails are shaken, air is introduced into the liquid and
bubbles form; this changes the texture of the drink. This doesn’t
necessarily mean you can’t shake it, though. Legendary bartender
Chris M cM illan prefers to shake his Vodka M artinis, and Vespers
were originally described as being shaken, so some bartenders still
do so out of tradition. This works for some cocktails, but for many
others you want the silky smoothness that only stirring can
provide. When stirring a cocktail, keep in mind it is a much less
efficient process, so it can take 15-30 seconds (or longer) to do it
properly. If you are using a pint glass to mix your drinks, a julep
strainer has traditionally been the way to strain out the ice when
pouring. A julep strainer looks like a spoon with a short handle and
comically wide bowl that is studded with holes. If you can’t find
one or don’t want to bother getting one, a ghetto strain works fine
here too.
Lastly, one more point that needs to be made is about proper
muddling. M uddling is simply the act of expressing the oils from
fruits or herbs by pressing on them with a stick, called a
“muddler”. M uddling is done by placing the ingredient (usually
limes or mint) at the bottom of the glass and carefully pressing on it
to release the oil or juices that need to be in the cocktail. The object
of muddling is not to smash or obliterate the mint or limes as much
as it is to coax out the goodness within. When muddling limes or
mint, pressing firmly but gently until they become aromatic is
usually all that is needed. M uddling your ingredients like you’re
punishing them for some perceived slight is going to make for a
very bad cocktail indeed. Cocktails can sense anger.

Here are a few easy vodka cocktails to get you started mixing. I’ve
chosen some cocktails that use a minimal amount of ingredients,
and ones that you could find at any grocery store.
Moscow Mule
Items needed:
Ice
Old Fashioned glass
2 oz (¼ cup) Vodka
4 oz (1 cup) Ginger Beer (if you can’t find
ginger beer, ginger ale will work)
½ Lime

Build the cocktail in a glass (or copper mug) by

adding ice, vodka, and ginger beer. Using a
handheld citrus squeezer (or squeezing by
hand, if your guests are comfortable enough
with you) squeeze the juice of half a lime into
the cocktail. Give a quick, gentle stir and serve.
A couple of dashes of Angostura bitters adds a
depth and spiciness that complements the
ginger beer well.
The Moscow Mule has exploded in popularity in the
past few years, becoming by far one of the most
requested cocktails in the U.S. This drink is featured on
most bar menus now.
Cape Cod
Items needed:
Ice
Old Fashioned glass
2 oz (¼ cup) Vodka
4 oz (1/2 cup) Cranberry Juice
1 Lime Wedge

Build the cocktail in a glass by adding ice,

vodka, and cranberry juice. Squeeze the juice of
the lime wedge into the cocktail. Garnish with
a new lime wedge and serve.
Vodka Press
Items needed:
Ice
Old Fashioned Glass
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
2 oz (1/4 cup) Ginger Ale
2 oz (1/4 cup) Soda Water

Build the cocktail in a glass by adding ice,

vodka, ginger ale and soda water, or club soda.
Give a quick, gentle stir and serve.
Also known as a “ Vodka Presbyterian”, a twist on the
“ Presbyterian” cocktail, which uses whiskey instead of
vodka as a base. Any cocktail can be made a “ Press” by
adding ginger ale and soda water to a base spirit. A
“ Gin Press” would be gin, ginger ale and soda water,
and a “ Rum Press” would be rum, ginger ale and soda
water.
Madras
Items needed:
Ice
Old Fashioned Glass
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
2 oz (1/4 cup) Cranberry Juice
2 oz (1/4 cup) Orange Juice

Build the cocktail in a glass by adding ice,

vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice. Give a
quick, gentle stir and serve.
Bay Breeze
Items needed:
Ice
Old Fashioned Glass
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
2 oz (1/4 cup) Cranberry Juice
2 oz (1/4 cup) Pineapple Juice

Build the cocktail in a glass by adding ice,

vodka, cranberry juice and pineapple juice.
Give a quick, gentle stir and serve.
Kangaroo Kicker (Vodka Martini)
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker tin (optional)
Cocktail Glass
3 oz (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) Vodka
1 tsp Dry Vermouth (optional)
Lemon

Add vodka and optional dry vermouth into

mixing glass, then add ice. Stir for at least 15
seconds for a silkier, heavier textured cocktail,
or shake for 10 seconds for a lighter, bubblier
cocktail. Strain into cocktail glass, garnish with
a lemon twist.

This is the perfect cocktail to experiment with

different vodkas. Try a line up with corn, rye,
wheat, and potato vodkas and see if you can
taste the differences in each.
The first time a vodka martini was mentioned in print,
it was listed as a Kangaroo Kicker. No explanation why.
Vesper
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Cocktail Glass
1.5 oz (1/8 cup + 1 tbsp) Gin
1 oz (1/8 cup) Vodka
.5 oz (1 tbsp) Cocchi Americano or Lillet
Blanc
Lemon

Add Gin, Vodka, and Cocchi Americano (for a

drier cocktail) or Lillet Blanc (for a sweeter
cocktail) into mixing glass. Add ice. If stirring,
stir for at least 15 seconds, then strain into
cocktail glass. If shaking, shake for at least 10
seconds, then strain into glass. Garnish with
lemon twist.

Play around with the gin and vodka and see

which you like most. Gary Regan suggests a
100 proof vodka like Stolichnaya, and I have to
agree. A less juniper forward gin like Aviation
or Bombay Saphire would work well for
someone who doesn’t like gin, or a big, meaty
gin like Beefeater or Tanqueray would work
well for someone who does.

This cocktail is credited to Sir Ian Fleming, who first

mentioned it in his 1953 James Bond novel “ Casino
Royale”. The drink originally contained “ Kina Lillet”,
but that hasn’t been produced for quite some time now,
so substitute Cocchi Americano or Lillet Blanc instead.
Lemon Drop
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Cocktail Glass
Citrus Squeezer
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
1 oz (2 tbsp) Fresh squeezed lemon juice
.5 oz (1 tbsp) Triple Sec
.5 oz (1 tbsp) Simple Syrup

Add vodka, lemon juice, triple sec and simple

syrup into mixing glass (or cobbler shaker).
Shake for at least 10 seconds, then strain into
cocktail glass.

If you pour this into an ice filled glass and top

off with soda water, you have a Vodka Collins!
Creamsicle
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Cocktail Glass
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
1 oz (1/8 cup) Triple Sec
1 oz (1/8 cup) Orange Juice
1 tbsp Cream

Add vodka and cream to the shaker tin, and

orange juice and triple sec to the mixing glass.
Add ice to the shaker tin, and at the last second
pour the orange juice and triple sec into the
vodka/cream mixture and shake. Doing so will
prevent the cream from curdling due to the
acidity of the orange juice. Strain into cocktail
glass.
Caipiroska
Items needed:
M uddler
Ice
Half of one lime, cut into quarters
1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
3 oz (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp) Vodka

Put lime quarters into bottom of a glass, add

sugar on top. M uddle sugar and limes together
until sugar is mostly dissolved and juice has
been extracted from limes. Add ice and vodka.
Give a quick stir.

This is a vodka twist on the Caipirinha, a

Brazilian cocktail originally made with cachaça
(kuh-SHA-suh), a type of Brazilian rum.
Simple syrup can be used instead of sugar to
make a cleaner tasting cocktail, but I feel the
sugar does a better job abrading the lime skins
and drawing out more of the lime oils.
Vodka Smash
Items needed:
M uddler
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Half of one lemon, cut into quarters
.5 oz (1 tbsp) Simple Syrup
4-5 M int Leaves
3 oz (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp) Vodka

Put lemon quarters into bottom of glass, then

mint and sugar. Gently muddle mint and lemon
until mint is fragrant. Add ice, then shake for
5-10 seconds. Strain into ice filled glass.
Dreamy Dorini Smoking Martini
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Cocktail Glass
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka (A rye based vodka
works the best here in my opinion)
.5 oz (1 tbsp) Laphroaig single malt Scotch
2 drops Pernod
1 Lemon Twist

Add vodka, Laphroaig, and Pernod into ice

filled mixing glass. Stir for 15 seconds, and
strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon twist
over the top and drop in.
Laphroaig is a very smoky, very intense single
malt Scotch that is softened by the vodka. If
you cannot find Laphroaig, Lagavulin can be
used, or Johnny Walker Black, Johnny Walker
Double Black, or Chivas 18 in a pinch (the
latter two are blended Scotches). Pernod is an
absinthe substitute and has a very distinct
sweet black licorice flavor. It hangs out in the
background of this cocktail.
This cocktail was created by the Libation Goddess,
Audrey Saunders, and named for a friend of hers.
Powerhouse
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Collins Glass
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
1 oz (1/8 cup) Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 oz (1/8 cup) Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1 oz (1/8 cup) Simple Syrup
1 oz (1/8 cup) Cherry Brandy
Soda Water

Add all ingredients into mixing glass (or cobbler

shaker). Shake for at least 10 seconds, then
strain into ice filled Collins Glass. Top off with
soda water.
This is essentially a slightly modified
Singapore Sling.
There are three kinds of cherry brandy. Any can be used,
and each makes for an interesting cocktail. The three
kinds of cherry brandy are:
Kirschwasser, or
sometimes just
“ Kirsch”, is a very
dry, slightly bitter,
complex tasting
German brandy that is
distilled with the
whole fruit, including
the pits.
Cherry Heering, or
Peter Heering, is a
liqueur made from
soaking crushed
cherries in neutral
grain spirits (vodka),
then sweetening and
aging for five years. A
very good product,
especially for the
price.
“ Cherry Brandy” is
often seen as a dusty
bottle in the back bar
of some older
establishments. Often
made by Hiram
Walker or Dekuyper.
Tastes cloyingly
sweet, like liquefied
Jolly Ranchers.
Paradise Lost
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Cocktail Glass
M araschino Cherry for garnish
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
2 oz (1/4 cup) Pineapple Juice
1 oz (1/8 cup) Cherry Brandy

Add all ingredients into mixing glass (or cobbler

shaker). Shake for at least 10 seconds, then
strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with
cherry.
French Martini
Items needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Cocktail Glass
M araschino Cherry for garnish
2 oz (1/4 cup) Vodka
2 oz (1/4 cup) Pineapple Juice
1 oz (1/8 cup) Chambord

Add all ingredients to mixing glass (or cobbler

shaker). Shake for at least 10 seconds, then
strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.
Chambord is a French blackberry liqueur sold in a
unique bottle.
Vodka Recommendations
Here is a short list of vodkas worth keeping in your
liquor cabinet. These should be easily found in most grocery stores
and liquor stores.

S obieski-Rye based vodka,

slight spiciness with medium
body and short finish. Great
for mixing or drinking neat.
Absolut Elyx-Wheat based
vodka, slightly acidic, light
body, and long finish. Great
sipping on the rocks.
42 Below-Wheat based
vodka, very complex taste
with berries and slight spice
showing through. Best
sipped chilled and neat.
Crater Lake-Corn based
vodka, slightly sweet, light
bodied with a short finish.
Great for mixing.
S tolichnaya-M ixed Grain
vodka. Not very exciting,
slightly orange flavor,
medium body, medium
finish. Best used in simple
cocktails.
Blue Ice-Potato based
vodka, slightly spicy and
earthy, creamy body, long
finish. Best sipped or used
in simple cocktails.
Vodka Infusions

Vodka is the perfect spirit to make infusions with. Since it is

tasteless, it is a blank canvas to which you can add any flavors you
want. It is incredibly easy to make your own flavored vodkas or
liqueurs at home. Here are a few simple recipes:
Orange Flavored Vodka
Items Needed:

1 Bottle Vodka. Absolut and Stolichnaya work the best.

Simple Syrup (remember, simple syrup is just equal parts sugar

and water dissolved together)

10 Valencia Oranges (you’ll need around 3 cups of orange peels)

1 Quart M ason Jar

1 Vegetable Peeler (the kind with a horizontal blade works best)

Colander

Using the vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the oranges and
place them in the M ason jar. Be sure to avoid the white pith that is
under the skin, as it is slightly bitter. Pour the entire bottle of
vodka into the jar and seal tightly. Keep in a dark place for 3 days,
shaking every day. After the 3rd day, start tasting the vodka. When
it has reached your liking, strain out the orange peels and sweeten
to taste, starting with 1 oz of simple syrup. If you wanted to get
creative, you can add 3-5 cloves and a vanilla bean in with the
orange peels. Use this to make a Jackson Cocktail
Jackson Cocktail
Items Needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Cocktail Glass
1.5 oz (1/8 cup + 1 tbsp) Orange Vodka
1.5 oz (1/8 cup + 1 tbsp) Dubonnet Rouge
2 Dashes Orange Bitters (Regan’s Orange Bitter’s No 6
works the best)

Add the orange flavored vodka, Dubonnet Rouge and bitters to a

mixing glass. Add ice, then stir for 15 seconds. Strain into cocktail
glass.
Lemon Flavored Vodka
Items Needed:

1 Bottle Vodka. Absolut and Stolichnaya work the best.

Simple Syrup

10 Large Lemons (you’ll need about 3 cups of lemon peels)

1 Quart M ason Jar

1 Vegetable Peeler (the kind with a horizontal blade works best)

Colander

Using the vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the lemons and
place them in the M ason jar. Be sure to avoid the white pith that is
under the skin, as it is slightly bitter. Pour the entire bottle of
vodka into the jar and seal tightly. Keep in a dark place for 3 days,
shaking every day. After the 3rd day, start tasting the vodka. When
it has reached your liking, strain out the lemon peels and sweeten
to taste, starting with 1 oz of simple syrup. Use this instead of the
unflavored vodka to take a Lemon Drop to the next level, or along
with the orange flavored vodka in a M oroccan M artini
Moroccan Martini
Items Needed:
Ice
M ixing Glass
Shaker Tin
Citrus Squeezer
Cocktail Glass
 1.5 oz (1/8 cup + 1 tbsp) Lemon Flavored Vodka
1.5 oz (1/8 cup + 1 tbsp) Orange Flavored Vodka
.5 oz (1 tbsp) Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
.5 oz (1 tbsp) Grenadine

Add vodka, lime juice, and grenadine to mixing glass or cocktail

shaker. Add ice, then shake for at least 10 seconds and strain into
cocktail glass.
Lemoncello
Here’s a recipe from Katie Loeb, bartender and author of “Shake,
Stir, Pour”.

1 Bottle 100 proof Vodka (she recommends Smirnoff, I recommend

Stolichnaya)

1 Bottle 80 proof Vodka (again, I think Stolichnaya works the best)

12 Lemons

1 Lime

4 Cups Simple Syrup

1x 2 quart M ason Jar

M icroplane
2 Coffee filters

Using the microplane, zest the lemon peels and lime peels into the
M ason jar and add in the bottle of 100 proof vodka. Let sit for 2
weeks in a dark place, shaking daily. After two weeks, the vodka
should be a yellow color. Strain the vodka through the coffee
filters, then add in the simple syrup and stir well to combine.
Lastly, add in the 80 proof vodka 1 cup at a time, stirring well
between cups. If the Lemoncello is too strong, add more water; if
not sweet enough, more simple syrup. Serve as chilled or frozen
shots, or use as a sweetener in iced tea.

Any citrus fruit can be made into a “-cello”. Oranges and

Grapefruits work well too, although more simple syrup may be
needed for the Grapefruit.
Cooking with Vodka

There are many different ways to use vodka when cooking.

According to Harold M cGee in “On Food and Cooking”, alcohol
concentrations of up to 1% can help release aroma molecules in
food, and as we all know aromas are a big part of the flavors in our
food. One easy way to incorporate vodka is in a cream sauce.
Here’s a basic recipe:
Tito’s Vodka Cream Sauce
From the Y.O. Steak House in Dallas, Texas

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped shallots
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1.5 cup chopped smoked tomatoes
3 oz Tito’s Vodka
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
3 oz goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1. On medium heat, saute chopped garlic and
shallots in butter until browned
2. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes
3. Deglaze with Tito’s Vodka, then add cream and
basil. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes
4. Turn heat to low, add in goat cheese, and cook,
stirring continuously, for 5 minutes, or until
smooth
5. Add salt and pepper to taste
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s Pie Crust
Vodka can also make for a flakier pie crust. Check out J. Kenji
Lopez-Alt’s recipe for vodka pie crust. Since alcohol evaporates
away quicker than water, using a 50/50 mix of vodka and water will
leave the dough with more flaky layers. Here’s the recipe, from
seriouseats.com

Ingredients

Food processor
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch
thick slices
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
½ cup Crisco, cut into 4 equal size pieces
¼ cup vodka
¼ cup water

1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food

processor until combined, about 2 one-second
pulses. Add butter and shortening and process
until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in
uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will
resemble cottage cheese curds and there should
be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber
spatula and redistribute dough evenly around
processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and
pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around
bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4
 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium
bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With
rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix,
pressing down on dough until dough is slightly
tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two
even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap
each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45
minutes or up to 2 days.
High Proof Jello Shots
Tired of the same old Jello shots? Try this high proof recipe, from
my website www.easyvodkcocktails.com

Ingredients:

One package Sugar Free Jello

One bottle 80 proof vodka. Smirnoff works just
fine
Boiling water

1. Dissolve Sugar Free Jello into 3 oz boiling water

2. Add 3 cups vodka
3. Stir well
4. Pour into shot glasses or syringes
5. Let sit overnight
Zakuski
Zakuski tables are a part of traditional Russian cuisine. They were
traditionally a sort of before dinner appetizer, or a small snack to
offer a visiting friend. However, much like Spanish tapas, Zakuski
(which roughly translates to “small plates” or “morsels), have
become almost like a meal unto themselves, and are becoming a
trendy party staple.

Russia’s long and sometimes brutal winters have forced the

Russian people to rely on a steady diet of preserved foods to
survive those long, cold months. Air-dried, salted, and pickled
foods, are common place, and are definitely expected at a Zakuska.
Pickled herring, smoked sprats, sauerkraut, and dried fish are seen
at most zakuski. Caviar is another dish that is to be expected.
Caviar from Beluga sturgeon is the most prized, but Oseter
sturgeon and Severyuga are also popular. Hard cheese, crusty bread
with butter, and Salat Olivier (a “salad” which consists of
mayonnaise, hardboiled eggs, ham, potatoes, and pickles) round
out the spread.
Eating a Zakuska is simple and challenging at the same time.
Besides the above foods, chilled/frozen vodka is also served, and
sips or shots are taken between bites. Toasts are also prevalent.
The host will toast his or her guests, then everyone will have a bite
or two. The guests will toast back, everyone will have another bite.
The guests will then introduce toasts to each other, which are
returned. Then the weather is toasted, the food is toasted, their
mothers are toasted, the President is toasted etc., and all with bites
in between.

Zakuski tables are not just an excuse to soused, though. A happy

byproduct of relying on so many preserved foods is that they go
very well with vodka. The vodka can enhance the saltiness or
sourness of the foods, and the strong flavor of the foods can help
mask bad vodka. The foods can also act as a buffer to help protect
the stomach and slow down the effects of the vodka.
The End

I hope this book has helped you learn a little bit about America’s
most popular spirit. When I was a bartender, I was always happy
and eager to help demystify the cocktails and spirits we had for
our guests, and I hope my book has done this for vodka. I feel like
vodka has been treated like a bit of an unwelcome guest at a party
for the past few years (like that one guy that just wants to show
people YouTube videos all night, but always shows up with a case
of beer, so you invite him anyway), but only because it has been
misunderstood and an easy target.
Now that you know a little more about vodka, go out and try
some. Get out of your comfort zone, and try something a bottle
you’ve never had before! Stolichnaya, Smirnoff, and Absolut are
very popular and solid choices, but have you tried Russian
Standard? Or Beluga? What about one of the many quality
American bottlings, like the vodkas from Death’s Door Distillery
in Wisconsin, or 360 Vodka from M issouri? There’s a wide world
of vodka out there ready to be explored, and a universe of cocktails
to make with them, so go out and get mixing!
Shameless Self-Plugs
If you liked this book, don’t forget to leave a 5 star review!

For more information and cocktail ideas, don’t forget to check out
my website www.easyvodkacocktails.com

Want to know more about other liquors, and how to make some
easy cocktails? Read Booze Basics, my book for the beginner
bartender. Here’s a short excerpt:

BOURBON AND RYE WHISKEY

Bourbon whiskey the only whiskey that is native to and can only be produced
in the U.S. It is made primarily from corn-which gives it a distinctive
sweetness-along with lesser amounts of malted barley, and rye or wheat. The
rye or wheat in the recipe (which is known as a “mashbill”) are what are
sometimes called “flavor grains”. Corn itself does not lend much to flavoring
the whiskey, so distillers add rye to give it a spicier, heavier flavor, or wheat
to give it a softer tone and allow the corn sweetness to shine through. The
vast majority of bourbons on the market use rye, and very few use wheat
(these bourbons are sometimes knows as “wheaters”). I always recommend
that novice bourbon drinkers start out with a wheated bourbon, as the rye
intensity can be overwhelming to those just starting out. Maker’ s Mark, Old
Fitzgerald, and Weller are the most accessible wheaters.

All bourbons must be distilled to less than 160 proof and aged a minimum of
six months, and all bourbons labelled “straight bourbon” must be aged a
minimum of two years. In reality, though, it will be hard to find a bourbon aged
less than four years. Younger ones are almost always used in blended
whiskies, such as Seagram’ s or Kessler’ s. Aging must take place in unused,
charred oak barrels, and cannot be bottled at anything less than 80 proof.

Because they are corn based, bourbons are typically the sweetest tasting
whiskies on the market. They will usually be described as having sweet,
vanilla, berry or candy-like notes, along with leather, tobacco, spice, or
woody flavors. Wheated bourbons are much softer and more mellow, with more
of an emphasis on the vanilla and leather notes than spice or tobacco.

Rye whiskey is, as you probably guessed, distilled with at least 51% rye. It is
a more intensely flavored spirit, and was America’ s favorite before falling in
favor of bourbon. It is less sweet (more dry, as most would call it) than
bourbon, and as such is more suited for mixing in cocktails. The original
whiskey cocktails all called for rye, and were only replaced by bourbon and
Canadian whiskey after rye became scarce during and after the end of
Prohibition.

Rye follows the same distilling, aging and bottling requirements as bourbon:
distilled to no more than 160 proof, aged for at least two years in unused,
charred oak barrels, and cannot be bottled at less than 80 proof. Again, most
ryes sold will be at least four years old, although there are some two year old
ryes on the market.

Since ryes have little or no corn in their mashbills, ryes are almost never
described as “sweet”. Ryes are usually described as “dry”, spicy, and
leathery.
 WHAT TO BUY

As with all things, price does not necessarily mean quality, nor does aging
time. Depending on the environmental factors where the whiskey was stored,
an eight year old whiskey could be perfect or far too woody. Some $30 dollar
bourbon and rye whiskies can’ t stand up to sub $20 whiskies head to head,
or can vanish or completely overpower a cocktail. Another factor to consider
is whether your whiskey is going to be mainly for drinking straight, used for
cocktails, or just thrown together with some fruit juice and soda at a house
party. For drinking neat or on the rocks, you usually want to go for a whiskey
that is aged a little longer, 7-10 years seems to be the sweet spot. For
cocktails, a 4-6 year old whiskey would work well. You really do not want to
spend too much for a mixing whiskey, but, as I was taught when I started
bartending, “Garbage in, garbage out” Spend too little and get a bottom shelf
bottle, and your cocktail is ruined. But, at the same time, spend too much and
get a top shelf bottle to mix with, your wallet is ruined. For jungle juice, you
might as well get Kessler. Nobody is going to care anyway.

For Mixing

Under $15 Bottles

Bourbon: Evan Williams

Rye: None Recommended

Under $20 Bottles

Bourbon: Old Granddad Bonded

 Rye: Old Overholt

Under $30 Bottles

Bourbon: Jim Beam Black

Rye: Rittenhouse 100

For Sipping

Under $15

Bourbon: Evan Williams

Rye: None Recommended

Under $20 Bottles

Bourbon: Four Roses Yellow Label

Rye: Old Overholt

Under $30 Bottles

 Bourbon: Eagle Rare 10

Rye: Rittenhouse 100

$30+ Bottles

Bourbon: Four Roses Single Barrel

Rye: High West Double Rye