15 Vodka Cocktails That Will Make You a Fan
If there’s an ideal starting point for making cocktails, it has to be with vodka cocktails. Some of the most famous cocktails are vodka drinks including the Bloody Mary, the Vodka Martini and the Moscow Mule. Many of them are also pretty easy to make, meaning you don’t need lots of technical cocktail-making equipment to get started.
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Here are 15 of my favourites to introduce you to the world of vodka cocktail recipes.
Classics
Always start with the classics – these are the drinks that started the vodka cocktail world and are still some of the best recipes out there. They have also spawned many variations, but it is great to start with the original.
Bloody Mary
The Bloody Mary is one vodka cocktail I’ll admit to not having tried as it just doesn’t take my fancy. But it is certainly a popular one and dates back to the 1920-30s. One person to claim its original creation was Fernand Petiot, a bartender in the New York Bar in Paris. This was the home of a number of original cocktails and later became known as Harry’s Bar.
The classic Bloody Mary uses:
- 5cl vodka
- 9cl tomato juice
- 5cl lemon juice
- 2-3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
- A dash of Tabasco
- Celery salt
- Pepper
Other variations include adding sweet sherry, fennel seeds and salt. All the ingredients are shaken in a cocktail shaker and strained into a tall glass. Garnish includes a celery stick, a cherry tomato and a wedge of lemon.
Moscow Mule
The Moscow Mule is as famous for the classic way it is served as much as the drink itself – it is typically served in a copper mug. There are a few stories about the origin of the drink, most seeming to date from the 1940s.
The classic Moscow Mule takes 4.5cl vodka and 12cl ginger beer with 0.5cl lime juice. Combine the vodka and ginger beer in a highball glass or copper mug and add the juice and ice then stir.
Screwdriver
If you are looking for a very simple vodka cocktail to make, then this is an ideal one. The drink has been around since the 1940s and uses a highball glass.
Add 5cl vodka and 10cl orange juice to the glass with ice and stir.
Cosmopolitan
The Cosmopolitan cocktail is one of my favourites and is another that has lots of different variations.
The official IBA version uses 4cl citrus vodka with 1.5cl Cointreau, 1.5cl fresh lime juice and 3cl cranberry juice. I’ve also seen it use just a simple unflavoured vodka as well (and works just as nicely in my opinion). It is most often served in a martini glass without ice.
Black Russian
The Black Russian is a mixture of vodka and coffee liqueur such as Kahlua or Tia Maria that is served in an old-fashioned glass. It was first said to have been served in the Hotel Metropole in Brussels by Gustave Tops, a Belgian bartender who named it for the Russian spirit and colour.
The classic ingredients are 5cl vodka to 2cl coffee liqueur. Add to the glass with ice and stir gently.
White Russian
The White Russian takes the recipe for the Black Russian and adds cream.
This means you need 5cl vodka and 2cl coffee liqueur then add 3cl of fresh cream. Add the spirits into the glass with ice then add the cream slowly so it floats to the top. Stir gently.
Harvey Wallbanger
The Harvey Wallbanger has a few variations to its name. The original drink came from the creation of Donato ‘Duke’ Antone and named for a surfer who visited his Blackwatch Bar in LA.
The classic drink uses 4.5cl vodka with 1.5cl Galliano and 9cl fresh orange juice. Add the vodka and juice with ice and stir then float the Galliano on top.
An alternative from Smirnoff uses 25ml vodka, 12.5ml Hazelnut liqueur, 100ml orange juice and is garnished with an orange slice.
Sea Breeze
The Sea Breeze is a classic summer vodka cocktail that works perfectly when sitting relaxing in the sun. Or any other time, really but it sounds nice! The drink comes from the 1920s but originally used gin rather than vodka.
The current IBA drink uses 4cl vodka, 12cl cranberry juice and 3cl grapefruit juice. A Bay Breeze changes the grapefruit for pineapple juice.
Woo Woo
The Woo Woo is another summer style cocktail that has a fun colour.
It uses 50ml vodka, 25ml peach schnapps, 100ml cranberry juice and a few drops of lime. Add to a shaker, shake then strain into a tumbler with ice and add a wedge of lime.
Modern twists
Every classic cocktail has a modern twist using different flavours, new spirits or simply just a different fruit juice in the mix. Here are a few favourites.
Appletini
The Appletini or Apple Martini uses vodka and either apple juice, apple cider, apple liqueur or apple brandy – Calvados is a popular branded apple drink to use in it.
The recipe is simple 3 parts vodka to 1 part apple drink and 1 part Cointreau. Shake or stir and serve into a cocktail glass.
Cranberry Moscow Mule
The Cranberry Moscow Mule is a great winter cocktail for its flavour. You need 3 oz. vodka, 1 oz. cranberry juice and one tbsp lime juice as well as 8 oz. ginger beer. Fill a shaker with ice and add the ingredients then serve in the classic copper mugs. Garnish with a rosemary sprig and lime wedge.
Espresso Martini
People like to pair vodka with Red Bull to get a boost, but I can’t stand the taste of the stuff. Caffeine, on the other hand, is much more palatable.
This version of the martini uses 45ml vodka, 22.5ml espresso coffee (freshly made and hot) and 22.5ml Kahlua along with 10ml sugar syrup. Add everything to a shaker with ice and strain into a chilled glass.
Grapefruit Julep
The Mint Julep is the classic version but this one offers a different flavour by using pink grapefruit.
You need 1 spoon of runny honey, 60ml vodka, 4 fresh mint leaves, 15ml lime juice, 22.5ml pink grapefruit juice and 15ml grenadine. Stir the honey in the shaker with the vodka until it dissolves then add the other ingredients and ice and shake. Serve in a tall glass.
Cranberry Vodka Spritzer
A spritzer often refers to any drink using club soda that has a bit of fizz to it.
This recipe makes four drinks and uses 1 cup raspberry vodka, 4 cups cranberry juice, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup lime juice and 8 cups chilled club soda. Mix the water and sugar to make sugar syrup (or buy readymade) and mix in the lime. Leave to cool. Then add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice and strain into a glass. Garnish with a slice of lime and a whole raspberry.
Lemon Drop Martini
One last martini variation to finish the vodka cocktails list, this one is also nice and simple.
Take 37.5 ml vodka, 12.5ml Triple Sec and 25ml lemon juice. Add to a shaker and strain into a martini glass then garnish with a lemon slice.
Choose a favourite?
I must admit that the Cosmopolitan cocktail is one of my all-time favourite cocktails, but I do like to try some of the new flavoured vodkas as well. Lime flavoured vodka is a favourite and also means you can get two ingredients for one if you have vodka and lime in a recipe!
What’s your favourite vodka cocktail? And have you ever created a signature drink of your own?
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