Category Archives: vodka

Prairie Cucumber Vodka

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prairie cucumber vodka

Prairie Spirits distills gin, vodka, and cucumber vodka. Their motto “made with respect,” explains their organic farming and distilling policies, and unusually, their liquor doesn’t cost a fortune in the light of these higher standards (a bottle will only run you $20).

Prairie’s Cucumber Vodka is a touch sweet, and like I found with Cathead Honeysuckle, it’s a pleasant, natural, subtle flavor that’s very easily enjoyed on the rocks. Here’s a really refreshing simple cocktail you can make with cucumber vodka, (if you’re not able to find Prairie, just infuse your own).

Green Garden (by Greg Mays)

  • with 15 mint leaves in a mixing glass, add:
  • 1/2 oz of melon liqueur
  • 2 oz of Prairie Cucumber Vodka
  • muddle mint in the liquid well
  • add ice and stir until very cold
  • double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • garnish with a mint leaf

Win a Karlsson’s Prize Pack!

karlsson's vodka prize pack

Simple Cocktails sponsor Karlsson’s Gold Vodka is giving away some great swag to one reader. To win this prize pack, simply comment below this post and tell us your favorite way to drink Karlsson’s. Here are some ideas if you need them:

Black Gold

Karlsson’s Bloody Mary

The Karlsson’s prize pack includes:

  • 2 Karlsson’s golden potato cocktail stirrers
  • 2 Karlsson’s black pepper ginders
  • 1 Karlsson’s oyster shucker
  • 1 limited-edition bronzed Karlsson’s bottle top in presentation case

Prize pack will be given away to 1 person who posts a comment below. Contest only open to U.S. residents (sorry). Winner will be chosen on July 15, 2013.

UPDATE 7/15/13: a representative from Karlsson’s contacted me the day this posting went live to tell me about Anchor Distilling acquiring Karlsson’s and taking over distribution, marketing, etc. for the vodka as of July 1. Since Karlsson’s was the company who was going to send out the prize pack for this giveaway, that has also been turned over to Anchor as well.

Both Karlsson’s and I have made multiple attempts to contact Anchor Distilling to ask about continuing with the giveaway on this post and their sponsorship of Simple Cocktails, and Anchor Distilling has remained non-responsive to both emails and calls. I’m sorry, guys, I have to pull the plug on the giveaway since I can no longer find a representative of the brand who has access to this swag. I’ll close the comments and email each entrant this info, and hope to have another contest on the blog soon. Thanks for understanding!

Karlsson’s Bloody Mary

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karlsson's bloody mary

I reviewed Karlsson’s back in September and tried their signature “Black Gold” cocktail (on the rocks topped with ground black pepper). Now it’s time to apply that earthy goodness of Karlsson’s in another proper place: a Bloody Mary.

The Bloody Mary in particular has been a point of contention for me.  “Can you really call a cocktail simple if it has 8 or more ingredients?” I’ve wondered. This Bloody Mary has been making it’s rounds on the internet, and it includes garnishes like a hamburger, nachos, bacon, popcorn, a hot dog and a pretzel. Now I’m convinced that the Bloody Mary may never be simple.

So my solution to the conundrum of the Bloody Mary is to either embrace it’s complexity or just use a good, natural mix. The mixes I’ve used  in the past have included Trader Joe’s and Ubon’s, both of which I like. Lately I’ve been hearing some good things about Zing Zang’s mix, so I grabbed a bottle to try with Karlsson’s. Zing Zang is a  thinner mix than Ubon’s, but spicier, and Zing Zang is widely distributed, so it’s easier to find.

karlsson's bloody mary

Karlsson’s Bloody Mary

  • in a tall glass filled with ice, add:
  • 1 1/2 oz Karlsson’s Gold Vodka
  • top with Bloody Mary mix
  • optionally, add a few dashes of Tabasco
  • garnish heavily, I prefer pickled things and olives

This is a spicy Bloody Mary, but from my understanding, lots of people like them spicy. Using Karlsson’s will add a richness to the drink that I immediately  noticed when I  substituted a typical vodka in it’s place.

Screwdriver

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making screwdriver cocktails

Years before I knew anything about cocktail making, I had two favorite cocktails: Vodka Martinis and Screwdrivers. The Screwdriver is a pretty great drink, particularly when you make it right- no orange juice cartons allowed! I mixed two versions of the humble Screwdriver – one with the most basic recipe and one with a little more mixology flair. Here are the two drinks:

screwdriver cocktails: fancy and fresh

Fancy Screwdriver (by Greg Mays)

  • 1 1/2 oz vodka
  • 3 oz fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 oz triple sec
  • 2 dashes orange bitters
  • shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice
  • garnish with an orange slice

Fresh Screwdriver

  • 1 1/2 oz vodka
  • 3 oz fresh orange juice
  • shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice
  • garnish with an orange slice

Both cocktails are great, particularly with that delicious fresh-squeezed juice. If you have the extra ingredients for the Fancy Screwdriver, that one is more complex and tasty than the standard vodka/orange juice mix.

 Special thanks to Jasmine Nicole, my photographer for this post.

Smirnoff Sorbet Light

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smirnoff sorbet light vodkas recipes

Low-calorie liquor is a big deal these days. From the multimillion dollar Skinny Girl empire down to the traditional liquor brands, it seems low-cal may be the “what’s next” after flavored vodkas. Smirnoff has introduced 3 flavors of low-calorie vodka recently to the market and dubbed it Sorbet Light.

Is it sweet? Yes. Does it taste like sorbet? Yes. Is it good? Yeah, I think so. For comparison purposes, 1 ounce of Smirnoff (the red label one) is 70 calories. An ounce of Sorbet Light is around 50 calories. So you’re looking at a 30% drop in calories overall. Each of the flavors makes for some good sweet cocktails, and I made the following drinks with Smirnoff’s recipes to try them out (pictured above).

Light Tropical Martini

  • 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff Sorbet Light Mango Passion Fruit
  • 1 1/2 oz coconut water
  • 1 oz pineapple juice
  • shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Light Lemon Mojito

  • add the following to an old fashioned glass:
  • 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff Sorbet Light Lemon
  • 3/4 oz lemon juice
  • 10 mint leaves
  • stir, fill the glass with crushed ice and stir more
  • top with club soda
  • garnish with a lemon wedge and mint sprig

Light RazPom Cosmopolitan

  • 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff Sorbet Light Raspberry Pomegranate
  • 2 oz cranberry juice
  • 1/4 oz lime juice
  • shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • garnish with a lime wheel

Tallarico Vodka

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20130406-125852.jpg

Tallarico Vodka is a new entry into the premium vodka market.  It’s sold in a tall, black bottle that fades to clear at the bottom to give you a peek at the vodka inside. Tallarico is distilled from rye and wheat, and for the whiskey lovers out there, that often translates to spice and sweet. Sounds good so far, right?

Tallarico is a flavorful vodka, sold for $45 a bottle and distilled in the U.S. Spice is the primary taste, and because of this, a rye-like but un-woody vodka is a fun alternative to use in your cocktails instead of rye whiskey. Tallarico tastes good on the rocks, and while alcohol burn is almost non-existent, the rye spice gives it a good bite.

I took a recipe that I normally use rye whiskey in and replaced it with Tallarico. I ended up with a very good cocktail, a crystal-clear Old Fashioned is incredibly cool looking, and this drink really works with the “premium” branding of Tallarico.

Vodka Old Fashioned

  • in an old fashioned glass, add:
  • 1 1/2 tsp simple syrup
  • 3 dashes of orange bitters (this helps to keep the drink crystal-clear)
  • 2 oz Tallarico vodka
  • stir briefly
  • add a single, large ice chunk (2″ or larger)
  • stir again until well-chilled
  • garnish with an orange peel and a cherry

 

Walk the Line: Smirnoff

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smirnoff vodka product line

This is Walk the Line: a series where I explore the entire product lines of the most popular liquor brands together with a panel of friends and tasters. Click here to view the entire Walk the Line series.

Smirnoff is not only the best-selling vodka in the world, but it’s the best-selling spirit brand in the world, too. While most of it’s varieties are just in different flavors, I stuck with what I consider to be the basics: two versions of Smirnoff and two classic vodka flavors. All in all, Smirnoff falls right in the middle: for the price, you could do much, much worse, but it’s not a perfect vodka.

Smirnoff. This is the standard red label Smirnoff vodka, also known as “Recipe No. 21.” Distilled from a corn, 80 proof, and selling for $10-15 a bottle, Smirnoff is a pretty safe buy. Tasters found it had a bit of an alcohol bite, particularly in the smell, but that it was a pretty smooth-tasting vodka overall.

Smirnoff Blue Label. Also known as “Recipe No. 57,” Blue Label is 100 proof and is slightly more expensive than the Red Label ($17). It really ignites your taste buds all around when you sip it and tasters found that the burn you get from it is a significant step up from Red Label. There are a few reasons to choose Blue Label over Red: to make infused vodkas, to make stronger cocktails, because you have the extra money to spend, or…let’s be honest here: because you want to get drunk faster.

Smirnoff Citrus. Citrus is one of the “original” vodka favors, from way back in the days when Fruit Loop vodka was unheard of. Citrus vodka is recommended when you make a Cosmopolitan. Smirnoff Citrus has a fresh, clean, and dry lemon flavor. Tasters said it was very smooth and one said they could easily sip it on the rocks. For $14, this is a great choice if you’re looking to incorporate some vodka flavors into your home bar without embarrassing yourself.

Smirnoff Vanilla. The Vanilla vairety is quite a bit sweeter than Citrus, but still fells like a classic vodka flavor. Tasters liked it in general, and said they could see this one used in a Chocolate Martini or give White Russians a nice flavor boost. The taste of Vanilla felt a little manufactured, particularly when compared to the Citrus, but like the other Smirnoffs, Vanilla is a decent buy at $14.

Portland Potato Vodka

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akdov telmig

It shouldn’t be a shock to hear me say that I’ve enjoyed tasting the products that Eastside Distilling in Portland makes. From whiskies to rums, they’ve all proved to be excellent liquors. My expectations, then, were pretty high when I tasted Portland Potato Vodka.

Many folks assume that potatoes are the most common base for making vodka, but it’s actually grains like wheat or corn that are most often used. Potato vodkas like Karlsson’s (an advertiser at Simple Cocktails) are considered more “boutique” than your typical vodkas. I’ve tried 3 potato vodkas at this point, and they have a common earthiness to them and are occasionally herbal or minty.

Portland Potato ($23 retail) is pleasantly mild without a harsh alcohol bite. There is a very slight earthy scent that is followed by a nice, fresh, sweet finish. The flavor is full and it finishes clean and flavorless, like you’d expect from a quality vodka. I used PPV in Ed Wood’s favorite cocktail, the Vodka Gimlet, or as he called it, the “Akdov Telmig”:

Akdov Telmig

  • 2 oz vodka
  • 3/4 oz lime juice
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup
  • shake and serve up or on the rocks
  • garnish with a lime wheel

Powder Rum and Class V Vodka

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syntax spirits rum and vodka

Syntax Spirits distills Class V Vodka and the newly-released Powder White Rum in Colorado. Proud of their heritage, they use 100% wheat and snow melt from their native state to distill their vodka.

Both the rum and vodka are functional in cocktails, though I don’t know if I’d recommend drinking them neat. At $25 each, the rum has a full-mouthed burn that gives your Daiquiris quite a punch. Their vodka is sharp, grainy, and almost chalky. It’s a pretty interesting tasting experience because it’s so full of flavor, which is unusual for vodka. I used Syntax Class V to make a lemon drop:

Lemon Drop

  • 1 1/2 oz vodka
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • lemon wheel garnish

Infusions

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gin rosemary infusion
by guest writer David Coveney, The Spirit Cellar Online

I have been doing liquor infusions at home for quite some time now, and I love using gin.  One of my favourite infusions is rosemary gin:  leave 20 sprigs of rosemary in an entire bottle of gin for around 9 hours, depending on the gin. If you use a richer gin like Tanqueray or Beefeater then leave the rosemary too steep for a little longer. If you are using a light gin like Bombay Sapphire or Martin Millers, then 9 hours is enough. Once the rosemary has fully infused, the gin will be a red/brown colour.

Are you a fan of those after-work Cosmopolitans? Why not make your own lemon vodka, instead of buying Ketel One Citroen? Simply peel 10 lemons, making sure you remove all the pith, as this will add too much bitterness. Add the peels them to a bottle of vodka and leave to infuse for 24 hours. Once the 24 hours is up, peel a further 10 lemons in exactly the same way, remove old peel from the vodka and add the fresh lemon peel.  This double infusion will create a fresh, zesty vodka after another 24 hours of infusing.  Perfect with a dash of simple syrup and soda water and brilliant in your Cosmos:

Cosmopolitan

  • 50 ml (1 1/2 oz) lemon vodka
  • 20 ml (1/2 oz) Cointreau (or orange liqueur/triple sec)
  • 25 ml (3/4 oz) lime juice
  • 20 ml (1/2 oz) cranberry juice
  • garnish with a lime wheel

If you have a sweeter tooth, mix two thirds of your new lemon vodka to 200ml (about 7 oz) of simple syrup. Mix it well and you have a fantastic, punchy, homemade Limoncello.