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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

1 Reply

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.