15 Exceptional Vodka Cocktails, From a Vesper to Martini Variations
Vodka might just be our favorite blank canvas for smoky, fruity, and caffeinated drinks.
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
Vodka has been America's most popular spirit since 1976 for a reason: It's incredibly versatile. Clear, colorless, odorless, and (relatively) flavorless, vodka pairs well with just about any flavor profile you can think of, making it an essential bottle to have on hand if you're entertaining at home. That neutrality also means that vodka takes well to infusions with ingredients like citrus fruits, herbs, and even jalape?o peppers. We've collected our favorite vodka cocktails by bartenders and chefs around the country, from a perfect frozen Espresso Martini, to a magical, miso-driven variation on everyone's favorite breakfast Bloody Mary. Feeling fancy? Try your hand at a stawberry Retropolitan, or make a smoky Lovesick Crocodile.
Stock your cabinet with one of the best vodkas, and start mixing up any of our best vodka cocktails.
Rocky Mountain Wizard
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
The Rocky Mountain Wizard combines seemingly simple spirits into a complex cocktail that is rich and refreshing. It has a backbone of bitter citrus, which is highlighted by the garnish of a thick orange peel, and an herbal sweetness from the combination of yellow Chartreuse and white vermouth.
Lovesick Crocodile
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
The Lovesick Crocodile features Ancho Reyes, a liqueur made in Mexico from smoky sun-dried ancho chiles which are macerated in cane spirit. The result is a savory, slightly sweet liqueur which has a rich, earthy flavor and a hint of spice.
Frozen Salted Espresso Martinis
If you're an Espresso Martini fan, you'll love this frosty take, topped with flaky salt for contrast.
Frozmopolitan
Cocktail savant Toby Cecchini is credited with inventing the internationally recognized version of the Cosmopolitan — a drink he codified while bartending at the Odeon. These days, as the owner of The Long Island bar in Brooklyn, he continues to come up with distinctive drinks that taste like instant classics, including this frozen Cosmopolitan that's great for a crowd. Fruity and citrusy, Cecchini's "froze-mopolitan" (a portmanteau of "Frozen" and "Cosmopolitan'') tastes so much like a delicious fruit punch that you might not notice there's alcohol in it.
Moscow Mule
A cool, refreshing vodka and ginger beer concoction served over ice and garnished with a wheel of lime, this popular vodka cocktail is synonymous with summer. Moscow Mules are traditionally served in copper mugs, which is how the cocktail was first presented when it was invented in the 1940s; you can order your own copper mugs, but a Moscow Mule is just as tasty sipped out of a Collins glass.
Sgroppino
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
This boozy afternoon treat is the easiest frozen drink you can make.
Dirty Shirley
Remember drinking Shirley Temples when you were a kid? The mocktail for children has made a comeback, albeit one suitable for adults only. A shot of vodka added to the mixture of ginger ale and grenadine gives it a slight edge, but the maraschino cherry on top keeps things whimsical.
Vesper Cocktail
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
Gin people and vodka people alike can agree on how delightful this cocktail is.
Screwdriver
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
If you've got vodka and freshly squeezed orange juice, you can make this simple brunch cocktail in minutes.
White Russian
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
While a White Russian can be made with milk or half-and-half, heavy cream adds unmatched flavor and texture to this simple cocktail.
Miso Mary Libertine
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
An ode to Japanese ingredients, this Bloody Mary gets a satiating and savory punch from shiro dashi and white miso.
Honey Deuce
The signature cocktail of the U.S. Open, the Honey Deuce sensation started back in 2006, when Grey Goose partnered with expert mixologist Nick Mautone, a restaurant industry veteran of Union Square Hospitality and Gotham Bar & Grill, to craft a vodka cocktail for the event.
Mudslide
Created in the 1970s at Grand Cayman's Wreck Bar at Rum Point, this potent blend of vodka, Kahlúa, and Baileys Original Irish Cream might taste like a milkshake, but it can't be ordered virgin because all you'd get is a cup of crushed ice! The trio of alcohol blends into a smooth and velvety cocktail just sweet and chocolaty enough without being cloying. A generous drizzle of chocolate syrup and a bright red maraschino cherry with a dusting of ground cinnamon top off each glass.
Carajillo
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
This classic Mexican coffee cocktail is the ultimate after-dinner drink — especially if you make it a decaf.
MSG Martini
For Bonnie's signature MSG martini, lead bartender Channing Centeno creates a solution of MSG (monosodium glutamate), which, like table salt, enhances the flavor of anything it is added to. In lieu of vermouth, Shaoxing wine, a sweet and sour Chinese rice wine made for both drinking and cooking, is used here, bringing complex, savoriness, acidity and subtle sweetness to the martini, while olive brine adds a briney, saline quality. Finally, a citrus- and juniper-forward gin like Botanist counters the salty and savory flavors of the other ingredients, bringing everything into balance.
The Retropolitan
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
The Retropolitan is a strawberry-and-lime-flavored cocktail with bright fruit notes and enough acidity to keep it in balance. Its flavor is reminiscent of grown up fruit punch and you won’t want to put it down. Like many great cocktails, this recipe starts with Aperol, the sweet, citrusy Italian liqueur known best for its bright orange color and starring role in an Aperol Spritz.
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