The Coolest Vodka Cocktails Around the Country
Pull up a stool at a trendy cocktail bar nowadays and you might find a handle-bar-mustachioed mixologist hoarding an arsenal of fresh herbs, house-made simple syrups, and obscure liqueurs, concocting amazing things with whiskey, gin, and even absinthe.
But vodka? Not so much.
Seems many hot spots are shunning the distilled spirit these days. Maybe it was one too many requests for cloyingly sweet Cosmos back in the go-go “Sex in the City” days, or the fact that few other spirits have been saddled with cringe-worthy incarnations along the lines of birthday cake and root beer.
But happily enough, plenty of good barkeeps out there haven’t given up on the stuff (which happens to be the most popular spirit in the world!). To mark National Vodka Day on October 4, we’re honoring seven creative concoctions giving vodka its due at watering holes around the country.
Chili Passion Martini. Photo courtesy of The Setai
Chili Passion Martini, The Bar and Courtyard at The Setai (Miami Beach, Florida)
Leave it to a Miami bartender to concoct a cool cocktail that still has plenty of heat. Bartender Philip Khandehrish infuses Russian Standard Vodka with chili peppers, then shakes it with passion-fruit-infused rum, passion fruit pulp, and ginger syrup, serving it up in a martini glass. For a heated finish, he spikes it with a sprinkling of chili flakes.
Citrus Blossom, ChoLon (Denver, Colorado)
Many of the drinks at this Asian bistro nod to chef Lon Symensma's international travels. This one mingles organic American Harvest vodka, grapefruit and lemon juices, the Italian apertif Aperol, and a fragrant house-made kaffir-and-lemongrass simple syrup for a fragrant, light libation.
Turn of the Century. Photo courtesy of The Gerber Group
Turn of the Century, The Roof at The Viceroy (New York, New York)
Though the original version of this tipple—which British bartender C.A. Tuck dubbed The Twentieth Century in 1937—calls for gin, NYC mixologists decided to toy with the recipe. They swapped in Stoli Ohranj as the base, adding Lillet Blanc, White Crème de Cacao, lemon juice, and an eye-catching garnish of an orange peel wrapped around a chocolate square. The result? A concoction that one staffer raves is “just like a chocolate-coated orange!”
Heat of the Night, CuchiCuchi (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
That aforementioned heat comes from muddled jalapeño balanced with citrus vodka, watermelon juice, and elderflower liqueur, all served on the rocks. It’s a fine thing to sip at this retro, Old-Hollywood-inspired spot just a stone’s throw from Harvard.
Mayfair. Photo courtesy of Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails
Mayfair, Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails (Phoenix, Arizona)
Blue Hound’s head mixologist Stephanie Teslar combines organic Aylesbury Duck vodka, Giffard Lichi-Li Lychee liqueur, and a pink peppercorn-watermelon shrub to make this one-of-a-kind cocktail. And since she “wanted to make a shandy-style drink without the beer component,” Teslar tops the concoction off with Woodchuck’s amber cider.
Hot Fuzz, Racion (Portland, Oregon)
When Justin Siemer, a bartender at this Spanish tapas joint, spotted some overripe fruit in his kitchen, he cleverly decided to vacuum-seal and sous vide them with Monopolowa vodka from Austria. He blends the resulting stone fruit liqueur with more vodka—because why not?—orange and lemon juices, and a squeeze of homemade ginger-habanero syrup.
What’s Up Doc, The Bazaar, (Beverly Hills, California)
This grand José Andrés restaurant got plenty of buzz when its first outpost opened in Beverly Hills in 2008, thanks in part to its fantastical molecular cocktails. Sure, you can get cotton candy that turns into a mojito or a Caipirinha frozen with liquid nitrogen, but this one involves frothing vodka, lime, and Cointreau with fresh-squeezed carrot juice and topping them with a lovely layer of foamy “basil air.” It’s like a sexier version of carrot soup spiked with pesto—and, hello, vodka.
