Vodka Drinks: Simple, Clean, and Clear

Spring is moving quickly toward summer at the Villa, and a preference is seen in the Garden for drinks that are as clean and refreshing as the breeze. This is no time for cloyingly sweet mixes or anything that will give you a headache the next day!

That isn’t to say that care shouldn’t be taken, or consideration not given, to how these things are made. And that isn’t to say that it’s a difficult thing, just that some simple guidelines can make a simple pleasure even better.

Today’s recipes share most of the elements involved, so let’s have a look at each, then put them together.

Glass

These drinks want a smallish glass: old fashioned, short tumbler, or even a Collins for the taller and lesser-known Vodka Press. If you want more, make another, but too much at once will melt the ice long before you’re done, and dilute the thing in a surprisingly unpleasant way.

If someone hands you some enormous cup and insists you use it for their drink, make the usual size drink in their oversized container and tell them you’ll happily make another when they’re done.

The right size glass also makes the ratio easier to achieve by a simple fill: 2 oz. vodka to 4-6 oz. water is just about right. Adjust to preference, of course.

Ice

The main goals should be a drink that is undiluted and cold, and the best way to get there is to fill your (smallish) glass with big, full cubes of ice. The little bits and such will melt much too quickly, killing both the ratio and the carbonation. Also, you want to fill the glass with ice without taking up all the room that should be used by the drink itself.

It comes to mind that you could keep the glassware chilled as well. It’d also reduce the odds of someone trying to make you mix a cocktail in a pint glass or Solo cup. Just a thought.

Vodka

This is also best cold – in fact, if it’s kept in the freezer you’ll be on the right track. That’s not totally necessary, but it does do nice things to the cocktail.

Soda or Tonic Water

I realize that the 2 liter bottle costs less per ounce than the little 10 oz. bottles, but there are two things to consider:

  1. The small bottles tend to have much better carbonation.
  2. You aren’t really likely to use all of that monster anyway before it goes flat.

Because the soda/tonic water is such a significant part of these drinks, it pays to choose a nice one. Admittedly, soda water is pretty much soda water, though they do range some in quality.

In the past few years, however, tonic water has become something big, with wildly varying flavor, sweetness, and price tags. You don’t need to go crazy (though your guests and your palate won’t mind), and the ever-affordable Canada Dry is a workable choice. Your host has a strong preference for avoiding those sweetened with corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, and if you experiment a bit you’ll likely come to agree.

Citrus

Most garnishes hang on the side of a cocktail glass, but for this group it’s very common to squeeze the wedge and drop it in. Once again, this is a simple drink, so every ingredient matters: use actual fruit! That bottle of lemon juice may be 100% genuine uncut juice from holistically grown and divinely inspired lemons, but a wedge from something you just cut will still taste far better.

Precisely which fruit to use for which drink is, as you might expect, as much a matter of taste (and debate) as the vodka:water ratio. When your humble host hands you a glass, it will have the garnish listed in the recipes below, the better to inform (or remind) you what has been made.

Additional Flavors

As well as – or instead of – the functional citrus garnish, you can easily customize these drinks with a small hit of flavor. The result is often pleasingly more subtle than the juice. The recipes with soda water are especially nice for this, as you would expect.

There are three easy ways to customize your drink:

Rinse

Similar to preparing a glass for a sazerac, when you begin, pour just enough of your desired flavor into the glass: a teaspoon or two should do it. Swirl it around the sides of the glass, then pour out the excess and add your ice.

Any liqueur you desire can be used this way, from triple sec to absinthe. It’s a strong hint of flavor, but no more than that.

Mist

It was only a few years ago that little finger-pumped misters were a curiosity in better bars, but now they’re easily available for home use. A bit of a nuisance to properly clean, so it might be best to settle on something you want to use it for regularly.

A mere pump or two before mixing the drink gives the effect of a rinse, but even more subtly. Added after mixing, it flavors more strongly and immediately, and makes the drink fragrant for when you get close enough to sip it. Very nice.

Bitters

The relatively recent explosion of different available bitters means you can easily add depth and interest and personality with just a couple jots to any of these drinks,

The Drinks

Let’s get down to mixing, shall we?

Obviously, since they include bubbly stuff, they are built in the glass and gently stirred: just one or two scoops with a bar spoon should do it.

Vodka Soda
· old-fashioned, ice
2 vodka
fill soda water
rinse, mist, or bitters (optional)
– lemon wedge (squeeze and drop in)

Vodka Tonic
· old-fashioned, ice
2 vodka
fill tonic water
rinse, mist, or bitters (optional)
– lime wedge (squeeze and drop in)

Vodka Press
· collins, ice
2 vodka
½ fill soda water
½ fill lemon-lime soda (pref. 7-Up)
rinse, mist, or bitters (optional)
– lime wedge

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