Top vodka cocktails around the world

Showing two fingers to those who doubt the relevance of vodka in contemporary cocktail culture, Tyler Wetherall speaks to the bartenders putting the spirit centre stage.

Some may dispute the modern relevance of vodka in the bar world, but there sure are some delicious vodka cocktails out there

*This article was first published in the April 2015 issue of The Spirits Business magazine

Something happened to vodka’s rep while it wasn’t looking. From being the most popular kid in school, a rumour spread like wildfire, and now no one wants to be friends with it. It became passé, or, worse still, unrefined in the face of more complex and cultured brown spirits. Odourless, colourless and neutral, vodka might decry: what have I ever done to you?

Its neutrality made it the go-to spirit in the dark days of 90s cocktail culture where so-called disco drinks were du jour. When craft cocktails began their ascent, the spirit became associated with cheap thoughtless drinks and uneducated drinkers with crass palates. Some cocktail experts, such as Audrey Saunders, co-owner of New York’s Pegu Club, rallied against the spirit, refusing to feature vodka cocktails on the menu. The many flavoured vodkas crowding the market of late haven’t helped its case either.

But there seems to be a softening of this hardliner stance in recent years with some bartenders arguing for vodka’s rightful place on the back bar. Certain drinks can play off vodka’s neutrality, allowing other ingredients to take centre stage that would be crowded by a smoky mezcal or sophisticated rye.

This seems part of a bigger movement away from the pretentiousness sometimes associated with cocktail culture, with bartenders increasingly accepting of consumer tastes – or potentially even demonstrating that consumer tastes

have improved.

Vodka has played a key role in Eastern European culture for centuries, which can’t be belittled, and is still drunk by millions of people. To wholeheartedly reject it seems somewhat foolhardy. As Jamie Gordon, manager of mixology for Pernod Ricard, says: “Bartenders are finally starting to make peace with vodka as part of their lexicon. They’ve begun to relax about

trying to break away from the so-called ‘disco drinks’ that became stigmatised with the rise of cheap ingredients. You don’t have to look too hard to find a serious cocktail programme touting a grasshopper anymore.”

Here we meet some of those bartenders from leading bars around the globe, who aren’t afraid to sing the praises of a maligned spirit. Click through the following pages to discover their favourite vodka cocktails.

Jim Kearns – The Happiest Hour, New York

At this playful Greenwich Village cocktail bar and restaurant, the motto is “you pick ‘em, we pour ‘em”, driving a non-judgemental philosophy behind the bar. With Acme’s Jon Neidich and veteran New York bartender Jim Kearns – formerly of Pegu Club and NoMad Hotel – behind the venture, their vision is to restore a sense of fun and escapism to going out, which is certainly evoked by the Florida palm wallpaper and holiday knick knacks on the shelves. “I see vodka as having an important place in service,” Kearns explains. “We offer vodka as an option in our choose-your-base-spirit signature cocktails. Who are any of us to dictate what our guests should or shouldn’t drink? In 2015, most drinkers know what other spirits taste like, and, if they still want vodka, it’s their choice,” says Kearns.

Link Ray

Ingredients:

40ml vodka; 60ml celery juice;

20ml lime juice; 15ml cane syrup;

15ml Suze

Method: Shake and strain ingredients into a Collins glass, garnish with a

celery frond, celery salt rim, and a sprinkle of pepper.

David Segat – London Edition, London

Ian Schrager’s hotels have become as well known for their bar and restaurant showpieces as their rooms, and the London Edition is no exception. While the lobby bar is ostentatious and buzzing, the Punch Room is intimate and brooding. Bar manager Davide Segat can be thanked for the Punch craze that swept through London. Vodka is present in two of their Punches, including The Tallbarrs Te with Absolut Elyx, a brand Segat rates highly. He also offers Belvedere Unfiltered as the house vodka. “We work very closely with a lot of brands to train the staff and consumers, and to make sure vodka is very visible in our cocktail menus,” Segat says. “The industry used to market vodka as a neutral spirit, 10 times distilled through diamonds, or that kind of thing, which may have helped sales but the flavour paid the price. The industry is moving away from that image now, and big brands are working on improving flavour. There is a lot of research on the raw ingredients, something that didn’t happen before. Vodka is still the most widely consumed spirit in the world; of course it’s relevant.”

Big Smoke

Ingredients:

50ml Absolut Craft Smokey Tea;

20ml Lime Juice; 10ml Homemade Ginger Syrup; 2 dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab’s Teapot Bitters;

15ml Egg white

Method: Shake and double strain into a coupette and garnish with redcurrant on a peg with an edible flower.

Sven Almenning – Eau de Vie, Sydney

 

This multi-award winning 1920s-style bar is secreted through an unmarked door in the back of the lobby of the Kirketon boutique hotel. While Eau de Vie gin is its go-to spirit, there is still a demand for well-made vodka cocktails from many guests, and the bar keeps a small selection of premium brands on the back bar. “Vodka definitely has ongoing relevance,” says Sven Almenning, owner and director of The Speakeasy Group. “While there has been a fair amount of backlash against vodka in the bar industry at large, consumers and cocktail fans will always seek out vodka-based cocktails. It definitely plays an important part in balancing the list and making sure that we have drinks that appeal to our guests.”

Espresso Zabaione

Ingredients:

50ml Vodka; 15ml Coffee liqueur

10ml Spiced maple syrup; 30ml Coffee

*Saffron and vanilla mousse

Method: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain into a stemmed glass and layer mousse on top. Cover with liquid nitrogen to chill. Serve with a spoon.

*Beat 12 eggs with 200g sugar in large metal bowl on top of a pot of boiling water until you reach a nice fluffy texture. Add vanilla and a pinch of saffron and fold in with one litre of double cream. Place bowl on ice and continue folding until correct texture is achieved.

Cherry Lam – Quinary, Hong Kong

Quinary is known for its experimental outlook when it comes to drinks; the molecular cocktail den of Hong Kong engages aroma, texture, and even sound in cocktail creation, as well as taste. And vodka certainly plays a part in its programme, often with a twist of local or pan-Asian ingredients, such as tea, flower and root, to create oriental influences. “The taste of vodka is very simple, clean and crisp. It’s easy to flavour vodka with any ingredients. It creates a good alcohol balance to the cocktail and a compliment of flavours,” says Tastings Group bartender Cherry Lam. “At Quinary, we infuse our vodka by using a rotary evaporator for re-distillation, which doesn’t alter the original clear characteristic of vodka. For example, with wasabi vodka, once redistilled, the liquid still remains clear, but the full flavour and aroma of the wasabi becomes more intense without the burning sensation.” Quinary’s vodka cocktails have become some of the most popular on the menu.

Quinary Bloody Mary

Ingredients:

45ml Redistilled fresh wasabi vodka;

10ml Fresh lemon juice;

5ml Homemade Bloody Mary mix;

Top with tomato juice blended with fresh cherry tomatoes

Method: Build in a Collins glass over cubed ice.