By Jo Petteruti, Mixologist and Owner, Jo's Stillwater Tea Room --
Vodka-based cocktails have become more elegant, versatile and in line with current trends, and we celebrate those aspects at the Tea Room with a variety of vodkas. Not long ago, vodka had the reputation of something that should be mixed into fruity, sweet or even sour concoctions to hide the flavor of the spirit. The exception was the vodka martini, but even many of those were mixed with dry vermouth to take the edge off the vodka.
One misconception is that most vodkas are devoid of flavor and that the spirit itself doesn't lend anything to the cocktail other than the alcoholic kick. But, it's the fact that vodka is a neutral spirit that makes it so versatile. There's beauty in simplicity. Vodka as a flavor can be considered the rhythm section of the cocktail band. It's not there to be the front man of that band, but rather to give the other ingredients the spotlight.
Another misconception about vodka is that all vodkas are largely the same. But in fact vodka is distilled from a variety of sources and that naturally affects the flavor of the final product. Vodka can be distilled from vegetables, grains, corn, fruits, wheat, rye, beer, potatoes, grapes, sugar cane and even hemp. Each distillery has its own recipe and process. Further, if the vodka is made by an Estate Distillery, such as Frey Ranch in Fallon and Bentley Heritage in Minden, 85% of the ingredients that are used to make the vodkas must come from the estate itself – meaning those ingredients must be grown on-site.
Vodkas blend exceptionally well with any flavor profile, so they can be paired with uncommon and even eclectic ingredients to create diverse cocktails. Conversely, vodka also lends itself to lighter profiles with delicate tones and also to enjoying it all by itself.
The Tea Room carries a variety of vodkas to suit most any taste, including Frey Ranch, Stoli Elit, Tahoe Blue, Grey Goose, Woody Creek and Verdi Local, with other varieties to be added soon. The recipes included today are for the most popular vodka cocktails that we do serve: the Blue Mule (of the Moscow Mule family), two Vodka Martinis and the Lemon Drop.
Blue Mule Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Tahoe Blue vodka
- ½ oz. Pure Lime Juice
- Goslings Ginger Beer
- Fresh lime for the garnish
- Fill a copper cup with ice. A cocktail glass can be used in place of the cup.
- Add the vodka and lime juice, then top off with the ginger beer.
- Garnish with a fresh squeezed lime.
- 3 oz. Stoli Elit vodka
- Green olives for the garnish
- Chill a coupe glass.
- Add a good scoop of ice to a cocktail shaker, then add the vodka.
- Cover and shake really well until icy cold.
- Strain the shaker's ingredients into the glass, filling it about two-thirds of the way. Strain the rest into the sidecar then add the ice into a rocks glass.
- Garnish with 2 skewers of green olives, one that goes in the glass and one that goes is the sidecar.
- 3 oz. Frey Ranch vodka
- 1 oz. Green Olive Juice
- Green olives for the garnish
- Same as above
- 1 ½ oz. Pallini Limoncello
- 1 ½ oz. Grey Goose Vodka
- Splash each of Lemonade and Pure Lemon Juice
- White sugar
- Fresh lemon for the garnish
- Moisten the rim of the coupe glass with a piece of lemon, then dip the rim in the sugar.
- Add a good scoop of ice to a cocktail shaker, then add the liquid ingredients.
- Cover and shake really well until icy cold.
- Strain the shaker's ingredients into the glass, filling it about two-thirds of the way. Strain the rest into the sidecar then add the ice into a rocks glass.
- Garnish with a fresh lemon slice.
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