I first discovered raspberry vodka a few years back whilst running a pub. It was Absolut Raspberry and as with everything that is new it had an initial surge of popularity that then curbed and evened out. It wasn’t just a flash in the pan; we kept it in stock and a few regulars that drank it with lemonade (that’s 7-up style lemonade). It was also a handy ingredient to use in shooter and cocktail recipes.
As mentioned, Absolut Raspberry and fizzy lemonade like 7-up or Sprite is a simple combination that works well.
Fresh lime and soda. Squeeze a wedge of lime into your drink or just drop a wedge right in if you want just a hint of lime.
Cranberry juice and lemonade
Cranberry juice and orange juice
If you like your drinks extra sweet add a dash of grenadine to the mix.
Yield: Using 135 g of jelly will produce 600 ml of liquid so depending on your shot glass size you should get about 20 shots (30 ml per shot). One packet of Jell-O is 3 oz which is 85 g so scale up or down as required.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
How about making your own raspberry vodka? It’s very easy and simply requires adding a load of raspberries to a bottle of vodka and leaving it for a few days or longer (the longer the better). You will need to remove some of the vodka to make room for the raspberries. If you use frozen raspberries the vodka will turn redder. You can either use the raspberry infused vodka with the raspberries and bits left in or strain the vodka and eat the raspberries separately as I tasty, boozy snack.
You could infuse vodka with both raspberries and blueberries. Frozen blueberries (pictured right) will have the most effect on the colour of the vodka. Blueberries will also come out of the vodka bottle more readily. Unless you chop or crush up your raspberries you may need a bit of digging and jigging to pull them all out of the neck of the bottle. Crushing them will result in a far stronger infusion. It depends on whether your want the visual effect of whole pieces of fruit in the vodka with just a hint of flavour or a stronger, infused taste and a mushy mash of fruit pulp.
Raspberry vodka (30 ml or 1 oz) and mountain dew (90 ml or 3 oz)
Berry chocolate deliciousness.
Raspberry vodka (15 ml or 1/2 oz), white crème de cacao (30 m l or 1 oz) and blackberry liqueur (15 m l or 1/2 oz).
Raspberry vodka (30 ml or 1 oz), raspberry liqueur (15 ml or 1/2 oz), summer fruits fizzy pop (60 ml or 2 oz).
Absolut Raspberri
www.absolut.com/uk/products/absolut-raspberri
Smirnoff Raspberry
www.smirnoff.com/en-us/vodka/smirnoff-raspberry
Skyy Infusions Raspberry Vodka
Stolichnaya Raspberry Vodka
Infused raspberry vodka rather than just flavouring.
www.stoli.com/product/#stoli-razberi
Svedka Raspberry Vodka
svedka.com/splash/#!/flavors/raspberry
UV Blue
Naturally flavoured with vine ripened raspberries.
Vincent Van Gosh Raspberry Vodka
Warming heat of vodka plus silky smooth chocolate equals heavenly, boozy simplicity in a glass.
This flirtatious cocktail adds a bubbly, pineapple twist to a Cosmopolitan. If you are feeling frugal switch the champagne for a Prosecco (arguably a more palatable fizz at a fraction of the cost).
A Cosmopolitan cocktail adopts just that in attitude by mixing alcohol with alcohol and topping up with just a dash of juice. If you want to intoxify your guests then this is the one to serve up! Short and strong, small sips are recommended to avoid peaking too early in a room spinning, dizzy head, hazy eyes drunken disaster!
Vodka and Ice Tea and Iced Tea Vodka are two very different things. One is basically a cocktail while the other is a vodka infusion. Really the latter is just tea flavoured vodka that has been either artificially flavoured or infused using tea leaves. Brands of tea flavoured vodka are detailed below.
It’s a classic that has caused a zillion number of smirks, giggles or outright fits of laughter when ordered at any bar on the planet and if you don’t find it vaguely amusing then you must be lacking a sense of humour! It is a simple enough cocktail consisting of just 2 spirits and a bit of juice but sometimes simplicity is needed in life and indulging in good old sex on the beach is what’s required! Tee. Hee. Hee.
Pure boozy, chocolaty indulgence; these chocolate martin's should be sipped not gulped, especially seeing as they are both alcohol, alcohol mixed with alcohol!
London cocktail week was a great opportunity to try out bars and cocktails that you hadn’t yet got around to checking out or test driving and it also provided a perfect excuse (if you needed one) to get out and about a few nights in a row to squeeze in as many £4 discounted drinks as you could in one week!
Opium is a hidden gem amongst the back to back bustling restaurants of Gerrard Street.
Vodka has been sipped, downed and applied across the globe for centuries. Originating in Eastern Europe towards the end of the 9th century the name is derived from the Russian word ‘voda’ meaning water. It was primarily used for medicinal purposes and as an ingredient in gun powder during the Middle Ages but during the 14th century became an established drink in Russia and by the middle of the 16th century was recognised as the national drink of Poland and Finland. But what is vodka made from?
Russian Standard is clean, perfectly clear and smooth. Although a premium brand it can often be found on the supermarket shelf with an offer sticker, making it all the more appealing!