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.

Raspberry Vodka Mixers

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.

Raspberry Vodka Jelly

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:

• 135 g of raspberry jelly
• 150 ml raspberry vodka
• 150 ml boiling water
• Approximately 150 ml cold water
• Plastic shot glasses

Instructions:

1. Arrange the shot glasses in a container or on a tray that will be easily transportable when it comes to transferring them to the fridge.
2. Break up the jelly and place in a measuring jug. Pour over the boiling water and dissolve completely. Alternatively you can use cold water and microwave for as long is necessary.
3. Add the vodka and cold water to bring the level up to 600 ml.
4. Pour the contents into the shot glasses.
5. Place in the fridge to set.
6. Once the raspberry jelly shots have firmed up they are ready to be sampled! Enjoy.

How to Make Raspberry Vodka

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.

Cocktails with Raspberry Vodka

17 Twist

Raspberry vodka (30 ml or 1 oz) and mountain dew (90 ml or 3 oz)

Berry Choc Martini

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).

Berry Blitz

Raspberry vodka (30 ml or 1 oz), raspberry liqueur (15 ml or 1/2 oz), summer fruits fizzy pop (60 ml or 2 oz).

Raspberry Vodka Brands

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.

www.uvvodka.com/products/blue

Vincent Van Gosh Raspberry Vodka

• Vodka Flavours