Cheers

Cheers

The Beverage Business Magazine for Full-Service Restaurants and Bars

  • Beverage Trends
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Spirits
    • Wine Reviews
    • Marketing
    • Operations
  • Recipes
    • What I’m Drinking Now
    • Submit a Drink Recipe
  • Resources
    • eRNDC Login
    • SG Proof Login
    • CORE: Children of Restaurant Employees
  • Events & Awards
    • Cheers Beverage Summit
    • Growth Brands
    • BevX Awards
    • Supplier Awards
  • Podcasts
  • E-News
    • E-News Subscribe
  • Digital Issues
  • Cheers@Home

The Best Summer Cocktails: Vodka

07/15/2015

by: The Staff

Welcome to our summer drinks guide. We’ve pored over hundreds of recipes to select the best cocktails of the 2015 season. The recipes are broken down by category: vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey, and beer.

We hope you enjoy our selections and get a few ideas for your summer drinks program.

These are the best vodka cocktails:

Pinnacle Cucumber Honey Splash

Cucumber Honey Splash

Cucumber Honey Splash

1 part Pinnacle Cucumber vodka
½ part Fresh lime juice
½ part Honey syrup
3 Chunks of cantaloupe and honeydew

Muddle melon in a mixing glass until liquefied, pour all ingredients over ice shake and strain in a highball glass. Garnish with melon balls and cucumber wheels.

The mixologists at Pinnacle created this recipe.

Advertisement

Tuscan Lemondrop

2 oz. Van Gogh vodka
1 oz. Limoncello di Capri
¼ oz. Fresh lemon juice
4 ¼-in. thick slices Cucumber
3 Basil leaves
3 dashes Fee Brothers cherry bitters

Muddle cucumber and basil in a shaker.  Add ice, limoncello, vodka and lemon juice. Shake and double strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with 3 dashes of bitters and garnish with one basil leaf and three cucumber slices.

Jersey Shore mixologist Chris Asay created this recipe.

Peachy Keen

1 ½ oz. Deep Eddy Teavodka
¼ oz. Peach schnapps
1 oz. Lemon juice
Spoon of peach jam/preserves
2 dashes Peach bitters

Combine all ingredients into a tin. Shake and roll into a mason jar. Top with splash of soda water. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

The mixologists at Deep Eddy created this recipe.

All The King’s Horses

½ oz. Grey Goose Le Melon vodka
1 oz. Fresh grapefruit juice
1 oz. Fresh lemon juice
1 oz. St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1 Jalapeño pepper

Muddle one slice jalapeño in a shaker. Add remaining ingredients and shake vigorously. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice and top with soda and jalapeño garnish.

The mixologists at Grey Goose created this recipe.

California Roots

California Roots

California Roots

Lime wedge
Fennel salt (coarsely grind 1 tbsp. kosher salt and 1 tbsp. fennel seeds)
1 ½ oz. Vodka
1 oz. Fresh agave sour
½ oz. Agave nectar
¼ of a Ripe avocado, mashed

Rim half of an Old Fashioned glass with lime and dip in fennel salt and fill glass with ice. Fill cocktail shaker with ice, add vodka, fresh agave sour, agave nectar and avocado. Cover and shake vigorously, until avocado is completely incorporated with mixture. Strain into prepared glass. Garnish with mint sprig and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of California Pizza Kitchen.

Killing Thyme

1 ½ oz. Elyx vodka
1 oz. Blood orange shrub*
¾ oz. Lime juice
¾ oz. Simple syrup
3 Thyme sprigs
3 dashes Orange bitters
Club soda to finish

Pour all ingredients into a shaker. Muddle to ensure thyme flavor is released. Shake just to blend. Pour into iced-down highball glass. Orange bitters to finish with a splash of soda. Garnish with thyme and a blood orange peel. (NOTE: You can substitute fresh blood orange juice in for the shrub, but the uniqueness of the cocktail comes from the shrub.)

*For Blood orange shrub:

8 Blood oranges
¾ cup Turbinado sugar
¾ cup Champagne vinegar

Peel the blood oranges with a peeler into long strips and remove the pith. Pour about a ¼ cup of the sugar over peels and muddle. Cover and let sit for an hour or two. Juice the blood oranges and combine with the remaining ½ cup sugar, sugared peels and vinegar. Mix together well, and put in a non-reactive plastic container. Cover and refrigerate. Stir daily; after three days, strain through a fine sieve and reserve.

Peter Kreidler, sous chef at Clay Pigeon Food and Drink in Fort Worth, TX, created this recipe.

Moscow Mule Crushed Cocktail

1 ½ oz. Tito’s vodka
½ oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
¼ oz. Fresh lime juice
3 oz. La Marca prosecco
Combine ingredients and serve over crushed ice.

The mixologists at Red Fish Grill in New Orleans created this cocktail.

Vita Speziata

(Pictured atop)

2 oz. Chopin potato vodka
1 tsp. La Boîte Isak No. 37 chili spice blend
½ oz. Dimmi Italian liqueur
¾ oz. Fresh papaya juice
½ oz. Fresh celery juice
½ oz. Fresh lemon juice
½ oz. Simple syrup

Combine ingredients in mixing tin. Shake and double strain into double rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a celery ribbon on a pick.

The mixologists at Il Buco Alimentari in New York created this recipe.

Glad Rags

1 ½ oz. Tito’s vodka
½ oz. Fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice
½ oz. Fresh-squeezed lime juice
½ oz. St. Germaine elderflower liqueur
1 Rosemary sprig

Muddle rosemary with juices in a shaker glass, and then add vodka and top with ice. Shake and double strain over fresh ice in a highball glass. Top with a rosemary sprig.

Taylor Hall of the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Resort & Spa created this recipe.

Cantaloupe Martini

1 ½ oz. Skyy Citron vodka
2 oz. Watermelon liqueur
Splash orange juice
Splash fresh lime juice
Cantaloupe balls for garnish

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake and strain into chilled Martini cocktail glass. Garnish with cantaloupe balls.

Eddie Garcia of the Jade Bar at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley, AZ, created this recipe.

Superfruit Sangria Punch

1 oz. Van Gogh Acai-Blueberry vodka
½ oz. Fresh lemon juice
¼ oz. Simple syrup
1 oz. Each of white and red wine
1 oz. Pomegranate juice

Combine ingredients with ice and stir. Garnish with fresh berries and sliced lemons.

The Cocktail Guru Jonathan Pogash created this recipe.

S’mores Surprise

1 part Pinnacle Marshmallow vodka
1 part JDK & Sons Crave Chocolate
Chili liqueur
2 parts Half & Half

Shake with ice and strain into a Martini glass rimmed with graham cracker crumbs. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

The mixologists at Pinnacle created this recipe.

What I’m Drinking Now

MariHowe2

Mari Howe

Mari Howe

Bartender at Cowboy Ciao and Counter Intuitive in Scottsdale, AZ

Sometimes I need a “pick me up drink,” but I don’t care for energy drinks. I discovered Agwa de Bolivia, an herbal liqueur made with Bolivian coca leaves and 37 other natural herbs and botanicals including green tea, ginseng and guarana. (Don’t worry, I didn’t find it on the black market—it’s completely legal!)

For summertime in the heat of Arizona, I wanted to create something light and refreshing, and still a little boozy. I decided to pair Agwa de Bolivia with vodka (you can also use gin if you prefer), fresh basil, lime and cucumber, and the Holy Cow-Cumber was born.

HolyCowCumber

Holy Cow-Cumber

Holy Cow-Cumber

1 ½ oz. Square One Organic Cucumber vodka
1 oz. Agwa de Bolivia coca leaf liqueur
¾ oz. Fresh lime juice
½ oz. Rich simple syrup (2:1)
4-5 Fresh basil leaves
1 Cucumber slice

Muddle basil and cucumber with lime and syrup, then add spirits. Shake hard with ice, then double strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with a cucumber slice and basil top. Finish by expressing a lemon peel over the top and discarding the peel.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

cocktails Counter Intuitive Cowboy Ciao drinks Mari Howe Summer Cocktails Summer drinks Vodka cocktail Vodka cocktails Vodka drinks what are some summer cocktails

Last modified: 07/15/2015

Previous Story:
The Best Summer Cocktails: Beer
Next Story:
The Best Summer Cocktails: Tequila

About the Author: The Staff

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Follow Us

Facebook
Twitter

In The News

  • Diageo Acquiring Don Papa Rum
  • San Francisco Cocktails Celebrate Mean Girls The Musical
  • NYC’s Mister Paradise Unveils New Menu
  • How Much Do Alcohol Consumers Care About Sustainability?
  • Podcast: Beverage Alcohol Trends For 2023
  • Meet The Mixologist: Laura Unterberg
More News >>

Featured Drink

  • Red Dragon
    Red Dragon cocktail

Drink Recipes

  • A Round of Valentine’s Day Cocktails for 2023
  • Red Dragon
  • Year of the Rabbit
  • Viva Magenta Colored Cocktails
  • Winter White Sangria

Current Issue

Cheers Current Issue

Cheers Magazine

  • About Cheers
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Market Research

Events & Awards

  • Beverage Excellence Awards
  • Cheers Beverage Summit
  • Growth Brands Awards

Magazines

  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Handbooks (research)

E-Newsletters

  • Better Bartending
  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Universe
  • Cannabis Regulator
  • About EPG Brand Acceleration
  • Send File
  • Privacy Policy
© Cheers Magazine. All rights reserved.