I figure our readers need some good recipes to use that commemorative bottle of Fuzzy’s vodka they bought in honor of today’s Indy 500. If you never grabbed a bottle of Fuzzy’s, you can use another vodka in these recipes, too. Either way, these are fun drinks to enjoy whike watching a race or just hanging out with friends. There are many, many vodka drinks, but I’ve included my very favorite ones here.
My love affair with vodka began in college. I worked in a bar and learned some great drinks that way. My boss showed me the Colorado Bulldog this drink continues to be one of my all-time favorites.
Colorado Bulldog
1 oz vodka
1 oz coffee liqueur
1 oz cream (or milk-I’m more calorie conscious now, so I use low fat milk)
splask of Coca Cola
Fill tall bar glass with ice, add vodka, liqueur and cream/milk. Top with Coke. Be careful! These taste like an old fashioned chocolate soda.
I was also a sorority girl. My sisters taught me many things and how to do a lemon drop was part of that education. You will see many versions of this drink, but this is the one I love.
Lemon Drop Shot
1 oz chilled vodka in a shot glass
sugar
lemon wedge
Put sugar on your tongue, take shot, suck lemon wedge to finish. Be careful! These go down way too smooth!
As a writing instructor and English major who worked her way through one undergraduate degree and one graduate degree at a bar, I have to appreciate the connection between writers and alcohol. One of my favorite bar guides is Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers. Two more of my favorite vodka drinks are included in that book.
In honor of Truman Capote, the author of many great stories like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood as well as short stories like “A Christmas Memory”‘ all of which are some of my favorites, the guide includes a recipe for the Screwdriver. According to the book, Capote called the Screwdriver “My orange drink.”
Screwdriver
2 oz vodka
5 oz fresh orange juice
Fill tall bar glass with ice, add vodka, add orange juice.
Raymond Carver, the author of one of my favorite short stories “Cathedral,” liked the Bloody Mary as a hangover relief. I agree it’s a great drink for “the morning after,” but it’s also a great drink period. You can play with the proportions to get the flavor you want.
Bloody Mary
2 oz vodka
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/4 tsp grated horseradish
1 pinch cracked pepper
1 pinch salt
1 pinch celery salt
tomato juice
celery stalk
lime wedge
Pour all ingredients (except tomato juice, celery stalk and lime wedge) in tall bar glass. Fill with ice. Top with tomato juice and stir. Garnish with celery stalk and lime wedge.
