Vodka
Vodka is a neutral spirit distilled to a very high proof and then filtered to remove most congeners, leaving a clean, largely flavourless base. Traditionally made from grain or potatoes, it takes on the character of whatever it is mixed with. Its neutrality is precisely what makes it a bartending workhorse.
Common uses
- base spirit that lets other ingredients lead
- mixed with juices and sodas
- base for infused cocktails
Buying & storage
Keeps more or less indefinitely: Alcohol is preserving it. An open bottle keeps for a very long time, though aromatics do fade slowly.
Buying: Mid-range is the sensible ceiling. Vodka is distilled and filtered specifically to remove character, so the gap between a decent bottle and an expensive one is far smaller than in any other spirit — and invisible under a mixer.
Storage: keeps indefinitely, store upright away from light; some prefer chilling or freezing for straight sipping
In depth
Understanding vodka
How it is made, where it comes from, what it pairs with, and how it behaves in an alcohol-free drink.
How it's made
Vodka is distilled to a high strength and filtered specifically to strip flavour rather than to build it. Differences between brands are real but small, and largely a matter of texture and residual character rather than taste — which is why blind tastings embarrass more people with vodka than with any other spirit.
Origin
Traditionally associated with Eastern European and Russian grain- or potato-distilling.
What it pairs with
Because it adds so little, vodka pairs with everything and improves almost nothing on its own. Treat the other ingredients as the recipe — if a vodka drink is disappointing, the fault is nearly always the juice or the mixer.
In alcohol-free drinks
- The easiest spirit to omit entirely: in most vodka drinks it contributes strength rather than flavour
- Where a recipe needs the volume back, soda water or a light alcohol-free spirit fills it without adding a competing flavour
Recipes
Cocktails containing this ingredient
Stand-in
Where vodka is a recommended substitute
Recipes that name it as a swap for something else, with what it replaces.
- Martiniin place of gin
- Tom Collinsin place of gin
- Cosmopolitanin place of citron vodka
- Gibsonin place of gin
- Bloody Mariain place of tequila blanco
- Bloody Shamein place of alcohol-free spirit
Swap it
Possible substitutions
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