Russian cocktails
While stellar when served alone, our spirits give a modern twist to traditional Russian cocktails.
The Fountain of Youth
Today, some nutritionists call the pomegranate a "superfruit" or a "fruit of the future," for its exceptional antioxidant properties. And not surprisingly, this versatile, undeniably attractive, jewel-like fruit has been popping up in health food stores and juice bars around the United States and Europe. But pomegranates have been celebrated for millennia, not just for their health benefits, but also for their deep symbolic meaning across many cultures: in ancient Persia, and still today, the fruit was said to give a long and healthy life, in ancient Greece the pomegranate was a symbol of fertility. And the list goes on. In Russia, the word for pomegranate is "granat" – add the fragrant spice of ginger, and like a liquid grenade, this pomegranate cocktail is exploding with fresh, energizing flavor with each and every sip.
50ml / 1.7 fl oz Russian Standard
60ml / 2 fl oz Pomegranate juice, fresh squeezed where available
20g / 0.7 oz thinly sliced ginger
Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice, double strain and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of ginger, pass a mint leaf around the glass rim.
The Juicy Suzy
In the United States, watermelon is the symbol of summer, of 4th of July BBQs and cookout competitions. In the Balkans, gypsy legend has it that watermelons kept too long after Christmas will turn into vampires, and in China, the rinds are often stir-fried or pickled. Watermelon just might be one of the most symbolic fruits out there, but in Moscow at Suzy WongBar, its interpretation couldn't be simpler or more pure: fresh watermelon, with a dash of lime, meets crystal clear vodka.
50ml / 1.7 fl oz Russian Standard
300 g / 10 oz Watermelon flesh
10ml / 0.33 fl oz Lime juice
2 tsp. Sugar cane syrup
Shake ingredients vigorously over ice. Double - strain and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a wedge of watermelon.
The Mélange
The dog rose, or rosa canina, has more to offer than just its pale pink petals: as autumn unfolds these flowers mature into bright red-orange "hips". Being exceptionally high in vitamin C, iron and antioxidants, these fruits have been used since prehistoric times for their unparalleled health benefits–and as a treat in pies, teas, and marmalades around the world. Now, tart dog rose preserves are combined with fresh limes in an original cocktail that is as elegant, crisp and exotic as it is earthy and timeless. We're just surprised nobody thought of it before.
50 ml / 1.7 fl oz Russian Standard
60 g / 2 oz Dog Rose Preserves
15 ml / 0.5 oz Lime juice
Shake ingredients vigorously over ice.
Double-strain and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orchid flower and serve immediately.
Tangier Tangerine
The tangerine gets its name from the Moroccan city of Tangier, the port from which the fruit was originally shipped to Europe hundreds of years ago. Facing Spain from across the Gibraltar, the city is literally Europe's gateway to Northern Africa and all its exotic mystery. No wonder Tangier has been attracting people with a passion for culture for decades–from writers and artists like the Beats and Henry Matisse, to high-rollers like publishing don Malcolm Forbes. The tangerine is equally appealing, at once poetic, sensual, and elegant, all qualities brought out in perfect harmony when combined with a pure, smooth-bodied vodka like Russian Standard in this semi-tart, semi-sweet, and entirely intriguing cocktail.
50ml / 1.7 fl oz Russian Standard
60ml / 2 fl oz Fresh squeezed tangerine juice
10 ml / 0.33 fl oz Lime juice
Shake ingredients vigorously over ice, double strain and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a slice of tangerine.
Bloody Masha
The origins of the Bloody Mary are subject to some debate–some say it was an American, George Jesselt, who created the tomatoey cocktail way back in 1939. And Frenchman Fernand Petiot has claimed to have made it the unique drink it is today by adding the signature Worcester sauce, pepper and celery to the mix. Picture American ingenuity and French sparkle–a worldly combination if ever there was one. It's spicy and a little bold, and some say it's the perfect cure for the morning after. Others like to savor it over a weekend lunch, or even as a summer aperitif. With Russian Standard, it is the velvety richness of the tomatoes and the fiery spices that make this cocktail really "click" – because you can always grasp the strong smoothness of this vodka, even beneath a storm of flavors.
45 ml/1.5 fl oz Russian Standard
90 ml/3 fl oz Tomato juice
15 ml/0.5 fl oz Lemon juice
4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
3 dashes Hot Sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Shake ingredients with ice cubes and pour into a highball. Garnish with celery stick & black pepper.
Bolshoi Basil Green
Both ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks believed basil could open the gates of heaven–all you had to do was pass by clutching a sprig of the summer scented herb. The good news is we don't have to wait until our souls leave our bodies to enjoy basil's sensitive warmth and subtle sweetness. In Russia, fresh herbs have played an important role in home-made vodka infusions for centuries. Healthier and with more zing per square centimeter than any other ingredient, herbs can pack a lot of punch. The Bolshoi Basil is a perfect summer drink that brings a bit of old world aroma to a 21st century recipe for refreshment.
40 ml / 1.4 fl oz Russian Standard
30 ml / 1 fl oz Fresh lime juice
3 Fresh basil sprigs
2 tsp. Sugar
Soda water
Muddle the basil and sugar in a high ball glass.
Fill with ice, add vodka and lime juice and stir.
Finish with a dash of soda and garnish with a sprig of basil.
Caipiroska
11 time zones, 26 languages, winter palaces in sculpted gold, carved wooden dachas, the Bolshoi, the Neva and nothing like an ordinary horizon in sight. That's Russia. Decadence and passion set to the most delicate choreography before the most extraordinary scenery. It's a place where the unexpected gets up in the morning running and doesn't stop until it meets the unbelievable. If Russia has an equal in passion, then it's Brazil hands down. Like the Russians, Brazilians have an appetite for life expressed in their music, their art and, of course, their drinks. The Caipiroska is a Brazilian cocktail with a Russian heart. Drink it, and you may just dream that Tchaikovsky is alive and writing music to a whole new beat.
50 ml/1.7 fl oz of Russian Standard
4 Lime wedges
2 tsp. of Sugar
Crushed ice
Muddle the lime wedges and sugar in the bottom of a tumbler. Fill with crushed ice and add the Russian Standard. Stir and enjoy. Garnish with more crushed ice and lime.
Vodka Tonic
In the 19th century, it was called the Great Game: Russia and England battling it out over the Central Asian steppes. Now, the score between Russia and England has finally been settled–in the bar that is. The vodka resurgence has left little in its wake for rivals like gin, even pushing what was once England's favorite spirit out of its oldest mixer: the vodka has taken the G&T by siege, becoming the
clear, crisp vodka drink of choice for those who can't help but think back to the studied elegance of the British Empire.
50 ml/1.7 fl oz Russian Standard
150 ml/1.7 fl oz Tonic Water
Pour ingredients over ice in a long glass and stir.
Garnish with a cucumber.
Kalinka Kooler
Russians really know how to treat a cucumber – from salads and pickles to elegant canapés – and you'll find some of the most delicate, sweetest, refreshing varieties in the world in the produce markets of Moscow. So cucumbers couldn't be better wed than with ice cold vodka in this crisp green shooter, a nod to two of Russia's favorite culinary items: cucumbers, and Russian Standard.
30 ml / 1 fl oz Russian Standard
60 g / 2 oz Fresh cucumber
15 ml / 0.5 fl oz Apple liqueur
Remove rind from cucumber and muddle in a mixing glass. Add vodka and apple liqueur and shake vigorously with ice. Pour into shot glass and garnish with a slice of cucumber.
Mini Mary
What's red hot but ice cold, and a giant in a small package? It's not a riddle – it's a Mini Mary. And while this shot may be short, there's nothing "mini" about its flavor: this recipe has all the taste, color and sensation of a Bloody Mary, packed into a single shot glass. This drink takes the number one cocktail to have reached food status – the Bloody Mary, which chefs and barmen alike argue over, safeguard their recipes for, and claim as their specialties – and condenses it, highlighting the most important ingredient of all, the vodka. And if any brand can hold its own against the richness of the
tomatoes and that Tabasco spice, it's Russian Standard. And the best part? It's less filling than its bigger, older sibling so you can have more than just one – making this an excellent accompaniment to any seafood brunch or fresh oyster buffet.
25ml / 0.85 fl oz Russian Standard
15ml / 0.5 fl oz Tomato juice
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1 dash Worcester Sauce
1/2 Cherry tomato
Salt to taste
Pour tomato juice, Tabasco sauce, and Worcester sauce into a chilled shot glass.
Insert half of a cherry tomato and fill the glass to the rim with vodka. Garnish with celery leaf.
Orange Shorty
Marmalade is one of those foods that always tastes better at home, be that at your grandmother's country cottage or, at a lavish Sunday brunch spread on the veranda, at the beach house in Malibu or the Hamptons. Another taste sensation packaged "to go", this festive Russian Standard shot is the Mimosa of vodka drinks, but even more versatile: it's as much at home during a night on the town as it is at that Sunday brunch by the sea.
30ml / 1 fl oz Russian Standard
15ml / 0.5 fl oz Orange marmalade
(no sugar added)
Shake ingredients vigorously over ice and pour into a chilled shot glass.
Bolshoi Basil
Both ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks believed basil could open the gates of heaven–all you had to do was pass by clutching a sprig of the summer scented herb. The good news is we don't have to wait until our souls leave our bodies to enjoy basil's sensitive warmth and subtle sweetness. In Russia, fresh herbs have played an important role in home-made vodka infusions for centuries. Healthier and with more zing per square centimeter than any other ingredient, herbs can pack a lot of punch. The Bolshoi Basil is a perfect summer drink that brings a bit of old world aroma to a 21st century recipe for refreshment.
40 ml/1.4 fl oz Russian Standard
30 ml/1 fl oz Fresh lime juice
3 Fresh basil sprigs
2 tsp. Sugar
Soda water
Muddle the basil and sugar.
Fill the glass with ice, add the rum and lime juice and stir before adding a dash of soda and garnishing with a basil sprig.
Imperia cocktails
While stellar when served alone, our spirits give a modern twist to traditional Russian cocktails.
Venus in Furs
Empress Elizabeth of Russia was known for indulging her appetites without reserve: hers was the most splendid court in all of Europe, and she was once painted for the Grand Petershof Palace posing as Venus, the classical goddess of love, lust, and beauty, reclining on a sumptuous fur. This sophisticated recipe brings all the imperial sensuality and luxury of Elizabeth's Russia into a glass. Fresh raspberries, the jewels in this crown of a cocktail, are wrapped in sweet embrace with crushed ginger by the smooth, soft taste of Imperia. Finished with rose petals, Venus' ultimate symbol, the Venus in Furs is a cocktail every bit as exquisite, indulgent, and refined as the Empress who inspired it.
50ml Imperia Vodka
6-8 raspberries
1 small ginger root
10ml simple syrup
3-4 rose petals
Muddle raspberries with ginger root. Add remaining liquid ingredients and shake over ice. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with rose petals.
Cossack Crush
Pomegranate juice has become the antioxidant ambrosia on many health gurus' lips of late. But, contrary to popular belief, pomegranates originally come from the Caucuses, in southern Russia, not from southern California. The fruit of the kings in ancient folklore, a symbol of never-ending love, the deep red color and luscious liquid of pomegranates is a perfect accompaniment to the indulgent, maximalist Russian luxury of Imperia vodka.
70 g Fresh pomegranate seeds
5 g pomegranate syrup
40 ml Imperia Vodka
1 Kumquat
Cut kumquat in half. Mash pomegranate seeds and kumquat in shaker. Add 6 ice cubes, followed by Imperia vodka and grenadine. Shake vigorously enough to break ice in the shaker. Double strain into a cocktail glass.
Sakura Storm
This elegant, modern cocktail hits a nutritional, antioxident bullseye with Nichirei Acerola, a popular Asian health drink. Garnished with whole fresh cranberries, it is a winter savior, using festive, seasonal fruit and boosting immunity with its high vitamin C content. It's visually stunning, too, with the crystal clarity of the vodka and minimal, crimson berries calling to mind the storm of falling cherry blossoms, or sakura, in the spare, Japanese countryside, for a graceful, sleek balance of function and form in a glass.
50 ml Imperia vodka
150 ml Nichirei Acerola drink
10-15 cranberries
"Build" the cocktail (see Glossary), and garnish with cranberries.
