The 14 Best Cocktails For Vodka Fans

If you're at a party, waiting for a table at a restaurant, or just unwinding after a long week, a well-made cocktail hits the spot. There are a multitude of drinks using many different spirits. Among the most popular is vodka. Although normally associated with Russia (in fact, the name comes from a Russian verb meaning "to dilute with water"), Poland also lays claim to the invention of vodka. It's a neutral spirit, which means it blends well with nearly any flavor, and that's part of why there are so many vodka cocktails. 

Vodka is made in many parts of the world. In addition to Russia and Poland, you can find brands made in Sweden, Finland, France, and Japan, among other nations. Traditionally made from potatoes, the liquor is now made from various grains, including corn. My favorite (which toppled Grey Goose as soon as I tasted it) is the Japanese brand, Haku, which is made from rice. Lovers of the spirit have their favorites, and Costco customers have a favorite vodka they swear is better than Grey Goose. High praise indeed.

We have compiled for you a list of some of the best vodka cocktails. You are probably familiar with many, but you may find one or two you haven't tried and would like to add to your list.

Let's start with a true classic. Now, full disclosure, I am a purist and self-decribed connoisseur who feels that a true martini is made with gin. Having said that, a vodka martini is a great drink that I do enjoy from time to time. The standard recipe calls for 2.5 ounces of vodka and ½ ounce of dry vermouth. Many people, myself included, prefer it drier, with much less vermouth. English playwright Noel Coward described his method for making a perfect martini as filling a glass with liquor, then "waving it in the general direction of Italy" (via The Guardian). However much vermouth you use, you can garnish with a lemon twist or green olives. (I'm an olive guy.) We won't get into the dirty martini because this is the classic.

Now, as to the discussion of whether to shake or stir. Despite the preference of a certain fictional British spy, there are only certain cocktail ingredients, none of which are in a martini, that are meant to be shaken. I do prefer shaking, not because of any Bond fantasy, but it makes for a really cold drink. Be warned, and I know this from personal experience. Good bartenders are proud of their skills, as they should be. If you ask for a shaken martini, you may get a polite lecture on why that's wrong. I never order mine shaken, unless the barkeep offers.

Named after the Russian connection to vodka, the Moscow mule is easily recognized by the distinctive copper cup it is generally served in. The classic recipe calls for 2 ounces of your favorite vodka, ½ ounce of fresh lime juice, and 4 ounces of ginger beer. Stir and serve over ice with a lime wedge. You can make your garnish cocktail-bar worthy by dehydrating the citrus in the oven. The copper cup helps keep the drink cold, and the mild flavor of the vodka lets the ginger and lime shine. I enjoy these on a hot summer day.

The mule is a popular cocktail that receives lots of love online. One Redditor stated, "Moscow Mule is my favorite vodka cocktail. Yes, it's just a boozy ginger beer with lime juice basically, but that combo is pretty amazing without needing any more complexity." Another Redditor shared, "I'm having my first ever Moscow Mule. Where has this been all my life?" Simple ingredients, easy to make, plenty of flavor. If you haven't yet, it's time to try one.

Another long-time classic, the bloody mary, despite its gruesome name, is a popular drink often enjoyed with brunch. I usually choose one over a mimosa. There is a long-held belief that the cocktail is an effective hangover cure. The truth is that it may ease your symptoms, but it won't cure them. The best way to deal with a hangover is by not drinking enough to get one. 

This cocktail is over 100 years old, so no one really knows how or when it was invented. The most popular story is that a youthful bartender mixed the first one in Paris in 1921 for American expat clients. No matter the origin story, there's no denying the bold flavors of a bloody mary. The classic recipe calls for creating a mix of tomato juice, freshly squeezed lemon, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, and Tabasco sauce. The mix is added to 2 ounces of vodka and traditionally served with a garnish of celery stalks and olives. There are many ingredient variations as well as different garnishes, such as a splash of olive brine in your bloody mary. I've had bloody marys with strips of bacon and even a cooked jumbo shrimp. The cocktail is packed with flavor, and you likely won't even taste the vodka. You will probably enjoy it, though.

Another drink in which vodka graciously allows the flavors of other ingredients to shine is the cosmopolitan. References to a cocktail with this name appeared as far back as the 1920s in recipe books, but its popularity began with celebrities in the late '80s. I don't drink them often, but when I do, I really enjoy them. (No, I'm not the most interesting man in the world, but I was the runner-up in 2006.) Now, a cosmo is a drink that should be shaken because it includes fruit juices. Put 2 ounces of vodka (what else?) in a shaker with ½ ounce of triple sec, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier. I prefer triple sec, but this depends on personal taste. Add ¾ ounce of cranberry juice and ¼ ounce of fresh lime juice. Even Martha Stewart uses fresh juice to make a great cocktail.

Shake until it is chilled nicely and strain into a martini glass. You can garnish with an orange twist or a lime wedge. If you use the twist, peel it over the glass to express the flavor. Refreshing and packed with flavor, the cosmo is a classic drink that any good bartender can make well, so if you're out and want one, you should have no problem ordering it.

Another refreshing summer vodka cocktail is the sea breeze. The drink is believed to have evolved from a gin concoction called the Sea Breeze Cooler, which was mentioned in a 1930 recipe book. The vodka version became popular in the 1980s along with other vodka cranberry combinations such as the Cape Codder and the bay breeze. Those two cocktails did not make our list, but they are both honorable mentions and pretty good drinks.

The sea breeze recipe is straightforward: 1.5 ounces of vodka, 3 ounces of cranberry juice, 1.5 ounces of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, and a lime or grapefruit wedge for garnish. The ingredients are measured into a highball glass filled with ice and stirred. As you would expect from the ingredients, the flavor profile is tart. Nevertheless, the cranberry and grapefruit play well with the vodka. On a hot day, this cocktail gives a cool and soothing feeling like, well, a sea breeze.

The great thing about using vodka in a martini is that the spirit's mild flavor and lack of odor allow for a seemingly endless list of pairings. One of my favorites is the French martini. Despite its name, the French martini originated in New York City in the 1980s. With just three ingredients, it's pretty easy for a home bartender to recreate. Measure 1.5 ounces of vodka, ½ ounce of pineapple juice, and ½ ounce of raspberry Chambord (that's why it's called French) into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a glass. You can use a martini glass, but it looks more elegant in a coupe. Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve.

The French martini has a wonderful raspberry flavor that's a little tart but balanced nicely by the sweetness of the pineapple juice. The taste is distinctive, unlike any other martini variation, and I order them fairly frequently.

The simplest of all the cocktails on this list, the screwdriver is many people's first foray into vodka. Generations of young people, with their parents out of the house, popped into the liquor cabinet and mixed vodka with the orange juice from the fridge. And that's all there is to a screwdriver. Measure 1.5 ounces of vodka into an ice-filled highball glass, then add orange juice to the top. You can garnish it with an orange wedge if you like. There are several variations of this classic drink, but the basic recipe has endured.

There are a couple of stories about how the screwdriver came about. One legend has it that U.S. Marines during World War II spiked their orange juice with vodka. A much more fascinating reference comes from a quote in the October 24, 1949 edition of Time Magazine: "In the dimly lighted bar of the sleek Park Hotel, Turkish intelligence agents mingle with American engineers and Balkan refugees, drinking the latest Yankee concoction of vodka and orange juice, called a 'screwdriver.'" However it came about, the screwdriver is a tasty cocktail and a good way to get your vitamin C along with a little "vitamin V."

If you're anything like me, two essentials of life are coffee and cocktails. You can have both at the same time! The espresso martini is another variation that I love. Along with the bloody mary, it's one of my go-to brunch cocktails. The origin story of the drink is colorful. As the legend goes, a young model walked into a London bar and asked barman Dick Bradsell for something that would wake — and intoxicate — her. Bradsell shook up vodka with coffee liqueur and espresso, and a new martini was born. He called it the vodka espresso, but the name eventually changed to its current moniker. 

If you would like to make one yourself, measure 2 ounces of vodka, ½ ounce of coffee liqueur (Kahlúa is a good choice), 1 ounce of espresso, and ¼ ounce of simple syrup into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled and strain into a martini glass. The espresso martini is generally garnished with three coffee beans. 

The rich espresso flavor shines, and the simple syrup cuts the bitterness just enough for balance. The frothy texture provides a nice mouth feel to help make this cocktail one of the best of the martini variations.

Thanks to this vodka cocktail, you can have sex on the beach without getting covered in sand. The provocative name likely contributes to the drink's popularity, but it does have a nice mix of flavors that make it great for summer refreshment, even if you're not at the beach. Like many drinks, sex on the beach has a couple of origin stories. The most common one attributes the invention to Florida bartender Ted Pizio, who was tasked with selling as much peach schnapps as possible. After mixing up the new drink, Pizio decided to name it after the two things he felt drew tourists to the area: sex and the beach. True or not, it's a helluva story.

To make a sex on the beach, you'll need to measure 1.5 ounces of vodka, ½ ounce of peach schnapps, ½ ounce of Chambord, 1.5 ounces of orange juice, and 1.5 ounces of cranberry juice. Shake well, and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. This is a cocktail that looks good with a little umbrella, but you can also garnish it with an orange slice. 

This drink gets its distinctive taste from the combination of fruity flavors and the way the acid of the orange juice cuts some of the sweetness of the peach schnapps. It's a traditional summertime beverage, and any good bartender knows how to make one.

My favorite alcohol refreshment on a hot day is a gin and tonic. Like many drinks, you can substitute vodka for gin, and that variation is every bit as refreshing. The exact origin of the drink is not known. British colonists in 19th-century India added tonic water to their gin because the quinine in tonic helped prevent malaria. It is believed that later, bartenders looking for new vodka drinks mixed the spirit with tonic. Either way, a tasty drink was born.

The vodka tonic is another simple cocktail. Measure 2 ounces of vodka into a Collins glass and fill it with ice. Top it off with tonic water and squeeze in a bit of lemon juice. Garnish with a lemon peel, and you're all set. Not everyone likes the taste of quinine (I love it), but it works well with citrus. Together, they can help quench thirst on those warm summer days.

Now for something completely different. Many cocktails are fruity, but a creamy drink can be quite pleasant too. The white Russian is a vodka beverage that some unknown bartender created in the '60s by adding cream to a black Russian. These cocktails were not invented in Russia, but got their names from the vodka. The white Russian was starting to fade into obscurity, but got a boost from the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski." Good old pop culture. 

Not an overall difficult cocktail to make, you can whip one up at home. Fill a rocks glass with ice and add 2 ounces of vodka. Pour in 1 ounce of Kahlúa and top with 1 ounce of heavy cream, and stir. This is not many people's everyday cocktail, but the smoothness and decadence of the cream, combined with the coffee flavor of the Kahlúa, make it a good choice when you want something that's not run-of-the-mill.

Another martini variation that I really enjoy is the lemon drop. Sweet and tart, it is a delicious drink when made well. It's been around for quite a while. The cocktail was created in San Francisco by Vietnam War veteran and bar owner, Norman Jay Hobday. While it can be served as a shot (popular with college students), it is far more common to serve a lemon drop in a cocktail glass. It looks a lot nicer, too.

It's a fairly easy drink to whip up. Wet the rim of a cocktail glass, dip it in sugar, then set it aside. Fill a shaker with ice and add 2 ounces of vodka, ½ ounce of triple sec, 1 ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 1 ounce of simple syrup. Shake well, and strain into the cocktail glass. You can add a lemon twist as a garnish if you like. The sweetness and tartness are a perfect pairing, almost like lemonade for adults. The lemon drop is a truly delicious drink, and if you haven't yet, you should order this vodka cocktail on your next night out.

The salty dog has a fun name. It sounds like a pirate insult. Whereas the lemon drop offsets tart citrus with sugar, the salty dog uses, you guessed it, salt. The cocktail can be made with gin or vodka, and the story goes that George Jessel added salt to the rim of a greyhound — an obscure drink made with gin and grapefruit juice — to offset the acid. Later, bartenders started using vodka, and someone came up with the name.

The salty dog is a very simple drink. Wet the rim of a rocks glass and roll it in kosher salt. Fill the glass with ice and measure in 1.5 ounces of vodka. Top with 4 ounces of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and stir. Add a grapefruit slice garnish, and you've got yourself a cocktail. The salt balances out the bitterness of the fruit and is great for those who don't like cloyingly sweet drinks. Not just a good beverage, the salty dog is Martha Stewart's preferred summer cocktail. What more incentive do you need?

Although it plays a supporting role to gin, vodka is an important component of my favorite cocktail, the Vesper. It has a fascinating pedigree. The vodka martini is associated with James Bond, but in 1953, in Ian Fleming's first novel "Casino Royale," 007 created a cocktail and named it after love interest, Vesper Lynd. When I ask my wife to make me one, I channel my inner Daniel Craig and quote the 2006 film adaptation, "Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it over ice, then add a thin slice of lemon peel."

While this is essentially the recipe, we need to clarify a few things. First, the word "measure" is nonspecific. It's best to consider the measure ½ ounce, which would make the Vesper 1.5 ounces of gin, ½ ounce of vodka, and ¼ ounce of Lillet. You can use any gin, but I have found that Gordon's doesn't have as strong a flavor and won't overpower the vodka. Also, Kina Lillet, a French aperitif with quinine, went out of production in 1986. To achieve the bitterness, some people use Cocchi Americano, and others add a couple of dashes of bitters. I prefer to use Lillet Blanc and add a splash of tonic, which has quinine. 

The drink is shaken, but add the tonic afterward, unless you know how to shake carbonated cocktails. The Vesper is not a typical libation, and you may feel sophisticated while drinking one. Tuxedo is optional.