White Magic

The Grand Illusion

Almost any Illusionist will admit that his bag of magic tricks rests on a few simple principles, even if he won't tell what they are. Vodka buffs, on the other hand, are less secretive. They cheerfully reveal that their uncanny ability to make one drink after another materialize flows from the fact that almost any vodka creation inevitably suggests a companion. That is eminently logical when you consider that a major characteristic of the clean, virtually flavorless spirit is its engaging versatility--its ability to smoothly complement a vast range of mixers.

During the past 30 years, as vodka has risen from oddball specialty to America's leading spirit, hundreds of drinks and other applications have been concocted by imaginative practitioners, both professional and amateur. The following 99 examples of white magic are a modest indication of the mother lode of vodka tricks. Watch the prestidigitator carefully and see how the game is played.

Let's start the countdown with 12 drinks: the classic screwdriver--vodka and orange juice--and 11 variations on the theme. For some of the alternatives, it's simply a matter of switching from o.j. to another juice. For example, adam's apple (apple juice, plus an apple slice), cape codder (cranberry-juice cocktail), diamond head (pineapple juice), grapeshot (grape juice with a lemon wedge), greyhound (grapefruit juice), mandarin (tangerine juice), redhead (equal parts apple and cranberry juices) and yellow fever (lemonade). But that's only the beginning! Spike a traditional screwdriver with a nip of Galliano and you have a harvey wallbanger; add some Cointreau for le screwdriver or Sambuca Romana for a screwy sam.

Moving right along, it's a short step to more cunning vodka-juice combos. The seven that follow make ideal summer coolers for beach, boat, pool or patio frolics: hawaiian gold (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 3 ozs. pineapple juice over ice in highball glass; fill with tonic); minted cooler (1 oz. vodka, 1/2 oz. green crème de menthe, 4 ozs. grapefruit juice, 1/2 teaspoon sugar; shake with ice, pour unstrained into tall glass, splash in club soda); sunrise rickey (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, juice 1/2 lime, 1 teaspoon grenadine over ice in tall glass; add club soda); moonglow (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, 3/4 oz. Benedictine, 3 ozs. grapefruit juice over ice in tall glass); catamaran (1 oz. vodka, 1/2 oz. curaçao, 2 ozs. each pineapple juice and guava nectar over ice in 8-oz. highball glass; splash in tonic); berry frost (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 3 ozs. apricot nectar, 5 fresh strawberries, cut up, 1 teaspoon each grenadine and lemon juice, 1/4 cup crushed ice; blend until just smooth) and nantucket (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1/2 oz. triple sec, 4 ozs. cranberry-juice cocktail, squeeze of lime over ice).

Here are seven more vodka coolers; only in these, the juice is an accent rather than the main mixer: parasol (2 ozs. each vodka and orange juice, 1/2 oz. lime juice; shake with ice, pour unstrained into tall glass, add bitter-lemon soda); double lime (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1 oz. lime juice, 2 teaspoons sweetened lime juice over ice in highball glass; add club soda); vodka daisy (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1 oz. lemon juice, 1/2 oz. raspberry syrup, 1 teaspoon sugar; shake with cracked ice, pour unstrained into tall glass, splash in club soda); valhalla (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1/2 oz. coconut liqueur, 2 ozs. orange juice, 1/2 oz. lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sugar; shake with ice, strain over fresh ice into tall glass, add Seven-Up); vodka sling (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1/2 oz. cherry liqueur, 1/2 oz. Benedictine, juice 1/2 lemon, dash bitters; shake with ice, strain over fresh ice into highball glass, add club soda); goldie (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1/2 oz. apricot-flavored brandy, juice 1/2 lemon, 1/2 oz. grenadine over ice; add club soda) and quencher (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1/2 oz. crème de cassis, 1/2 oz. triple sec, 1/2 oz. lime juice; shake with ice, strain over fresh ice into 8-oz. glass, add club soda).

Backing up a little, let's explore other vodka originals and the offspring they've spawned. Score 11 more in this group. Bloody mary--vodka, tomato juice, seasonings--becomes a bloodhound when you substitute 1/2 oz. dry sherry for the seasonings or a clam digger when made with clam-tomato cocktail instead of tomato juice. Moscow mule--vodka, ginger beer, juice and rind of 1/2 lime--converts to an Irish mule with Guinness stout instead of ginger beer; made with regular beer, it's a dog's nose. Bullshot--vodka, bouillon, dash Worcestershire and pepper--evolves into a bloody bull when built with half bouillon, half tomato juice. Black russian--equal parts vodka and Kahlúa--gives rise to a white russian--a black russian, plus 1 part milk or cream--or to a pola bear--a black russian briefly blended with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Vodka's adaptability inspires yet another direction; it's now often called for in drinks originally launched with other spirits--as in these nine: as a replacement for gin in a martini, gimlet, collins or tonic; as a change from whiskey in a sour or highball; as an alternate to white rum in a colada or daiquiri; instead of brandy in a stinger, to make it a spider.

Despite the wealth of past experimentation, the fascination with vodka drinks is not slowing down. Quite the contrary. Here are three recipes from--of all places--London. British quaffers have been rediscovering the cocktail, and the happy hour is now a ritual in the livelier bars. The current enthusiasm surfaced in London's hard-rock spots but has proved to be upwardly mobile. London's Savoy Hotel presents the vodka angel (1/2 oz. vodka, 1/4 oz. Fraise de Bordeaux and 1/4 oz. cream; shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass), while the bar at the London Ritz offers serenity, a secret medley of vodka, blue curaçao, Galliano, dry vermouth and orange juice. A moving force in England's cocktail renaissance, Bas Basian, favors chop nut (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 3/4 oz. each coconut liqueur and crème de banana, 1 oz. each orange juice and cream; shake with ice, strain into glass).

While overseas, scoot across to Paris for two more vodka offerings. Stop at Harry's New York Bar for a blue lagoon (equal parts vodka, blue curaçao, lemon juice; shake with ice, strain into saucer champagne over crushed ice) or at the Ritz bar for a don giovanni (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, 1/2 oz. Campari, 1-1/2 ozs. grapefruit juice; shake with ice, strain into sour glass).

American bartenders are certainly no less inventive; witness these eight house vodka specials from domestic bars: mudslide, Le St. Germain restaurant, Los Angeles (for two--1 oz. vodka, 2 ozs. Myers's Original Rum Cream, scoop rocky-road ice cream, 1/4 cup crushed ice; blend thoroughly); calgary red, Washington Square Bar & Grill, San Francisco (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, 5 ozs. beer, 2 ozs. tomato juice, squeeze of lime, grind of pepper; combine in beer glass); sea breeze, Miguel's, Los Angeles (over ice in 13-oz. glass: 2 ozs. Smirnoff vodka; fill glass 3/4 full with cranberry-juice cocktail, float on splash each orange juice, pineapple juice, club soda); Roxanne's heat wave, Roxanne's, New York City (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice over ice in wineglass; fill with chilled fresh watermelon juice); boston bracer, Jimmy's Harborside Restaurant, Boston (1-1/2 ozs. each vodka and grapefruit juice over ice; fill with Schweppes tonic water, garnish with lime wedge); vodka bellini, Tony's, Houston (1-1/2 ozs. vodka over ice in highball glass; fill with fresh peach or nectarine juice); autumn cocktail, The Four Seasons, New York City (2 ozs. vodka, 3/4 oz. dry vermouth, 1/8 oz. Tuaca liqueur; stir with ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with orange peel); Colorado bulldog, Windows on the World, New York City (equal parts vodka, coffee liqueur, cream; shake with ice, pour unstrained into highball glass, fill with chilled cola).

The current appeal of drinks made with milk, cream or ice cream is documented by these seven vodka smoothies: alexis (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, 3/4 oz. chocolate-mint liqueur, 1 oz. cream; shake with ice, strain into glass); coco shake (1 oz. each vodka and crème de cacao, small scoop chocolate ice cream, 2 ozs. milk; blend, pour into glass, top with club soda); green cow (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 1/2 oz. each green crème de menthe and white crème de cacao, 3 ozs. milk over ice); jungle jim (equal parts vodka, crème de banana, milk over ice); new yorker (1-1/2 ozs. each vodka and crème de cacao, 3 ozs. milk over ice in tall glass; fill with club soda); snow snake (1 oz. vodka, 3/4 oz. white crème de cacao, 1/2 oz. tequila, 2 ozs. milk; shake with ice, pour unstrained into glass, squirt on whipped topping); vodka silk (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 3 ozs. peach nectar, 1-1/2 ozs. cream, 1 tablespoon maraschino-cherry juice, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 3 ozs. crushed ice; blend until almost smooth; pour into collins glass).

From dairy-based drinks, it seems a natural transition to vodka in food. Here are seven ways to provide a piquant culinary accent with vodka:

A splash of ice-cold vodka adds zing to citrus sherbets or ripe melon.

James Beard, dean of the American food establishment, suggests dipping raw finger vegetables into chilled vodka, then into coarse salt, as a nippy low-calorie nibble.

A light drizzle of vodka over oysters and clams sharpens the briny mollusks.

An ounce of vodka does the same for a bowl of gazpacho.

To draw more intense aroma and flavor from dried herbs, seeds or spices, steep them in a small amount of vodka for an hour or so; then strain off the liquid and (concluded on page 194) White Magic (continued from page 92) use as seasoning.

To give roasted poultry both dramatic presentation and extra crispness, serve flambé: Warm 2 ozs. 100-proof vodka in a large ladle, ignite and pour, flaming, over the freshly roasted bird.

Cream sauce for pasta gets a sprightly lift from a couple of jolts of vodka that's been flavored with red-pepper flakes.

It's not difficult to make your own flavored vodkas at home. We offer seven for your pleasure, plus six ways to enjoy them. For hot-red-pepper vodka, add 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes to a bottle of vodka; let stand two to three days, then strain. Serve icy cold from the freezer or, for a change of pace, use in a martini or a bullshot. For cucumber vodka, another winner, remove the peel of a scrubbed, preferably unwaxed cucumber in lengthwise strips and drop into a bottle of vodka. Let stand about four days, then, if you like, remove the peel. This one is great with lemonade. For lemon vodka, remove the rind of a well-washed lemon in a continuous spiral; carefully insert into a bottle of vodka. Let stand a couple of days before using. Same procedure for orange, grapefruit, lime or tangerine vodka. Pour them neat, over ice, or mixed with tonic or a compatible fruit juice.

A great variety of flavored vodkas are produced commercially in Eastern Europe, where they're popular. Regrettably, only a few come into the States and seldom on a regular basis. Here are three, along with three interesting suggestions for their consumption. Pertsovka is pepper-flavored, with a sharp bite. Its American importers tout it in what they call "the ultimate bloody mary" (1-1/2 ozs. Pertsovka, 6 ozs. tomato juice, 1/4 teaspoon horseradish). Okhotnichya, or "hunter's vodka," is slightly sweetened, flavored with an assortment of spices and herbs. A tot in honey-laced hot tea will allay winter's miseries. Zubrowka, one of the most appealing, is flavored with fragrant buffalo grass, and each bottle contains a blade of the green. This item is very hard to find, but if you do, try it on the rocks with a citrus-peel twist.

Continentals often take their vodka neat and icy. The following imports are likely candidates for this stimulating exercise: Stolichnaya (U.S.S.R.), Finlandia (Finland), Absolut (Sweden), Seagram's (Canada), Burrough's (England) and Wyborowa (Poland).

Vodka was born in northern climates, which reminds us how comforting it can be in hot cups such as these six steamy chill chasers. Brawny broth (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, 4 ozs. hot beef bouillon, dash lemon-pepper seasoning, lemon slice); T-bar (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, 4 ozs. hot tea, sugar to taste, lemon wedge); slalom (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, orange-peel twist, 4 ozs. hot chocolate); blackberry toddy (1/2 oz. vodka, 1 oz. blackberry cordial, 3 ozs. boiling water, half orange slice); banana cow (1-1/4 ozs. vodka, 3 ozs. hot milk, 2 teaspoons honey, 1/2 ripe banana, mashed; blend in pre-warmed blender container until smooth, pour into warmed mug, sprinkle with nutmeg); ski slope (1-1/2 ozs. vodka, 3/4 teaspoon instant-coffee crystals, 4 ozs. hot chocolate; stir).

And as a precaution, after going through 99 ways with vodka, you just may want to know about this morning-after settler. To the inoculated, it's known as old reliable: 1 oz. vodka, 1 teaspoon Fernet Branca, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar; shake well with ice. Down quickly.

"Vodka was born in northern climates, which reminds us how comforting it can be in chill chasers."