Vodka Drinks, Cocktails and Concoctions: 10 Refreshing Summer Recipes

I write about topics that interest me, primarily about good food and drink.

Handy Conversions

• 25ml = 0.10 cups = 0.88 fluid ounces
• 40ml = 0.17cups = 1.4 fluid ounces
• 50ml = 0.21cups 1.76 fluid ounces
• 100ml = 0.42cups = 3.5 fluid ounces

Vodka is a versatile spirit that is perfect for giving any fruity or milky drink combo a good kick. It is my spirit of choice either in its vodka and mixer or cocktail guise. I must admit I can't handle neat shots of the stuff, although here and there I put this theory to the test only to come to the conclusion that, no, I still can't handle it!

Over many years of enjoying a nice drink or two (or three...) I have sampled, sipped and slurped a spectrum of colourful concoctions and cocktails, here are 10 of the tastiest tried and tested recipes, from the simple to slightly more involved. All of them delicious, in my opinion!

Tips

• Be careful when you put the bag in the freezer. Don't put it directly onto the shelf as it might stick. Use a container or a plate.
• If you are struggling to get the frozen mixture out of the bag run it under warm water until you can break a chunk off.

1. Strawberry Summer Slush

Yield: 6 cocktails in long glasses. The yield for this cocktail is high as there is a little bit of preparation involved so it's worth making it in bulk. Scale up or down to suit.

Ingredients:

• 240ml vodka (based on 40ml per drink—add more or less depending on how potent you want it to be, remember to adjust water accordingly)
• 135g strawberry jelly (or jello). 1 UK jelly pack is 135g. Jello packs are 85g so you will need a little under 2 packs.
• 285ml boiling water
• 50g sugar
• 285ml water
• 170ml pineapple juice
• 170ml lemon juice
• 500ml ginger ale
• Lime for garnish

Instructions:

1. Stir together the strawberry jelly and boiling water. Making sure all the jelly has dissolved.
2. Put the sugar and water in a pan and bring it to boil making sure all the sugar has dissolved.
3. Add the two water mixtures together.
4. Stir well.
5. Add the pineapple juice followed by the lemon juice and mix together.
6. Pour the contents into a freezer bag that can be sealed.
7. Freeze. It takes a good 3 or so hours to solidify completely so prepare this part well in advance.
8. Take out the frozen mixture and break up so it fits into a jug or if you are serving a few drinks at a time take out as much as you need. Judge it by filling up most of the glass with the frozen mixture as you only need a splash of ginger ale otherwise it will be more drink than slush.
9. Add the vodka and ginger ale and stir. This should partially melt the frozen mixture producing a slushy drink.
10. Serve in a long class add a wedge of lime to the side of the glass (slit the lime in the middle, widthways, flesh side so it sits nicely on the side of the glass).

2. Vodka and Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

A simple, but deliciously refreshing drink. This is a completely different drink to vodka and orange! Even if you are using the allegedly freshly squeezed orange juice from cartons it just tastes different.

Yield: 1 Drink

Ingredients:

• 40 ml vodka
• 250 ml squeezed orange juice
• Ice
• Orange slice to serve

Instructions:

1. Squeeze about 3–4 oranges depending on juiciness. Using an electric citrus juicer will extract more juice than doing it manually. My juicer is my favourite gadget in the kitchen! I know it's simple but it just pleases me in its simplicity and efficient juice extraction!!
2. If you are using an electric juicer then you can opt to add more of the pith from the orange into the juice if you prefer your orange juice a bit more bitty.
3. Add crushed ice (or just ice) to a glass.
4. Add the vodka and the OJ
5. Pop a slither of orange on the side of the glass. Et voila!

Tips

• Choose a glass that starts small and opens up as you can squirt the chocolate in more easily.
• Make this recipe slightly less naughty by not including the chocolate sauce, squirty cream and ice-cream. Still tastes pretty good, just not as fancy.
• If you are using chocolate sauce then go for one in a squeezy bottle so you can control the chocolate flow more easily.

3. Frozen Mudslide

Yield: 1 Drink

Ingredients:

• 25ml vodka
• 20ml Kahlua (or other coffee liquor)
• 40ml Bailey's (or other Irish cream)
• Crushed Ice
• 1 scoop of vanilla ice-cream
• Chocolate sauce
• Squirty cream

Instructions:

1. Fill your chosen glass with crushed ice
2. Add the ice, vodka, Kahlua, Bailey's and Ice-cream to a food processor/blender.
3. Blend!
4. Decorate your glass with chocolate if desired.
5. Add the slushy, alcoholic, chocolaty, coffee concoction to the glass.
6. Squirt some cream over the top for extra indulgence if desired and the finish it off with a bit more liquid chocolate.

4. Vodka Watermelon

Yield: A 700cl bottle contains 28 shots (at 25ml per shot). So if the whole bottle infuses before reaching saturation point then 28 shots worth will be spread across 1 watermelon.

Ingredients:

• 1 watermelon
• 1 bottle of vodka

Instructions:

1. Make a hole in the top of the watermelon that is the same size as the cap of your vodka bottle. Do this with a sharp knife.
2. Dig out the watermelon hole until it is a fair way into the watermelon, at least as deep as the neck of the vodka bottle, to aid the absorption of the vodka.
3. This is the tricky part. Get your vodka bottle and tilt it slightly then slide the neck of the vodka bottle into the prepared hole. Turn so that the vodka bottle is upside down and filtering into the watermelon. If your hole is big enough and you go quite slowly there shouldn’t be any spillage. This could be a team effort!
4. Leave for a day or two. Ideally, this monstrosity would be kept in the fridge so that the watermelon is nice and chilled when it comes to consuming it. There won't be any room left for food though!
5. Cut open your watermelon and serve.
6. Beware! Very potent!

A Slightly Different Take on Vodka Watermelon: Watermelon Vodka

5. Watermelon and Strawberry Crush

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 40ml vodka
• Approx 2 slices of watermelon
• Handful of strawberries (about 10)
• 40g sugar
• 50ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Chop up the watermelon and remove the seeds.
2. De-head the strawberries and chop.
3. Add the watermelon, strawberries, lemon and sugar to a blender or processor.
4. Add crushed ice to a glass.
5. Strain the drink if you prefer it less pithy as there will be a lot of watermelon and strawberry gunk. It is the healthiest part of the fruits though so keep it in if you want the goodness! Note that if you strain it you will end up with a smaller quantity and will need to add more watermelon and strawberries.

6. Vodka, Fresh Lime and Soda

With a generous amount of fresh lime juice, this is a great tasting drink. Also very low in calories for an alcoholic beverages, one of the lowest there is in fact (with 1 shot of vodka in its 76 calories). I used to drink vodka, lime and soda with lime cordial until I discovered that without the cordial and with fresh lime it is infinitely better. The number of times I end up with cordial in my drink if I'm out though! Sometimes I send it back and sometimes I bear it astounded that I ever chose to drink it like that.

Yield: 1 Drink

Ingredients:

• 30ml Vodka
• Limes
• Soda Water
• Ice, cubes or crushed

Instructions:

1. Squeeze the limes to get a 15ml of lime juice.
2. Add ice to a glass.
3. Add the vodka
4. Add the lime
5. Add the soda.
6. Add a good wedge of lime to the drink to serve.

Brazilian Lime Confusion

There is often some confusion involved translating the word lemon/lime. Here are the English/Brazilian Portuguese words:

Lime = Limão

Lemon = Limão Siciliano or Lima depending on which variety of lemon. There are also other names for different varieties.

So it is no wonder that people get in a muddle!

Tips

• Make these on an on demand basis as they don't keep. The limes will turn the drink bitter within an hour.
• It is best not to add all the ingredients to the blender in one go as straining it afterwards will lose the frothiness of the milk.
• This is a vodka article but this recipe also works well substituting the vodka for rum and the water for coconut water.

7. Twisted Brazilian Lemonade

This is called 'lemonade' without containing any actual lemons. It tastes really good but only make as much as you can drink pretty much straightaway!

Yield: 2 yield options provided as it is a bit of effort just for one cocktail.

Ingredients:

1 Cocktail:

• 30ml vodka
• 1/2 a lime plus wedge to garnish
• 1 tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk
• 150ml water
• 20g sugar
• Crushed ice (enough to fill the glass you are using as a rough guide)

2 Cocktails:

• 60ml vodka
• 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk
• 300ml water
• 40g sugar
• Crushed ice (enough to fill 2 of the glasses you are using)

Instructions:

1. Cut up the lime removing ends add them (peel and all).
2. Add the water and sugar to the blender.
3. Blend the limes, water and sugar together. Don't blend for too long to avoid the lime peel getting too bitty and so harder to strain.
4. Strain the result to get rid of the grittiness.
5. Put liquid back into blender.
6. Add the ice, sweetened, condensed milk and vodka.
7. Blend.
8. Pour into glass.
9. Serve with a lime wedge on or in the glass.

A Couple of Cocktail Classics

These classics have to be included when vodka is involved.

Tips

• Chill the glass in the freezer for 10 minutes or fridge for an hour beforehand.
• If you want a layered red and orange look to the cocktail add everything but the cranberry and orange juice to the cocktail shaker. Add contents to the glass and then add the cranberry followed by the orange. You will want to mix it up with a straw to drink but presentation wise it looks great!

8. Sex on The Beach

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

25ml Vodka

25ml peach schnapps

75ml Orange Juice

75ml Cranberry Juice

Dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Add some ice to a cocktail shaker.
2. Pour each of the ingredients into the shaker.
3. Add a couple of squeezes of fresh lemon juice.
4. Shake well
5. Transfer into a long glass.
6. Add a maraschino cherry on a stick and a slice of orange to garnish.

9. Cosmopolitan

This is the one drink in the list that you will really be aware of the vodka! Not for the fainthearted!

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 60ml vodka
• 15ml Triple Sec
• 25ml cranberry juice
• Approx 10ml freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 orange peel twist
• Ice

Instructions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Add the vodka, Triple Sec, cranberry juice and lime juice to the shaker.
3. Shake vigorously for about 20–30 seconds.
4. Strain into a martini glass.
5. Garnish with an orange peel twist.

Tip

• If you buy plastic shot glasses the best way to consume the jellies is to create a vacuum with your mouth over the top of the shot glass and then poke your tongue in to loosen the jelly slightly and suck. If you do this properly it should come away in one go and should leave no jelly in the glass. Easier said than done! Have fun trying....repeatedly!
• Alcohol takes longer to absorb in this form so it's easy to underestimate how much you have had and end up rather inebriated.

10. Tri-Color Vodka Jellies (Jello's)

These are great fun in the summer…..or anytime!....and will really impressive friends but if time is against you then go for the one colour.

Works well with disposable, plastic shot glasses.

Yield: One 135g pack of Jelly produces 600ml, which is 24 UK or 20 US shots. If you use 3 packets worth you will end up with 72 or 60 shots worth. Adjust the quantities to suit your jelly needs!

Ingredients:

• 45g each of strawberry jelly, lime jelly and lemon jelly
• 200ml Vodka
• 150ml Boiling water
• 200ml Water (you will use a bit less)

Instructions:

1. Set up the shot glasses on a tray or in a container that can be easily transferred into the fridge.
2. Break up the jelly and dissolve it in 150ml boiling water.
3. Add the vodka
4. Add the cold water to make the total contents up to 600ml.
5. Pour carefully into each shot glass so that each one is 1/3 full.
6. Place the shots into the fridge for about an hour or so to firm up (will set quicker in the freezer).
7. Repeat the process using the second colour.
8. And the third colour.
9. Place in the fridge for another hour or so, and they should be ready to go!

Product Links

• Black & DeckerCitrus Juicer on Amazon.com
  
• Philips Electric Citrus Juicer on Amazon.co.uk
  (FYI this is the one I use)
• Plastic 2oz shot glasses on Amazon.com
  
• Plastic shot glasses on Amazon.co.uk
  

Ingredients Quick View

Calorie Poll

© 2014 Zoe

Comments

Delo cheifs on April 17, 2018:

made this and tastes really good

Scott on May 27, 2017:

A physician at UC Berkeley Medical School who has two M.D., three Ph.D., and four master's degrees all in related sciences said, "Alcohol is a poison." And "More than fifty studies have shown that people who take vitamins have higher mortality rates than people who don't."

Candy colour on June 25, 2015:

Wow these look amazing. Cant wait to try them all.

Kerry on September 26, 2014:

Fantastic cocktails...the mud slide was my fave!! Can't wait to taste the rest!

Zoe (author) from London, England on August 02, 2014:

Much appreciated! Thank you all! The summer slush and the Brazilian lemonade would work without the alcohol mdscoggins.

Jasson C from 9E Franklin Avenue, Montvale, 07645, New Jersey, U.S.A. on August 01, 2014:

It is always rare to find well-informed individuals on this subject issue, however you seem like you know exactly what you are speaking about! Cheers

Michelle Scoggins from Fresno, CA on August 01, 2014:

Wow those all look great. Really would like to try the bottle in the watermelon drink. Voted up.

Katina Davenport from Michigan on August 01, 2014:

I am not a drinker, but I think these recipes can be done without Vodka.

rebekahELLE from Tampa Bay on August 01, 2014:

Yum, these look amazing. Love vodka and lime, anytime. Still, my favorite vodka drink is a well made dirty martini.

Zoe (author) from London, England on August 01, 2014:

Tee he he!

LuvEl Hortyn from Michigan on August 01, 2014:

I hope I don't lose my man card, but I will happily take a Sex on the Beach.

Zoe (author) from London, England on August 01, 2014:

Has to be done Gypsy48! Think I might have one myself shortly as it's Friday night and all!

Gypsy48 on August 01, 2014:

Useful hub. All these drinks look so refreshing and now I want one. We will be going out to dinner tonight and I will definitely be having some type of vodka concoction.

Rose Clearfield from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 01, 2014:

Wow, fantastic job! You've covered a great range of recipes here. Congrats on getting HOTD. :)

AnniesHealthTalk from United States on August 01, 2014:

Beautiful pictures! I love the vodka watermelon.

Beth Perry from Tennesee on August 01, 2014:

Mmm, they all sound delicious!!

Zoe (author) from London, England on August 01, 2014:

Cheers! It is very encouraging to get hub of the day! Hope it's not the first and last time!

Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on August 01, 2014:

Congratulations for HOTD!

All your creations are just wonderful and so tempting! The watermelon-vodka is an interesting idea.

Thanks for sharing!

Edmund Custers on August 01, 2014:

I thought the watermelon infused with vodka is really interesting. It looks like that was invented to carry vodka somewhere without anyone noticing.

Zoe (author) from London, England on August 01, 2014:

Thank you swilliams! Your kind comments have put a smile on my face this morning!

swilliams on August 01, 2014:

Wow! This looks great! Very tropical drinks. Well done! I love the rich colorful pictures too! Voted up & Tweeted Out!

Zoe (author) from London, England on July 21, 2014:

Thank you BinauralBeats!

BinauralBeatsNow on July 21, 2014:

Now I'm super thirsty! Everything looks so good!

Zoe (author) from London, England on July 20, 2014:

Glad you like my hub snerfu. Was great fun making them all!

Alka Narula from INDIA on July 20, 2014:

Awwww those are tempting recipes ...

Vivian Sudhir from Madurai, India on July 19, 2014:

You just made my weekend. I guess I will be haunting this page for a long time. You really went to town with the vodka, glad you did. Here's to this weekend and many more to come.

Zoe (author) from London, England on July 16, 2014:

Thank you for your thoughtful comments! The Strawberry Summer Slush and Brazilian Lemonade would both work well without any alcohol in.

Ana Maria Orantes from Miami Florida on July 16, 2014:

I like the pictures on your hub about the drinks. They look delicious. I can not drink vodka. I have some allergies about anything that contain alcohol. I am going to try your recepies with out the alcohol. I love juice's drinks. You did a fantastic job. Thank you for your kind thoughts about sharing what you know miss dougailbunny.

Cass Francavilla from North New Jersey on July 16, 2014:

Beeeeautiful!! I will be trying as many as possible. :D

Zoe (author) from London, England on July 15, 2014:

Great! Let me know how you get on!

Emma from Houston TX on July 15, 2014:

Looks tantalizing and will love to try it.