Depth Charge

The Depth Charge is intended to flavor your beer in some unnatural way. Europeans are very adept at this, choosing a flavored schnapps to give an uninteresting beer more flavor and alcohol. It's almost unnecessary in this age of craft brewing. Not to mention that flavored schnapps get a bad reputation.

I can see taking a PBR and adding peach schnapps, but I don't want to drink that. And in an earlier entry I used Kolsch and Absolut Ruby Red vodka to make a beer cocktail. But grapefruit vodka goes great in an IPA. Deschutes has an incredible hoppy IPA with more bitterness than citrus flavors. Throw in ruby red vodka and you have a cool beer drink.

• 1 bottle of beer 
• 2 oz. schnapps of your choice 

Add both ingredients to a frosted mug.

Kolsch God

This is an original cocktail idea I had when I got this can of Fairwinds Kolsch. Grapefruit juice and grapefruit vodka are great with the hoppy and crisp taste of Kolsch beer. Do it on ice, because you want it as cold as possible, and use fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.

The name comes from the DC entrepreneur, now incarcerated, who started a marijuana delivery business called Kush God. Check it out!   But definitely check out this recipe.

• 1 1/2 oz. Absolut Ruby Red vodka
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• Kolsch beer

Combine grapefruit juice and grapefruit vodka in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a kolsch glass full of fresh ice. Top with beer. 

Salander's Smile (Ruby Red version)

This is my original cocktail recipe for the Steig Larson character Lisbeth Salander. It is a cherry and vodka drink served up with only Swedish ingredients. Absolut vodka was always an important ingredients, as was Swedish Cherry Herring liqueur. Now I'm making it with Absolut Ruby Red vodka, which makes the drink far brighter and more complex--more like a gin cocktail.

• 2 oz. Absolut Ruby Red
• 1 oz. Cherry Heering
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• lemon twist

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist. 

Sea Breeze

This drink takes me back to the 90's. A simple tropical cocktail needs only a few fruits juices that, when combined, give the illusion that you didn't just get this from the cash bar at your little cousin's wedding. Crack open a can of grapefruit juice and a can of cranberry (canberry?) and mix with vodka in a highball glass.

To upscale this drink some, use fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and Absolut Ruby Red vodka. This makes for a juicier and far more complex cocktail that still keeps its 40-proof strength vodka. Absolut flavored vodkas are as strong as plain vodka.

• 2 oz. vodka (Absolut Ruby Red used)
• 3 oz. grapefruit juice
• 3 oz. cranberry juice
• grapfruit slice

Build drink in a highball glass with vodka and ice then top with equal parts of both juices and stir. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.

Ruby Red Vodka Tonic

I'm not a big fan of flavored vodka for the sake of flavored vodka. I'm of the opinion that plain vodka plus fresh ingredients is really the way to go. But your typical cocktails like a Vodka Tonic can be greatly enhanced with grapefruit vodka.

Absolut Ruby Red is a flavored vodka with a collage of citrus flavors. It has many levels of richness, which makes it a great ingredient in a tonic drink. Grapefruit is becoming a popular botanical in gin lately, so this version of a Vodka Tonic is pretty close to a G&T, at least without the juniper.

• 2 oz. Absolut Ruby Red 
• tonic water
• grapefruit slice

Build drink in an Old Fashioned glass with ice and vodka. Garnish with a slice of grapefruit.