(From L to R: Cranberry Cosmopolitan, Chilled Shot, Cranberry Champagne Spritzer) Photo by: foodbyjenn

It’s been one week…

…and after straining off the spent fruit…

…the Cranberry Vodka was properly infused and ready to use this weekend!

At an impromptu tasting party I used a batch of Cranberry Vodka from Michael Chiarello’s recipe for “Cranberry Vodka Tonics” the November 2011 Issue of The Food Network Magazine Recipe to make his cocktail and two other cocktails of my creation- a Cranberry Vodka Cosmopolitan and a Cranberry Champagne Spritzer.

The results: 

Cranberry Vodka Tonics – Guest comments ranged from “tasty” to “very refreshing” to “unexpected”. Even the non-vodka drinkers really enjoyed this cocktail.

Cranberry Vodka Cosmopolitan – We all agreed it worked but was a little too sweet and lost the signature of a classic cosmopolitan.  I made the batch as follows: 3 parts Cranberry Vodka + 1 part Cointreau + 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice. Perhaps a slight alteration of measurements would elevate the mixture.

Cranberry Champagne Spritzer – Overwhelmingly this was the winner (but it was very close and it almost tied for first with the Cranberry Vodka Tonic).  The libation was very light and refreshing but also robust and bursting with a cornucopia of flavors. I made the batch as follows: 1 part Cranberry Vodka + 1 part Champagne.

Chilled Shot – we also tried the Cranberry Vodka as it was to take in the rich flavors.

In my last post I mentioned that the original recipe called for 3 cups of (plain) vodka.  I only had about 2 cups on hand (of Vox brand vodka) so I used a scant1 cup of Grey Goose la Poire (pear flavored vodka) to make my batch.  I think the extra fruit flavor was just delightful and there was the slightest after-note of pear to all the above mentioned cocktails.

Cheers,

Jenn