Mixology at Home - Whipped Vodka and Root Beer Float
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - We are a wee bit late on this since National Vodka Day was yesterday. Why do we celebrate National Vodka Day?
Vodka is a great spirit to build a drink around (just look at the rows of flavored vodka in your neighborhood liquor store). We have to celebrate it on Mixology at Home.
And with this week’s drink, infused vodka is the way to go. But I’m not really good at infusing alcohol. Remember that bacon-infused bourbon? So I buy vodka already infused.
Vodka is a $22 billion industry across the world and in the U.S. it accounts for more than 25 percent of liquor sales. It is becoming as popular as one of my favorites, whiskey, which is 35 percent of all liquor sales.
Now, let’s start an argument. Do you freeze-chill your vodka?
This is a debate, about freeze, chill, or room temperature. I admit I keep my vodka behind the bar at room temperature. Ideally, I should have it in the refrigerator since vodka experts claim 32 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit is the optimum temperature for vodka. When I make vodka-based drinks I do use ice, which brings that room-temperature vodka down to a more tolerable level.
Now that we confused you about where to store your vodka, let’s make a drink. This is a variation of a drink we made a while back, a root beer float with spiced rum. This week we go sweeter with whipped vodka.
Ingredients
- 2 oz whipped vodka (vanilla vodka is also a good choice for this drink)
- 4 oz root beer
- ice cream (you can use crushed ice instead, making a slushie)
- Vodka-infused whipped cream (if you can get it; otherwise regular whipped cream works)
- Tall glass (your choice - a pint or pilsner glass, collins glass, even an Irish coffee mug works if you don’t want a large drink)
- Whipped cream (optional)
- Chocolate shavings (optional)
Directions
Fill your glass with scoops of ice cream (or crushed ice), and add two ounces of whipped vodka, filling the rest of the glass with root beer. If you want, add some whipped cream on top and shave chocolate over the drink.
Note: I used a vodka-infused non-dairy whipped cream. It worked well. A couple of years ago I tried another alcohol-infused whipped cream that wasn’t worth it, too runny. They must have gotten the technology right because this time it worked like a charm.
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