This past Friday Trevor and I hosted a group of friends out at the cabin for a day in the sun and time away from the responsibilities of our normal days. I wanted to serve a fun cocktail or two, and decided to go with infusing vodka with strawberries and rhubarb. Infusing vodka is an easy way to have a fruity and flavorful drink without a lot of mixing. It was a fairly large group, and I wanted the cocktail options to be quick and easy for people to grab on their own. Although I’ve served infused vodka on it’s own, I thought that the combo of straight booze, hot sun and acting like careless children in the water could be dangerous. I looked for a cocktail recipe using the strawberry rhubarb vodka as base, and landed on this lovely twist on a traditional greyhound. If grapefruit isn’t your thing, I also served the infused vodka with lemonade and it was equally as delicious (and even less work without having to muddle the mint).

 

Recipe
Strawberry Rhubarb Greyhound
(Adapted from: Wit and Vinegar)

Muddle 3-4 mint leaves in a glass
Add ice and fill glass half full with strawberry rhubarb vodka (directions below)
Fill the remainder of the glass with grapefruit juice
Top with a squeeze of lime
Enjoy!

As the directions above show, I rarely use a shot glass to measure ounces and prefer to just eye it when pouring and measure according to preference of the person drinking. I do appreciate that’s not really how a true mixed drink should be made, and so for those of you who like to take more care with your cocktails, go with 4 ounces each of vodka and grapefruit juice.

Infused vodka

For any infused vodka, my personal approach is to fill a large Tupperware container with equal parts fruit and vodka (I usually only make this if for a large group, and don’t worry much about proportions). If winging it isn’t your style, then some measurements to help guide you are below (increase in equal parts as necessary).

1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries
1 1/2 cups thick sliced rhubarb
375 ml vodka, about 1 2/3 cups

Place all in a large container and let sit for at least a week (I prefer two). The infusion does not need to be refrigerated, and I’ve read that doing so can slow the process.