Vodka Cocktail Recipes

Neutral and clean in flavor and transparency, vodka is the perfect medium for the cocktail artist’s classic and creative concoctions appropriate for any day of the calendar year. Here, we bring you a collection of our vodka recipes. Cheers!

Vodka Cocktail Recipes

Vodka is the base alcohol in many classic cocktail recipes, including the Bloody Mary, gimlet, Black Russian, Vodka Martinis, Vodka Tonic, Vodka Soda, Vodka Cranberry, Espresso martini, and more.

The neutral flavor of vodka mixes nicely with citrus, tomato juice, mint, coffee liqueur, grapefruit juice, orange liqueur, soda water, tonic water, ginger ale, and more.

These great vodka cocktails have a balance of flavors that make the drink easy to enjoy.

This cocktail post includes full size vodka cocktails. We also have a list of vodka shot recipes if you are looking for a smaller drink.

Sea Blue Martini

This Absolut Citron vodka, blue curaçao, lemonade, and Sprite martini is turquoise like the waters of a tropical paradise. It is one of our favorite easy vodka cocktail to make for an event.

Moscow Mule

The Moscow part of this classic copper mug cocktail’s name comes from the base spirit of vodka.

Sex in the Driveway Cocktail

We’ll let you use your imagination about how the peach schnapps, blue curaçao, vodka, and Sprite cocktail got its name.

Peppermint Vodka

We love gifting this peppermint candy-infused vodka to friends during the holiday season; they look adorable in canning jars!

Vodka Gummy Bears

Soak these adult-only gummy bears in rum instead of vodka to make “rummy” bears.

Screwdriver Popsicles

These boozy orange and vodka popsicles are part of our series of 21-and-over popsicles inspired by classic cocktails. We’ve found that these disposable Dixie cups are the perfect size for a popsicle.

Lavender Lemonade Cocktail

This two-ingredient cocktail is made with Oakhurst Spirits Lavender Vodka. Want a fizzy cocktail? Just use a sparkling lemonade.

Vodka and Sprite Cocktail

Add a splash of fun to this well-cocktail staple using any Sprite variety or flavored soda you enjoy.

Caramel Apple Cider Cocktail

A piping hot mug of this sweater-weather cocktail made with apple cider and caramel vodka is perfect for warming up on a fall day.

Blue Shark Cocktail

This boozy blue cocktail features a double-whammy of tequila and vodka as base spirits. We enjoy serving it in a stemless martini glass with a pineapple wedge on the rim.

Vodka Sunrise

We’re confident this photogenic layered orange juice cocktail has been the star of many weekend brunches.

Eggnog White Russian

In this take on the white Russian cocktail, eggnog gives the classic sweet libation a holiday makeover.

Coral Reef Cocktail

This strawberry-coconut rum cocktail is as simple as blend and pour. We like serving these frosty tropical drinks in wine goblets.

Dirty Shirley Cocktail

Vodka is the base spirit that takes this mixed drink from virgin to grownup territory. Serve it in a punch bowl for some nostalgic charm.

Dill Pickle Martini

Pickleback shot lovers will enjoy this briny dill pickle juice martini. Want to get creative? Turn it into a Dirty Pickle with half an ounce of dry vermouth.

93-Calorie Raspberry Pomegranate Lemonade Cocktail

This low-calorie vodka and lemonade cocktail gets its yummy candy notes from Smirnoff Sorbet Raspberry Pomegranate Vodka.

Cranberry Lime Cocktail

This festive cocktail is chock-full of tart, juicy cranberries to please the holiday palate. Want more cranberry flavor? Use a cranberry-flavored vodka instead of a plain variety.

Lemon Drop Martini

The classic lemon drop martini is the perfect litmus test for whether a bar excels at craft cocktails, as the delicate balance of sweet and tart takes refinement to get right.

Rainbow Cocktail

This layered rainbow cocktail was one of our favorites on the menu of Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans, also the home of the hurricane cocktail. Serve it in a 10 to 12-ounce Collins glass to accommodate all the ice.

Mango Passion Fruit Lemonade Cocktail

This refreshing lemonade sipper is made with Smirnoff’s low-calorie Sorbet Light Mango Passion Fruit vodka and equally calorie-friendly Just 15 Calories by Minute Maid.

Woo Woo Cocktail

While it may feel silly to call this cocktail by its name, it comes from a chant that patrons at its New York City bar of origin would call when the New York Mets scored in a game.

Bay Breeze Cocktail

Cool, calm, and collected like the Cape Codder from which it draws inspiration, this cranberry, pineapple, and vodka cocktail is lovely for brunch.

Watermelon Martini

We can only imagine the different creative ways that the delectable, ruby-hued Monin Watermelon Syrup in this Fahrenheit 555 martini can be used in your summertime mixology efforts.

40 Is the New 20 Alchemy Bar Cocktail

We love the empowering name of this vodka, pomegranate, and lemonade Carnival Cruise cocktail - there’s lots of life to live at any age!

Electric Lemonade

The shocking blue hue of this Collins glass cocktail comes from blue curaçao, which blends perfectly with vodka and fizzy lemon-lime soda to deliver a citrusy delight.

Orange Moscow Mule

The orange juice in this take on the classic Moscow mule makes it a great brunch option if you need an alternative to the usual mimosa.

Cosmopolitan Popsicle

We packed this boozy frozen riff on a Cosmopolitan in popsicle pouches for some summertime fun and nostalgia.

Eggnog Mudslide

In this sweet adults-only holiday treat, vodka is the perfect neutral base spirit that lets the flavors of the eggnog and Kahlúa shine.

Blue Lagoon Cocktail

In this tropical cocktail made pool blue with blue curaçao, we recommend using the best quality lemonade and vodka you have. You can even use our copycat Chick-fil-A lemonade.

Melon Crush Martini

This pretty-in-red-orange watermelon and cranberry martini reminds us of the fond memories we’ve made on Carnival Cruises, including everything from visiting Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta to seeing a Carly Rae Jepson concert.

Curative Peach Cosmopolitan

The lemonade and Absolut Citron vodka in this reinvented Cosmopolitan do a fantastic job balancing the sweet peach schnapps liqueur, and the cranberry juice helps give it a lovely pastel color.

Twisted Lemonade Cocktail

You may be surprised to learn that there isn’t any lemonade in this Chili’s copycat cocktail - instead, the lemon flavor comes from a mix of triple sec and sweet and sour mix.

Blue Mule

We were fortunate to have a bottle of local blue curaçao we brought home from a distillery on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. Still, any quality blue curaçao will work in this ginger beer cocktail.

Cucumber Sunrise

The orange juice and Monin Watermelon Syrup give this cocktail a similar feel to the vodka or tequila sunrise, while the muddled cucumber wheels in this vodka-based cocktail are one of the most creative uses I’ve seen of cucumbers in a cocktail.

Strawberry Basil Lemonade Cocktail

Can you tell how much we love the Smirnoff Sorbet series of vodkas? This recipe uses fresh muddled basil and diet lemonade to create a refreshing warm-weather beverage.

Pomegranate Breeze Martini

From Valentine’s Day to Christmas, this classy red pomegranate martini is a beautiful choice for any celebration where red is a dominant theme.

Ranch Tea Cocktail

Vodka meets a classic Southern refreshment in this black tea, honey syrup, and lemon juice cocktail with muddled basil leaves. We used Bently Heritage Source One Vodka, which is distilled from oats and wheat, but any quality vodka works fine.

Candy Corn Cocktail

This Halloween cocktail and fall-themed layered martini features a fun surprise, as the yellow layer comes from pineapple juice and the red base from grenadine.

Peach Iced Tea Cocktail

This boozy twist on Southern sweet tea features yet another Smirnoff Sorbet variety, Light White Peach. If you have a surplus of peaches in your summertime harvest, you can freeze the slices and use them as ice cubes.

Mulled Cherry Cider Cocktail

The cherry flavor of this holiday cocktail comes from a whopping four cherry ingredients: maraschino cherry juice, cherry cider, mulled cider, and maraschino cherries.

Martini Seduction

According to the manufacturer, the Stoli Orange vodka in this premium martini has notes of orange blossom, cream, dark chocolate, and even kumquat.

Apple Cider Mule

A premium vodka isn’t necessary for this fall variation on the copper mug beverage, as it’s only there to add booze and let the cider shine.

Bama Breeze Cocktail

LuLu’s by Lucy Buffett, the restaurant that crafted this grapefruit, coconut, and cranberry cocktail, is one of our favorites for Coastal Southern cuisine.

Cranberry Moscow Mule

If you don’t mind a tarter beverage, you can swap the cranberry juice cocktail for 100 percent cranberry juice.

Spicy Chipotle Pineapple Martini

The Monin Chipotle Pineapple syrup in this inventive martini offers just the right amount of heat to make it memorable and palatable.

Fuzzy Leprechaun Cocktail

The neon emerald hue of this St. Patrick’s Day-appropriate hurricane cocktail comes from a sweet trifecta of blue curaçao, orange juice, and pineapple juice.