[If you’re looking for something fancier, here are our four favorite vodka cocktails]

You’re at a crowded bar with your friends. You’ve waited a little longer than you’d like for a drink, in an area a little too crowded for your comfort. You finally lock eyes with the bartender. They point to you.

“What’ll you have to drink?”

With a million things going on around you, you haven’t really given it much thought. But you’re thirsty and ready to get rowdy, so you want to order fast. When in doubt, think vodka. And when thinking of a vodka drink, these are the ones our staff highly recommends:

bloody mary

Bloody Mary

Ingredients:

  • 2oz Vodka
  • 4oz Tomato Juice
  • 2 dashes Tobasco sauce
  • 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp Horseradish
  • 1 pinch celery salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 1 pinch paprika
  • Garnish with lime wedge, celery stalk and an olive

The Bloody Mary is one of the few drinks that are not only acceptable, but encouraged to be drank during breakfast or brunch. Specifically high in electrolytes from the tomato juice, Bloody Marys were designed to cure a hangover from the prior night, which is why they are such a staple drink in New Orleans. This is a very complex drink with various flavors, so experiment with proportions and extra garnishes and ingredients until you find a taste that suits you.

screwdriver

Screwdriver

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz vodka
  • 5 oz orange juice

Ah, the Screwdriver. Another classic breakfast drink of champions. Similar to a mimosa, which is champagne and orange juice, the Screwdriver replaces the classier champagne for an more everyday liquor- vodka. For those who want to try and be healthy and justify the dose of Vitamin C to turn up just a little, the Screwdriver is a great option.

salty dog

Salty Dog

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz vodka
  • 5oz grapefruit juice

If the Screwdriver is the regular at brunch, the Salty Dog is the friend that only shows up every once in awhile, but when they do, everyone LOVES them. The Salty Dog is exactly like the Screwdriver, but instead of orange juice, it’s grapefruit juice. Now grapefruit juice isn’t everyone’s cup of tea- it seems like you either love it or hate it. So if you love it, then this drink is an amazing, rarer version of the Screwdriver.

black russian

Black Russian

Ingredients:

  • 2oz vodka
  • 1oz Kahlua

The Black Russian is essentially a classy version of spiked coffee. And the great thing is that it’s a simple two-ingredient recipe that changes drastically as you adjust the proportions of each part. This recipe results in a stiff, somewhat dry drink. But if you add more Kahlua, the drink becomes sweeter and creamer, so it can suit all tastes.

best vodka drinks

Vodka Soda (aka the Vodka Collins)

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 ice cubes
  • 1.5oz vodka
  • 3oz sweet & sour mix (or 1tsb sugar) **optional**
  • Top off with club soda
  • Garnish with lime

A Vodka Soda, also known as the Vodka Collins, is a classic simple drink- vodka and club soda. It can also optionally be sweetened up with sugar or sweet & sour mix. But if you use a high quality vodka, simply mixing with club soda is amazingly smooth and easy to drink.

moscow mule

Moscow Mule

Ingredients:

While this is the standard recipe for a moscow mule, if you want to follow the original Moscow Mule recipe, it calls for specific brands with Cock & Bull Ginger Beer and Smirnoff Vodka. The moscow mule is quickly becoming the hot new drink, and for a great reason– the copper mug is unique and classy as hell, it tastes amazing and it’s amazingly simple to make. Whether you’re making it for yourself or enjoying it during a night out in the town, you can literally never go wrong with a Moscow Mule. But hey, we’re biased.

Did we miss any? Which are your favorites? Hit us up in the comments below!