Spirited Alchemy

Deep Eddy is an Austin, TX-based distillery which makes vodka products and they recently released their Ruby Red Vodka, which is a grapefruit vodka, and is quite versatile in cocktails, especially now that it’s warm out. Deep Eddy was kind enough to supply me with a sample of Ruby Red Vodka. My thoughts in this post are entirely my own and not influenced by Deep Eddy.

Ruby Red Vodka is made with real grapefruit juice, which is mixed with Deep Eddy’s vodka (distilled 10 times). The resulting vodka is 70 proof and smells deliciously like grapefruit soda. The vodka has a hint of sweetness to balance out the tartness of the grapefruit. I am a fan of Greyhounds and other vodka-grapefruit concoctions so this was great to try out. And it makes some great cocktails! I usually just end up mixing grapefruit juice and vodka together so it was interesting to see how using Ruby Red Vodka varied from my usual approach. Deep Eddy’s Ruby Red Vodka yielded similarly delicious cocktails but better melded the grapefruit flavor. So instead of separately tasting grapefruit and vodka, it all blended together, which was nice. If you are not a fan of grapefruit, and not everyone is, then Ruby Red Vodka is not going to be a good choice for you. However, the vodka element was quite smooth so you may want to find a bottle of Deep Eddy’s vodka. But if you are a fan of grapefruit (like me!) then I would seek out Ruby Red Vodka and try mixing with it.

Deep Eddy was kind enough to suggest some cocktails to try out. The one that caught my eye was the Ruby Slipper, which Deep Eddy says is 2 parts Ruby Red Vodka, 1 part elderflower liqueur, and 1 part club soda. I took a different spin on the Ruby Slipper:

Ingredients:

1 ounce Deep Eddy Ruby Red Vodka

1 ounce grapefruit juice

1 ounce elderflower liqueur (I used St. Germain)

Club soda

Add Ruby Red Vodka, grapefruit juice, and elderflower liqueur into shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into highball or mason jar over ice. Top with club soda. Add lime wheel as garnish.

The Ruby Slipper is very refreshing. It would make a great BBQ or brunch drink. I think the reduction in the amount of vodka and the addition of the grapefruit juice improved the cocktail. It lightens it up so you can have more of them (without being sloshed) and makes the cocktail more refreshing. After topping it off with club soda, you end up getting just a hint of sweetness and floral character from the St. Germain. This drink can be made without Deep Eddy’s Ruby Red Vodka. I would use regular vodka and probably increase the grapefruit juice to 1 1/2 ounces. I would also consider adding grapefruit bitters to either version to add some depth.

So there you have it. A refreshing cocktail made with Deep Eddy’s Ruby Red Vodka. Overall, I give this vodka high praise. If you are a grapefruit lover then give Deep Eddy’s Ruby Red Vodka a whirl. Enjoy!

You all know that I love the idea of a nightcap, a small drink soon before bedtime. If I am feeling particularly lazy then, instead of making a cocktail, I reach for Madeira, a fortified wine, which is not only great on its own, but also is quite versatile in cocktails. Madeira generally offers some level of sweetness (see below for a fuller discussion) along with chocolate, nut, and/or dried fruit notes. These flavors work very well with rye, which provides a hefty kick of peppery-ness and spice. The Boston Flip combines both into a delicious and smooth cocktail.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces rye

1 1/2 ounces Madeira

1 egg

1/4 ounce rich (2:1) simple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker without ice. Shake vigorously for a minute. Open the shaker and add ice. Shake again. Strain into a coupe. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

This is the first “flip” which I have posted. By now you have gathered that I love egg whites in cocktails. “Flips” are a class of cocktails that call for a whole egg. That’s right. The entire raw egg. Before you dismiss it as some sort of Rocky Balboa-esque training regimen, entire raw eggs have been used in cocktails for quite some time. In fact, Jerry Thomas’s 1862 book How to Mix Drinks contained a number of recipes for flips. And also remember that raw eggs are consumed in egg nog during the holiday season. So why an entire egg? Well an entire egg changes the texture of a drink entirely. It will make a cocktail thicker, richer, and smoother. Since you are using an entire raw egg, remember that freshness is key. Also, similar to using egg whites, a dry shake is needed to emulsify the egg. For more information on a dry shake see my post on egg whites.

The Boston Flip calls for Madeira, which I mentioned is a fortified wine. Madeira is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages. In fact, George Washington, in a letter dated 1759, requested 126 gallons of it! Madeira is named such for the Portuguese island of Madeira, which was the last port of call for ships heading to the New World. Since Madeira is fortified, it was able to make the transatlantic voyage without spoiling (higher alcohol content = decreased spoilage; hence, why you should refrigerate vermouth but liquor can stay at room temp). Madeiras range in levels of sweetness. From driest to sweetest, the varieties are: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, and Malmsey. I used a Bual Madeira here, but feel free to play around with what you use.

The Boston Flip is definitely a heavy cocktail because of the use of an entire egg. You may not have more than one of these. But the kick of the rye, the sweetness of the Madeira, and the texture of the egg will make sure that the one you do have is delicious. Enjoy!