If you can believe it, I’ll be hosting the 200th episode of Virtual Happy Hour on my Instagram Stories this Friday, June 18th at 5 p.m. ET. I’ll be serving up this Drop the Beet martini and sincerely hope you’ll join me to raise a glass to this milestone. In case you’re more of a blog reader than Instagram user, I’ve been adding all my previous episodes to my YouTube channel and now have 50 of them up for your drinking/viewing pleasure – be sure to subscribe so you can catch all of them.
I’m telling you this now so you have time to make the beet-infused vodka required for this earthy and beautifully balanced cocktail – it only takes 3 beets (peeled and chopped) and 2 cups of vodka and 3 days to marinate.
In certain states in the U.S. you can buy beet vodka but it’s not available in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada (to my knowledge) so I went about making my own. It’s shockingly uncomplicated and yields a fantastic rich, earthy flavour and stunning ruby red colour.
When I’m coming up with original cocktail recipes, I tend to steer towards sours or old fashioned style cocktails because I’m more familiar and inclined towards those categories. For this Drop the Beet martini, I went outside my comfort zone and am truly delighted with the results. I feel like a proud cocktail mom.
The cocktail consists of beet-infused vodka, ginger liqueur, dry vermouth and celery bitters. The ginger liqueur contributes subtle spice and sweetness to play against the savoury, earthy flavour of beets, the vermouth lends structure and the celery bitters add a fresh vegetal salinity.
I know this is a bit more advanced than many of the cocktails I’ve prepared over the last 15 months of Virtual Happy Hour but I’ve been so impressed by the commitment of many of my followers who have been actively participating throughout and I wanted to challenge them with a simple infusion. We’ve graduated from Intro to Cocktails and are now in the intermediate level course.
Over the course of 200 episodes, I’ve learned more about cocktail history, technique, spirits, and other ingredients than I thought possible and my curiosity has been rewarded with an audience who is as keen to explore the subject as I am, and I’m honoured to be their guide.
It’s been easy to languish or even wallow during the various lockdowns and restrictions but throughout it all, I’ve been buoyed by the tremendous community of cocktail enthusiasts who have sent me messages of support, ridiculous memes, asked me on dates, consumed countless Tipples, and shown me how much they care. In an effort to give back to the people who have done so much to support me and my business since March 16th, 2020, I will be announcing a giveaway on Friday’s Virtual Happy Hour and I hope you’ll tune in to find out what it is and throw your hat in the ring!
Drop the Beet: Beet-Infused Vodka Martini
This Beet-Infused vodka martini is a sophisticated, earthy sipper balanced with ginger liqueur, dry vermouth and celery bitters.
- 1½ oz beet-infused vodka
- ½ oz ginger liqueur
- ½ oz dolin dry vermouth
- 3 dashes celery bitters
- Garnish: lemon twist
- 3 beets peeled and diced
- 2 cups vodka
-
Stir all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled martini glass.
-
Express lemon peel onto the surface of the drink. Twist and place on the lip of the glass.
-
Add peeled and diced beets to a large mason jar, top with 2 cups of vodka. Store in a cool, dark place for 3 days. Strain out solids and store in the fridge or freezer.
awesome!