Drinks like the Rum and Coke, Gin & Tonic, and Vodka Soda are often pigeonholed as rudimentary dive bar staples. They may be wildly popular, but does a spirit, a splash of soda, and an obligatory lime wedge constitute a bonafide cocktail or just a one-way ticket to inebriation?

Could the Vodka Soda be the reason that vodka continues to rank as one of the best-selling spirits in the U.S.? Is it serving as the main factor behind the overwhelming success of brands such as Tito’s? With such a simple composition, can you create a flavorsome, interesting version of this drink while staying true to the essence of a classic Vodka Soda? These are all questions we’re answering today as we’re joined in the studio by Ignacio “Nacho” Jiménez, co-owner of the recently opened, must-visit NYC bar Superbueno.

As Jiménez says, “Vodka is a blank canvas.” So for his Vodka Y Soda, he paints quite the masterpiece, taking the simple two-ingredient drink and pushing it to the nth degree. It’s a cocktail of epic proportions and its guava salt rim is the only visual tip-off that this drink might be a bit different from your usual dive bar go-to. Listen on to learn Nacho’s Vodka Y Soda recipe.

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Ignacio “Nacho” Jiménez’s “Vodka Y Soda” Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ ounces pasilla and guajillo pepper infused Grey Goose*
  • ¼ ounce Velvet Falernum
  • 5 ounces guava water**
  • Garnish: Guava salt

Directions

  1. Rim a chilled highball glass with guava salt.
  2. Combine all ingredients and charge with carbonation either in a soda stream or using an ISI with a CO2 soda charger.
  3. Serve in the highball glass over an ice spear or regular ice.

Pasilla and Guajillo Grey Goose*

Ingredients

  • 1 liter Grey Goose vodka
  • 20 grams deseeded Guajillo peppers
  • 10 grams deseeded Pasilla Peppers

Directions

  1. Add vodka to a container/pitcher.
  2. Add deseeded peppers.
  3. Infuse from 30 mins to overnight before straining through a fine mesh strainer.

Guava Water**

Ingredients

  • 1 liter clarified guava purée***
  • 7 grams tartaric acid
  • 8 grams malic acid
  • 15–20 grams sugar

Directions

  1. Combine all the ingredients together and, if possible, use a Brix refractometer while adding sugar until you reach 15–20 sugar Brix.
  2. Store in the refrigerator. (Will last for a couple of weeks.)

Clarified Guava Purée***

Ingredients

  • 850 grams Le Boiron guava purée
  • 200 milliliters water
  • 130 grams Pectinex
  • 2 grams Agar Agar

Directions

  1. Mix the guava purée with Pectinex in a large pot and let it sit for 20 minutes.
  2. Add water and cook until it boils, stirring continuously so it doesn’t catch.
  3. Add Agar Agar and dissolve.
  4. Strain through a coffee strainer into a sealable container.

Published: June 9, 2023