The Story Behind The Red Vodka Sparkler

There’s nothing as wonderful on this blessed earth as a good friend. But a friend who knows you well enough to buy you a gift you actually want is an otherworldly pleasure. This week, we received a nice bottle of vodka from a friend, and we realized it had been too long since we used vodka for much more than a martini. With such inspiration close to hand, we began playing around with different flavors to accentuate our new vodka.

As in a good friendship, balance in a cocktail is everything. We settled on a great sweet vermouth we had in the fridge to pair with our gift. To lengthen the cocktail, we grabbed the bottle of sparkling wine that, as luck would have it, was sitting next to the vermouth. With all of these powerful ingredients coming together, we had to add a little simple syrup in the end to sweeten the deal, but only enough to unify this delicious libation. This is a simple cocktail that can be thrown together in a pinch to celebrate friendship at your next get-together. Or it can be enjoyed over dinner to elevate an evening in.