These Are The Best And Worst Items To Buy Duty-Free When You Travel
That costs how much?!!
13 Products That’ll Make 2017 Your Fave Year
There’s a reason it’s called retail therapy.
13 Alcoholic Fruit Shots Proven To Win Everyone Over
Drinking alcohol out of fruit makes it healthy… right?
13 Extra-Boozy Cocktails Guaranteed To Get Everyone Drunk
For when you want to get buzzed quickly.
6 Of The Weirdest Ways I’ve Picked Up Men
Without the pushup bra and cheesy pickup lines.
13 Things Every Woman Who Likes To Drink Knows To Be True
I don’t drink like a man. I drink like a boss.
TGIF: Vodka With Crushed Lime And Mint Cocktail Recipe
Sometimes it’s the simple things in life, so this week we’re taking it back to basics with this vodka and crushed lime cocktail recipe. Muddled with fresh mint and brown sugar, it’s a sweet, citrus sensation that everyone is sure to enjoy.
RELATED: TGIF: The Pavlova Cocktail Recipe
Serves 6
Ingredients
1/4 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
24 fresh mint leaves
3 limes, quartered
180ml vodka
Soda water, chilled, to serve
Ice cubes, to serve
Method
- Divide the sugar, mint and lime among serving glasses. Use the end of a rolling pin to gently muddle until lime is crushed.
- Pour vodka among glasses, then top with soda water and ice.
- Stir gently, then serve.
Recipe via Taste
7 Non-Cliché Vodka Cocktail Ideas
The standard vodka cocktail is always overdone, and we’re not even going to discuss a vodka lime and soda combination, which isn’t even an option in our books.
RELATED: TGIF 5 Unique Margarita Cocktails
Impress your friends and show off your skills with these vodka cocktails which taste amazing and are also unique!
Rosemary and lemon vodka fizz
Ingredients: vodka, rosemary syrup, sparkling water, rosemary
This tangy cocktail is infused with lemon and a sprig of rosemary for a unique taste, which everyone is sure to enjoy.
Pink petal vodka
Ingredients: rose syrup, vodka, pink rose petals, rose water, tonic, pink food colouring
These pretty pink drinks are perfect for a girls night out, and taste delicious! If you don’t have any pink petals around, don’t worry, it still looks amazing for Instagram.
Whipped vodka and club soda
Ingredients: club soda, whipped vodka, lime
Okay, well we may have lied about the vodka lime and soda, but this one is for the friend who always orders one! The taste is so much smoother, minus all the extra calories.
Vodka, lemon and lavender cocktail
Ingredients: sugar cubes, cold water, vodka, lemon juice, lavender
If you’ve followed a few of our cocktail ideas before, then you probably know that lavender is a must-have for any pretty beverage. Combine the water, sugar and lavender in a saucepan over medium heat, and prepare the syrup for this tasty drink.
Plum vodka spritzer
Ingredients: lemon plums, sugar, water, vodka, club soda
Use fresh plums for ultimate flavour and combine with cold water and smooth vodka for the ultimate summer cocktail.
Bittersweet greyhound
Ingredients: grapefruit juice, vodka, campari, water, sugar
This one has already become our new favourite drink. It’s a great alternative to the vodka lime and cranberry combination. Sugar the rim of the glass for a kick of sweet and savoury flavour!
Arancello
Ingredients: arancello (lemon fizzy drink), vodka, oranges, sugar, water
This fabulous cocktail is technically cheating, since it’s a mix of liqueurs for the friend who can’t make up their mind! The result? A yummy infusion of sour arancello with smooth vodka.
Images via A Better Happier St Sebastian, Jillian Harris, Best Friends For Frosting, The Effortless Chic, Heather Christo, Refinery 29
TGIF: The Pavlova Cocktail Recipe
If you’re a fan of traditional pavlova you’re going to salivate over this cocktail recipe. Light and fluffy and with a blend of Autumn fruits, ‘The Pavlova’ is the perfect ratio of sweet to sour and will have you embracing the cooler months sooner than you think.
RELATED: TGIF Green Fairy Applesinth Cocktail
Makes 1
Ingredients
30ml Vodka O
20ml Apricot Brandy
10ml Yellow Chartreuse
30ml Lemon Juice
20ml Gomme syrup
Egg white
Grapefruit or bitters
Method
- Add all ingredients to shaker and Shake without ice to emulsify egg.
- Add ice and shake vigorously, strain into a cocktail glass.
Recipe via VodkaO
TGIF Vodka O Strawberry Cocktail Recipe
With Summer coming to an end a fruity strawberry cocktail is the best way to see it out. And with only three ingredients, this tasty recipe is an easy and cost effective drink to whip up over happy hour.
RELATED: TGIF: Chamomile Margarita Recipe
Makes 1
Ingredients
1 shot Vodka O
4 strawberries
Lemonade
Method
- Muddle strawberries and top with vodka and lemonade.
- Garnish with fresh strawberries and lime and enjoy!
Recipe via Vodka O
TGIF Mint and Cucumber Vodka Cocktail Recipe
This refreshing cucumber and vodka cocktail is the perfect way to unwind after a long week. Teamed with lime, mint and a hint of sugar, it’s a light, summery and hydrating drink that’s guaranteed to be a hit among colleagues or friends.
Makes 4
Ingredients
2 cucumbers
ice cubes
fresh mint
2 tsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
119 ml Vodka O
24 ml cointreau
Method
- Cut 4 thin spears from 1 cucumber for the garnish. Peel remaining cucumber, and quarter lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and discard. Coarsely chop, then puree in a food processor until smooth.
- Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add mint, sugar, lime juice, cucumber juice, Vodka O, Cointreau and shake.
- Strain into 4 glasses filled with ice. Garnish each cocktail with a cucumber spear and mint.
Recipe Via Vodka O
Halloween Cocktails To Get Your Blood Boiling
October 31 is just around the corner and Crystal Head Vodka have been working hard all year on the right concoctions for you to serve at your Halloween party. Here are a few ideas:
RELATED: Halloween Costume Ideas: Top 5 Film Witches
Brainstorm
Ingredients
2 oz Crystal Head Vodka
2 oz Coconut Water
½ oz simple syrup
2 blackberry mint ice cubes
Blackberry mint ice cubes
Fresh blackberries
Fresh mint
Method
- For the blackberry mint ice cubes, muddle fresh blackberries and mint with a small amount of water. Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze.
- In a shaker half-filled with ice add Crystal Head Vodka, coconut water and syrup.
- Shake well and strain into martini glass.
- Add blackberry mint ice cubes.
Look into my eyes
Indredients
1 ½ oz Crystal Head Vodka
1 oz soju or 1 oz zipang
Sparkling sake
3 oz coconut water
Fresh blackberries
1 whole lycee
1 Maraschino cherry
Method
- In a shaker, muddle blackberries with a splash of CHV.
- Add in ice, remaining vodka, ty ku and coconut water.
- Shake well then pour entire contents into a rocks glass.
- Garnish with lychee made to look like an eyeball. Place cherry in the open centre of lychee.
Out of my Head
Ingredients
1 ½ oz Crystal Head Vodka
1 oz Galliano
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 scoop ice
1 tsp simple syrup
½ oz grenadine or 1 oz. pink cream soda
Method
- Add all ingredients except for grenadine/cream soda into a blender and blend until thick and smooth.
- Pour into a glass and top with grenadine or cream soda.
Black & Blue
Ingredients
½ oz Crystal Head Vodka
½ oz premium coffee liquer
½ oz blue caracao
½ oz black sambuca
Method
- Add all ingredients into a shot glass
Recipes courtesy of Crystal head Vodka
How To Incorporate Vodka In Your Cooking
This versatile spirit can be enjoyed just as much in the kitchen as in the bar! If you enjoy a tipple here or there but also spend your spare time sharpening your knives and citing Jamie and Nigella, vodka could be your new kitchen best friend. And let’s face it, it’s a bit more fun than kale.
Drunken cherry tomatoes
The perfect companion for mature cheddar cheese and crusty bread. Prick the tomatoes all over and place in airtight jar, cover with Vodka O and add peppercorns, salt, chilli, lemon slices and celery, Leave for two to three days and drain before serving. But don’t throw away the drained vodka – you can strain and chill it to make a spicy Bloody Mary!
Make pasta sauce with a kick
The famous Bloody Mary cocktail demonstrates how well vodka goes with tomato juice, so why not add some vodka to your tomato-based pasta sauce to give it a little kick! Cook garlic, shallots, oregano and chilli in oil until golden brown. Remove from heat and add a generous amount of Vodka O (about 1¼ cups), stir and return to heat and add cherry tomatoes and cook until they begin to collapse. Stir sauce into your favourite pasta and enjoy!
Make the perfect, flaky pie crust
Who would have guessed, but vodka is the magical ingredient for a fine and flaky pie pastry! Follow your usual pie dough recipe, substituting half the amount of water required with Vodka O. Too much water can mean tough pastry, so replacing some of the water means your recipe will still be moist enough to roll out, but the alcohol evaporates during the cooking process.
Marinate your favourite roast
You can make a simple marinade for your Sunday roast using Vodka O, garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Marinate for at least eight hours, then add lemon juice and parsley to the roasting pan before placing in the oven.
Vodka watermelon
Frozen vodka watermelon makes a perfect dessert for warm summer nights. Dissolve some sugar in 750ml of Vodka O, cut a hole in the top of a watermelon and slowly pour vodka in until absorbed. Freeze the watermelon for 24 hours, cut into slices and serve.
For more recipes vists facebook.com/vodkao
Cocktails au go-go
ABSOLUT SCULPTURE
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ABSOLUT SCULPTURE
David Alcorn ? Jorge, Brisbane
Ingredients:
30ml ABSOLUT KURANT
20ml Pear Liqueur (Marie Brizard Poire William)
10ml Noilly Prat Dry (Dry Vermouth)
5ml Chambord
Process:
- Combine ABSOLUT KURANT, Poire William and Noilly Prat Dry in a cocktail shaker with cracked ice.
- Shake well and strain into chilled glass.
- Sink Chambord down the side of the cocktail.
- Garnish with a twist of fresh lime.ABSOLUT ART
Henry Motteram, Savvy Bar, Adelaide
Ingredients:
30ml ABSOLUT CITRON
10ml Cointreau
20ml Jaggard Lemon Myrtle
10ml fresh lime juice
Bay leaves
Process:
- Shake ABSOLUT CITRON, Cointreau, Lemon Myrtle, lime juice and bay leaves in a shaker.
- Strain into a martini glass.
- Garnish with two bay leaves.ABSOLUT EXPRESSIONS
This month uber-vodka brand ABSOLUT showcases an outstanding exhibition which features some of the greatest names in contemporary art, fashion, photography and film. Known as ABSOLUT EXPRESSIONS. For Australian audiences, ABSOLUT EXPRESSIONS will be one of the most impressive collections of original works by contemporary artists ever seen in one exhibition, with contributions not only from pop art icon
ABSOLUT ART
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Andy Warhol, but Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Armand Arman, George Rodrigue, Francesco Clemente and Damien Hirst.Also included will be works by photographers Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts and Pierre & Gilles; furniture by Dakota Jackson, John Hutton and Alen Locadia; sculpture by Nam June Paik and Albert Feraud; and fashion by Martine Sitbon, Manolo Blahnik, Richard Tyler, Sheridan Kennedy and Tom Ford. Also on display will be film initiatives by the likes of Tom DiCillo and Spike Lee, and an interactive music initiative featuring world famous DJ?s Spooky and Coldcut.
Don?t miss it!
Express Yourself – Cocktails au go-go
ABSOLUT FASHION
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Express yourself with one of these divine cocktails designed to coincide with the hip art exhibition ABSOLUT EXPRESSIONS.Don’t miss this stunning artistic display ground floor of Customs House, Circular Quay and will be open from Monday to Friday from 10.00am to 8.00pm, and Saturday & Sunday from 11.00am to 6.00pm.
ABSOLUT FASHION
Michael Katoa – MINK, Melbourne
Ingredients:
30ml ABSOLUT VODKA
10ml Baron Von Scheuters Peach Schnapps
90ml Cloudy Apple Juice
1 scoop of ice
60ml Lemon Squash
10ml Chambord
Process:
- Shake ABSOLUT VODKA, peach schnapps and cloudy apple juice in a shaker with ice.
- Pour into Highball Glass
- Top with 60ml squash (Lift)
- Pour in 10ml ChambordABSOLUT.com
Hans Kemps – Universal Bar, Perth
Ingredients:
45ml ABSOLUT VODKA
20ml Jaggard Lemon Myrtle
15ml Lychee Liqueur
30ml Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
Process:
- Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish with spiralled strip of grapefruit rind (to resemble phone cord).ABSOLUT PHOTOGRAPHY
Mike Enright – Grand Pacific Blue Room, Sydney
Ingredients:
40ml ABSOLUT MANDRIN
20ml Baron Von Scheuters Peach Schnapps
30ml Raspberry & Peach Iced Tea
5 chunks of fresh
ABSOLUT PHOTOGRAPHY
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mandarin
5 raspberries
Process:
- Muddle fruit in shaker.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Chill.
- Shake and Strain into a frozen Martini glass.
- Garnish with burnt orange zest (float).
Warm Your Cockles with Absolut Apple Fruitini
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Keep the winter chills at bay this year with the hottest cocktail of the season, the Absolut Apple Fruitini. The latest celebrity cocktail taking the world by storm, this one is loved by newly-blonde Nicole Kidman and Sex in the City star Sarah Jessica Parker (pre-pregnancy of course!).
Voted ‘The perfect post-ski drink to warm up with after a day on the slopes’ by the SheSaid team, the Apple Fruitini is refreshingly tart but oh so sweet. This delicious, stylish drink will surely become a winter favourite. Shaken or stirred, why not whip yourself up a batch for your next girls night in?
ABSOLUT Apple Fruitini
3 parts ABSOLUT VODKA
1 part Apple Schnapps
Splash of Dry Vermouth
Pour ABSOLUT VODKA over ice then add apple schnapps and vermouth. Shake or stir well. Strain, and serve in a chilled martini glass. For added sweet delight, coat the rim with cinnamon and sugar and garnish with fresh slivers of apples.
Enjoy!
Sample an Absolute Apple Fruitini in style at one of Australia’s coolest cocktail bars.
Sydney – W Hotel
Melbourne – Chaise Lounge
Adelaide – Savvy Lounge, Moskva Vodka Bar, Cumberland Hotel
North Adelaide – Old Lion Hotel
Brisbane – Lychee Lounge, The Jorg
Gold Coast – The Clock Hotel
Perth – ‘C’ Restaurant
5 X-Rated Cocktails
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SheSaid’s 5 favourite X-rated Cocktails
Warning: save these potent drinks for a laugh with friends, not to serve when the in-laws drop by!Screaming Orgasm
Generously pour equal parts of Baileys, Vodka, Kahlua. Stir over ice and strain into glass.
Sex on the Beach
1 oz. Vodka, 3/4 oz. Peach Schnapps, 3/4 oz. Chambord. Then add a splash each of pineapple juice, orange juice, cranberry juice. Shake well and serve.
Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against the Wall
3/4 oz. each: gin, vodka, Southern Comfort and Galliano. Add a splash of orange juice Shake and pour in large glass. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry or strawberry.
Slippery Nipple
Equal parts of: Sambucca & Baileys. Layer in a shot glass.
Tie Me To The Bedpost
1/2 oz. each of: Midori, Absolut Citron, Malibu Rum. Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Email from New York City (cont.)
The Hippest Restaurants in NYC – you never know who’ll you’ll see there!
- After Grand Central Station and the Bowery Savings Bank (now a Cipriani dining hall), Guastavino’s is the most glamorous public space to be opened in New York dining. 8 white-tiled arches have been dazzingly restored under the Queensboro Bridge, 5 of which are part of an umbrella food market, and 3 which cover the Terence Conran restaurant. 409 East 59th, tel, 980 2455.
- In the iconic Seagram Building, The Brasserie is Manhattan’s first credible future-is-now restaurant. It has a wine cellar suspended above a translucent bar, a floating ceiling, tilted booth walls – it’s all fabulously funky. 100 East 53rd, tel, 751 4840.
- If you want to meet a rich, handsome and successful New York boy, you’re best bet is Vine, where the Wall Street boys go for power lunches, and they usually travel in packs. The food and the d?cor are spectacular too. 20 Broad St, tel, 344 8463.
- It’s almost 100% sure that you’ll spot famous faces at the Russian Tea Room. You’ll also need sunglasses to view the $22 million makeover of this celebrated post-performance noshery of maestros and divas. Gilded, mirrored, chandeliered to the ultimate fantasy of Czarist Russia, it’s 3 floors glitter around a bear aquarium, a sculpted ice Kremlin, a Faberg? Easter Egg tree, and a throne you can be photographed sitting on. Oh, the food? Stick with the borscht, the blinis, and the beef stroganoff, washed down with a merry flight of vodkas. 150 West 57th St, tel, 974 2111.
Bevy Time- Vodka and Cranberry Concoction
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Luxurious Beach Sipping Cocktail. With summer well on its way why not start getting ready for the kissy, kissy, party season and make some refreshing and intoxicating cocktails
Vodka and Cranberry Concoction
This is so simple it’s not funny. All you have to do is shake equal amounts of Absolut vodka and Archers Peach Schnapps with fresh orange juice and cranberry. Serve straight up in a frozen cocktail glass. Don’t forget to garnish with a slice of orange. The summer sip!
Cocktail of the month – Long Island iced tea
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Having a drinks party, turning 30 or just needing a change from the Sex in the City girls all time drink? Cosmopolitan. Than get your cockatil shaker and start makin some Long Island Iced Tea’s.
Ingredients:? ounce vodka
? ounce gin
? ounce light rum
? ounce tequila
? ounce triple sec
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Coke to top
1 lemon slice for garnish
Method:
Place all the liquors and lemon juice into a cocktail shake with ice. Shake and strain into a collins glass filled with ice. Top with Coca Cola and garnish with lemon.
Cocktail of the month – Flirtini
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The ABSOLUT Flirtini
When Sam (Kym Cattrel) hosted a rooftop fiesta party at her apartment block you may have noticed that all the “it” girls were sipping the drink of the moment – the ABSOLUT Flirtini. You don’t know what it is? Well, it is made by mixing one part ABOSLUT Vodka with two parts pineapple juice, shaken with ice, strained and then topped with Champagne. We can assure you that the flavour and fizz of the champagne fuses with the sweetness of the pineapple and that you’ll find yourself heading straight back to the bar when you’ve finished the first. If you haven’t been luckier enough to try one then head to the W Hotel Water Bar in Sydney or Melbourne’s Chaise Lounge. If you can’t get to either of those locations make your own. Details below:The ABSOLUT Flirtini
Ingredients
1 part ABSOLUT Vodka
2 parts Pineapple juice
Champagne
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to topMethod
Mix the ABSOLUT Vodka with the pineapple juice.
Give them a shake with ice and strain.
Then top with champagne. Divine!