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Ask A Detroit Expert: Best Summertime Vodka Cocktails

It's summertime and the living is easy, so perhaps you'd like to enjoy a vodka cocktail. Check this list for the best cocktails to make during the summer.
Jax Philips
The Root Restaurant and Bar
340 Town Center Blvd.
White Lake, MI 48386
(248) 698-2400
www.therootrestaurant.com

Jax Philips is a bartender at The Root and a drummer/rock star in his spare time. His summertime vodka cocktails will have you setting out the patio furniture on a Saturday and enjoying the hot Detroit sun with a cool, refreshing beverage.

Related: Most Creative Cocktails In Detroit

The Real Housewife of White Lake  

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Valentine vodka 
  • 1 oz Cointreau 
  • 1.5 oz raspberry puree (Fresh raspberries, sugar, water - cooked, pureed and strained) 
  • 1 slice cucumber, muddled 
  • 4 oz fresh lemonade (water, fresh-squeezed lemons, sugar)

Directions:

  1. Mix ingredients, shake and pour over iced Collins glass.
  2. Top with a splash of soda.
  3. Garnish with a sliced cucumber.
Violet Beauregard  

Ingredients:

  • 8-10 blueberries, muddled 
  • 1 oz simple syrup 
  • 1 oz lemon juice 
  • 1 oz Valentine vodka 
  • 1 oz Jim Beam bourbon

Directions:

  1. Shake all ingredients and then pour over iced scotch glass.
  2. Add lemon wedge garnish and a few blueberries (optional).
80 Acres  

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz Valentine vodka 
  • 1.5 oz Domaine de Canton or other ginger liqueur 
  • .5 oz lemon juice 
  • 3 dashes bourbon barrel aged bitters  

Directions:

  1. Shake ingredients and then pour over iced Collins glass.
  2. Top off with ginger ale.

Related: Best Rum Cocktails In Detroit

Liz Parker is a freelance writer and a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in Creative Writing and Literature. Her work can be found at Examiner.com and yesnofilms.com.

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