Over the past couple of years honey has come into its own. I’ve used it to sweeten tea, salad dressings and now cocktails by making a honey syrup. But why stop there? Spirits makers have started using it to flavour booze. First there was Jack Daniels with Tennessee Honey, then came honey-flavoured beer and Bols Honey Liqueur. Finally vodka — not wanting to miss a single opportunity to try on a new flavour (pickle-flavoured vodka, anyone?) — has raided the hive.
Stolichnaya recently unveiled its Stoli Sticki honey vodka and sent me a bottle so I could sample it. As you may recall, I am not a fan of flavoured vodkas. I do, however, absolutely love Dawa cocktails, a Kenyan refreshment made with vodka, limes and honey, so I figured at the very least a bottle of Stoli Sticki would come in handy with the Dawa.
Stoli Sticki + Cointreau + lime juice + soda water = a refreshing Stoli Sticki Sweet & Tart Spritz.
But I also like to try new recipes, so I set about looking for something that would mix well with honey vodka. First I made the Stoli Sticki Sweet & Tart (honey vodka, Cointreau, lime juice), but even with this drink’s 1:1:1: ratio I found the Stoli Sticki’s honey taste too overpowering and a tad artificial. So I remedied the recipe by adding soda water to create a spritz and a more palatable cocktail. Behold: the Stoli Sticki Sweet & Tart Spritz! Best for: long summer afternoons on a hot patio (or failing that, long winter evenings stuck inside with the children). Enjoy!
Much better with soda water. Tart, fizzy and goes down a tad too quickly.
Stoli Sticki Sweet & Tart Spritz
- 1 oz Stoli Sticky
- 1 oz Cointreau
- 1 oz lime juice
- Top soda water
- Orange wheel garnish
Add Stoli Sticki, Cointreau and lime juice to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake, then strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and top with soda water. Garnish with an orange wheel.
— Recipe adapted from the Stoli Sticki Sweet & Tart
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