Directions
Vasilij is a spartan cocktail, hard and sharp, suitable for palates tempered by the cold of the steppes.
It’s a backwards-developing aperitif cocktail; it starts all concentrated, then slowly opens and releases a phantasmagorical series of perfumes.
The drink’s base is sage-flavored vodka, sweet and sour, a slice of cucumber, and celery bitter, a rarely-used bitter flavored with celery that knows how to make itself loved, adding a refreshing touch that, when combined with sage and lemon, creates a bizarre triad of perfumes.
Among new bitters and essences, we now have a plethora of ingredients at our disposal to vary, expand, and personalize our cocktails. A few drops can turn a simple drink into a miniature masterpiece.
Add a little (2 cl) strawberry nectar to soften Vasilij’s enthusiasm and refine it with a sweet and graceful touch.
Vasilij cocktail ingredients
- 4 cl of sage vodka
- 3 cl of sweet and sour
- 1 slice of fresh cucumber
- 3 drops of celery bitters
- 1 cl of sugar syrup
How to Make a Vasilij Cocktail
Make an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.
Mash the cucumber slice with the pestle in the shaker with the vodka and sugar syrup.
Shake for 10 seconds with ice.
Pour the cocktail through the filter after draining the glass of water.
Pour in the lemonade and three drops of celery bitters.
Decorate with a sage leaf and greet your new friend Vasilij; he’ll know how to liven up your summer parties.
To make sage vodka, place one sprig, about six sage leaves, and one ounce of sugar syrup in a vodka bottle and leave it for three days. Remember to flip the bottle over at least once a day. Following that, it is ready for use.
Other excellent aperitif cocktails worthy of your consideration
Moscow Mule, Negroni, Daiquiri, and Mojito.
