Żubrówka (Polish Bison Grass Vodka) Should Be in Your Mixology Arsenal

These Six Żubrówka (zhuh-BROOV-kuh) Cocktail Recipes Should Be the Only Ones You’ll Ever Need.

Three Żubrówka cocktails (from left to right: Polish Martini, Szarlotka,

Buffalo Fizz).

Sense memory, or the concept that a particular sensory stimulus can trigger a memory that, in turn, affects one’s feelings or emotional state, plays an important role in our lives, especially a memory related to the olfactory system, or, more commonly, the nose. Perhaps you encounter a waft of baking bread and are instantly transported to a dining table from a decade ago. A wave of contentment and joy courses through your body as you remember the moment you ripped apart that crusty hot loaf, the steam rising, that first bite. Perfection.

Or take for instance the other day. We decided for our anniversary to visit a museum we’d never been to before. So we headed to off to Columbus Circle to check out the Museum of Arts and Design, also known as MAD. A good amount of modern and contemporary Native North American art was on display, and as we walked into one of the galleries, a whiff of sweet hay emanating from one of the installations made us both look at each other, smile, and proclaim, “Żubrówka.”

If you haven’t yet tried Żubrówka (pronounced zhuh-BROOV-kuh), then you must try to find some immediately, which shouldn’t be too difficult these days. Available in the United States since 2007, this honey-hued Polish vodka, distilled from rye and flavored with bison grass (a distinct smelling and tasting grass that bison love to eat—there’s a blade of it in every bottle), boasts a one-of-a-kind almond–coconut–vanilla flavor that guarantees to make you want to dance the polka. You can almost hear strains of fleet-fingered accordion music in the far reaches of your brain. And once you bring a shot of Żubrówka to your lips, you’ll notice the slightly sweet, vegetal–caramel aroma. Take a sip and your suspicions are confirmed: This vodka is a delight. Any cocktail mixed with it will delight you even more.

A Polish Martini benefits from the traditional addition of Old Krupnik honey liqueur.

Poles enjoy drinking Żubrówka mixed with apple juice. Together, they create a crisp, fruity flavor that is hard to duplicate with any other liqueur. Called a Szarlotka (pronounced shar-LOAT-kuk, Polish for an apple pie–like charlotte), this sweet drink is made usually with double the amount of apple juice to bison grass vodka, and stirred in ice. Simple. (On a side note, you may have had this drink called by another moniker, Tatanka. In the Lakota Native American language, tatanka is a bison.)

Szarlotka
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounce Żubrówka (Polish bison grass vodka)
4 ounces apple juice

Method
Pour ingredients into an ice-filled double-rocks or highball glass. Stir until cold.

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Another of our favorite Żubrówka–apple juice drinks, mixed with Old Krupnik Polish spiced honey liqueur, is aptly called the Polish Martini. This too is a sweet drink, made sweeter by the honey liqueur. Adjust the ratios as you see fit for both drinks, but note that in their current recipes, they pair marvelously with salty and meaty foods, and also desserts.

Polish Martini
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 ounce Żubrówka vodka (Polish bison grass vodka)
1 ounce Old Krupnik honey liqueur
1 ounce apple juice

Method
Shake in an ice-filled shaker for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add thin apple slice if desired, as garnish. (You can serve it on the rocks if you so desire, if you’re in a relaxed sipping mood.)

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If you’re look for something light and effervescent, but still want the taste of apples, then look no further than a Buffalo Fizz. Sparkling cider does double duty, providing both the bubbles and the apple juice flavor.

Buffalo Fizz

(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 to 1/2 ounces Żubrówka (Polish bison grass vodka)
Sparkling apple cider
ice

Method
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the bison grass vodka. Give it a little stir. Top with sparkling cider.

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Żubrówka mixes well with other liqueurs besides Krupnik, and especially in the Silesian Cocktail. The floral notes in this concoction, named after the area that spans the Polish–Czech border, make for a smooth, slightly sweet, slightly caramel-flavored delight. As with the Z Martini, you can pair it with pigs in a blanket. Or pair it with some fried cabbage pierogi seasoned with paprika and dill and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

Silesian Cocktail
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces Żubrówka (Polish bison grass vodka)
3/4 ounce Jeżynówka (blackberry-flavored brandy)
1/3 ounce Becherovka (Czech spice liqueur)
lemon peel, as garnish (optional)

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add lemon twist if desired.

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Our advice for Żubrówka cocktails is “the colder the better.” The Z Martini is no exception to this. It tastes best at its most gelid. Before you pour, allow the ice to dissolve a bit after your initial stir. Walk away for a minute, then come back and give it another concentrated stir. For the Z Pear Martini, give the shaker a good workout before straining. A few ice shards glimmering on the top of your cocktail will certainly add appeal on many sensory levels.

Z Martini
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces Żubrówka (Polish bison grass vodka)
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1/4 ounce white vermouth

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Z Pear Martini
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Żubrówka vodka (Polish bison grass vodka)
3/4 ounce pear puree
1 ounce white vermouth
1/2 ounce dry vermouth

Method
Shake in an ice-filled shaker for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add thin spear-shaped pear slice, as garnish.

Pairing Suggestions
Pigs in a Blanket
Pierogi
Shortbread
Spice Cookies

Pigs in a Blanket pair perfectly with a Z Martini or a Z Pear Martini.

To check out our video pairing the Z Martini with Pigs in a Blanket, click here.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Two Irish Whiskey Cocktail Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day

Neither of us grew up in families that celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, with the exception of the occasional bowl of dyed green mashed potatoes at Steve’s house. And no one drank Irish whiskey. We both had to come to it later in life. It was about five years ago that Paul brought home a bottle of Jameson. It sat on the shelf for a spell before he decided to mix a cocktail with it using pears as the theme. Thinking about pears mixed with whiskey made him reach for that bottle from which poured a slightly earthy but clean taste somewhat reminiscent of a smooth blended scotch, but without all the peatiness. Jameson makes for a good mixer. It really enhances the flavors of the other ingredients in a cocktail. So Paul thought about how much he liked the sweet, peaty Drambuie–Scotch blend that makes a Rusty Nail. Why not apply the same principal to a cocktail using Irish whiskey in lieu of the Scotch, and embellish the Drambuie with 2 blasts of pear: from a liqueur, and from freshly pureed Red Bartletts. What then became the “Oh Pear” would further become the third-place winner in the USA Pears/Imbibe Magazine Pear Cocktail Contest.


Oh Pear
(created by Paul Zablocki)

Ingredients

2 ounces Irish whiskey
1 ounce pear puree (try Red Bartlett)
1/2 ounce pear liqueur (try Belle de Brillet or American Fruits)
1/2 ounce Drambuie

Method

Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with pear slice, if desired.

We’re not going to lie; the Oh Pear is a strong drink, but the alcoholic strength is tempered by the sweetness of fresh pears and the incredible Bartlett richness of a good pear liqueur, such as Belle de Brillet, American Fruits, or Clear Creek. If you cannot make pear puree at home from ripe pears such as Bartlett, Comice, or Anjou, then find a pear puree that doesn’t contain added sugars and other juices, if possible. Even though we consider it a fall cocktail, there’s still enough of a chill in the air to warrant a round of Oh Pears with your friends. And if possible, you can make Cheddar Blue Fricos to pair with them. Fricos are wafer-thin lacy fried-cheese crisps you may have had using the traditional Parmesan. But we’ve embellished a bit, to go with the Oh Pear, and have blended some sharp Cheddar with a hint of blue cheese, and some herbs and spices.

So you don’t want to whip out the juicer to make an Oh Pear? Okay. Here’s an easy twist on a classic Manhattan that brings a big Erin-Go-Bragh grin to our faces. Irish eyes are smiling this month with a forgotten classic, the Paddy Cocktail. What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than a cocktail named after an Irishman. When you first bring a Paddy Cocktail to your lips, you’ll smell the caramel, with hints of vanilla and cherry. The first taste will prove that you weren’t imagining the aroma, and it will bring you back to the holidays . . . as if you were drinking a whiskey-soaked cake. It’s perfect before or after your meal, or both if you’re St. Patrick’s Day revels are happening at home or close to a cab (it’s a strong drink, after all). The Paddy Cocktail is now one of our favorites, and it’s a great addition to your Irish whiskey cocktail repertoire.


Paddy Cocktail
(adapted from Mr. Boston’s Official Bartender’s Guide)

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey (try Jameson)
1 1/2 ounces Carpano Antica (a sweet vermouth from Italy)
1 dash Angostura bitters

Method

Stir in ice for 30 seconds and strain into chilled coupe or cocktail glass. (If you cannot find Carpano Antica, just use your favorite sweet vermouth.) Bottoms up!

photos © Cocktail Buzz

Mixology Monday XXXIV: Mace Finds Its Place in This Spiced Cocktail

The red aril of the nutmeg, when ground, makes mace.

Mace is a beauty of a spice. It can enhance the somewhat dull flavor of a doughnut, or add a little extra zing to a pound cake. But in a cocktail, the spice alone is rarely used. Mace tastes a little like nutmeg, and its similarities to nutmeg are easily understood: Mace is the ground aril, or seed coating, that surrounds the nutmeg, its orange to red shiny tentacles putting in mind science fiction images of incubating aliens.

Before committing to mace, do a side-by-side taste test with nutmeg and you’ll experience overall differences in piquancy when it first hits your tongue, and also in the finish as the spices linger. Nutmeg is warmer, mellower, rounder, and marries well with other like spices such as cinnamon and clove. Mace is spikier, a little more pungent, and can be challenging to those tasters and supertasters who prefer less drama on their palates.

The Fascist, so named because it contains spirits from three countries with a history of dictators (we’re not exactly politically correct here), exudes spicy fruit and nut aromas, and tastes like late fall and early winter. The toasty sweet hazelnut from the Frangelico blends well with the mace, and mixed with the bold German Asbach brandy and the sweet Anjou pear puree, makes for a drink that shares the essence of spiced cake or streusel. The Fascist may contain a lot of ingredients, but once you top one off with a dash of otherworldy mace, the sips may turn into gulps.

The Fascist
(created by Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz; named by Joe McCarthy for our Name That Cocktail Contest)

Ingredients
1 ounce pear puree (Anjou suggested, but you can use store-bought if you don’t have a juicer or blender)
1 ounce brandy (Asbach suggested)
3/4 ounce vodka (Smirnoff suggested)
1/2 ounce pear liqueur (American Fruits suggested)
1/4 ounce Frangelico (Italian hazelnut liqueur)
ground mace
pear slice, for garnish

Method
In a blender or juicer, puree a pear, seeded but not peeled (half a pear usually works per cocktail). In a shaker half-filled with ice, add the puree and the spirits. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with pear slice, sprinkle with mace (a little goes a long way).

Text by Paul Zablocki
Photo of The Fascist by Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz