Hey everybody! Welcome to today’s blog post and the very first cocktail recipe on Miss Rock City! I’m so glad you’re here and I sure hope that you love alcoholic drinks. It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally here! I couldn’t think of a better first cocktail recipe this time of year than a Rosé Vodka Martini – featuring Hangar 1 Distillery’s rosé vodka. This time of year is rough enough as it is. Arkansas had some of the lowest temps we’ve seen this winter this past week and it’s been such a sad reminder that we’re still very far from rosé season. Thankfully, Hangar 1 Distillery has brought us this vodka to carry us through the rest of winter.

In today’s post I’m going to:

  • explain how I got the inspiration to make this drink
  • share my recipe
  • detail my process for creating this twist on the “traditional” martini

I had a lot of inspiration before I invented this drink. After the first time I had Hangar 1 rosé vodka, I started surfing the web for a rosé vodka martini recipe, but didn’t succeed. So this could be the very first one. I’m not looking for street cred, but if you want… #MRChappyhour. I just wanted to share an interesting twist on a classic, historically relevant cocktail.

So anyway, our story starts in Little Rock, Arkansas. More specifically the Soma District near downtown. I was at Atlas Bar with a coworker and I was craving something special. Atlas Bar is one of my favorite Little Rock bars. Ordered their featured cocktail, which introduced me to the rosé vodka, and just like that the inspiration was born.Now down to business. Tell me what you think of this cocktail recipe and if you make it at home, then I would love it if you took a picture and tagged me on Instagram or Facebook. And central Arkansans need to jet down to Pleasant Valley Liquor on Rodney Parham for the Hangar 1. I literally called EVERYWHERE in town just to find the rosé vodka to make this vodka martini and P.V.L. was the only place that said they had it in stock. So MAJOR props to them!

Ingredients

2 oz. Hangar 1 rosé vodka
1 oz. dry vermouth
3-4 dashes oranges bitters
Orange peel (opt. for garnish)

Directions

Step 1: Pour all ingredients into the shaker (except for the orange peel)
Step 2: Fill your cocktail shaker halfway with ice and replace shaker lid
Step 3: Shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds, or until ingredients are well-mixed and chilled
Step 4: Using a Hawthorne strainer, pour into a chilled martini glass
Step 5: Garnish with an orange peel. Garnish is optional, but who the heck doesn’t want to make their drink look pretty?????????
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!

I will flat-out say this is not a traditional martini. What even is traditional anyway? From here on out, I am putting “traditional” in quotations. I had only tried The Educated Barfly’s version of the gin martini, who claims his recipe is most like the “classic.” I discovered that I only liked it if it was heavy on the orange bitters. After brainstorming, I became curious about bringing together essence of orange with rosé. Enter: Hangar 1 Distillery’s rosé vodka. That should explain the garnish too. I wanted something to accompany the orange bitters.

When I came up the with the ingredients, I tried two variations of the cocktail recipe. The first one was just how my grandfather liked his martinis… with just a rinse of Martini & Rossi dry vermouth. And y’all, I about gagged!! Vodka is rough to handle straight, I don’t care how tough you are. So the second version was with the “traditional” amount of vermouth (about t 1 to 1.5 ounces). I thought I wasn’t a fan of dry vermouth, but I didn’t realize how much it helps balance the vodka. So trust the process. If you don’t like this drink the first time around, I encourage you to try it multiple times. Maybe your tastes will open up like mine did. What’s even more? This is a martini that you actually get to shake.

If you love this drink recipe, then please let me know in the comments. I will be adding more to the blog overtime. What’s your spirit of choice? Do you think the rosé vodka martini sounds delicious? Please like this post and share it to your socials. Most importantly, enjoy responsibly. If you’ve made it this far, sincere thanks friend! Have a great rest of your Sunday!