New Year's Eve Vodka Warmers

New Year's Eve Vodka Warmers - As a vodka lover, I'm always trying to come up with new, festive ways to enjoy my favorite spirit, especially on special occasions. Here's a few vodka cocktails that I plan on using this New Year's Eve.

First, there's a raspberry sherbet martini. For this one you'll need Chambord, a citrus vodka like Absolut Citron or Kettle One Citrone, cranberry juice, and cream. You'll also want a cocktail shaker and plenty of martini or cocktail glasses to go around, as well as something to garnish the cocktails with. My suggestions would be raspberry syrup, an orange twist, or if they're available this time of year, a fresh raspberry.

You're going to want to chill those glasses. Preferably, once they have been washed and dried, stick them in the freezer over night. If that's not an option, fill them with ice and cold water while you mix the rest of the drink.

Meanwhile, fill your shaker about ¾ with ice. Then add 1.5 oz each of the citrus vodka and the Chambord, and .75 ounces each of cream and cranberry juice. Shake this cocktail until the outside of the shaker is cold to touch. Paint your glass with some raspberry syrup, strain the cocktail into the glass, and garnish with a raspberry or an orange twist.

For beer drinkers, or if you'd like a nice heavy drink to warm you up this New Year's Eve, Guiness Plus is another favorite of mine, although not my own creation. Simply pour a Guiness into a pint glass and top with 1.5 ounces of Stoli Vanil.

Finally, for your more traditional party guests, make sure you have vermouth and chilled glasses available for the martini fans. To get a little more festive, you can try stuffing olives with a variety of interesting fillings. Two of the more popular options are blue cheese and garlic. To save some money on garnishes (more to spend on the cocktails, right?) you can remove the pimento with a cocktail pick or cocktail fork and restuff the olives yourself.