Vodka Drinks for a New Year's Eve Party

I love a good vodka drink any time of the year, but especially at New Year's if I'm craving something to sip on. Here are three of my favorite vodka drinks.

Vodka Drinks for New Year's: Dirty Martini

For me, you just can't beat a dirty martini. A classic martini isn't bad, but the addition of the olive juice is what makes this drink one of a kind...just ask James Bond, a connoisseur of the vodka dirty martini (shaken, not stirred).

For this drink, you'll need vodka, dry vermouth, and olive juice. It is best to use good vodka instead of something cheap. Go for Belvedere (my favorite) or Grey Goose (another excellent choice). You can find the dry vermouth in a liquor store or a grocery store for about $4.00. For the olive juice, you can either pour it straight out of the olive jar or you can spring for the concentrated olive juice at the liquor store (known as olive brine). I like to buy the olive brine because then I don't end up with a jar full of dry olives.

Ingredients:

3-4 ounces of vodka

1 ounce (or less) dry vermouth

A splash to 1 ounce of olive juice (depending on your taste preferences)

3-5 green olives

Ice

Directions:

In a shaker or glass, pour in the vodka, vermouth, and olive juice. Add ice. Shake until the drink has a slight foam to it. This foam will mean that the drink has mixed well and will be cold enough to enjoy. Garnish with green olives.

Vodka Drinks for New Year's: Grape Martini

I love grape flavoring in almost anything, including a good drink. There are many ways to make a grape martini, but it is best to add something like Sprite or 7-Up to get a great carbonated fizz.

Ingredients:

2 ounces vodka

2-3 ounces Grape Pucker

Sprite/7-Up

Ice

Directions:

In a shaker or glass, pour in the vodka, Grape Pucker, and soda. Add ice. Shake, pour, and enjoy.

Vodka Drinks for New Year's: Bloody Mary

I love Bloody Marys, but I rarely order them because I am very particular about the taste. This is a drink that is very subjective and has to be made to each person's individual liking. For that reason, I have included some of my favorite ingredients and recommendations for use, but feel free to play around with the drink to get it just right.

Ingredients:

2-3 ounces vodka (Absolut Peppar is good if you want to start with a spice)

Tomato juice, V8, or Bloody Mary mix

Old Bay Seasoning

Stirrings Bloody Mary Rimmer

Salt

Black pepper

Frank's Hot Sauce or Tabasco sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Lemon or lime juice

Cayenne pepper

Horseradish

Ice

Garnishes:

Use any or all of these garnishes or come up with new ones that you would like.

Celery (which doubles as a stirrer)

Pepperoncinis or other hot pepper

Dill pickle

Green or black olives

Shrimp

Directions:

Wet the rim of your glass with water or a lemon or lime slice. Dip the rim in the Stirrings Bloody Mary Rimmer mix. Pour the vodka into the glass. Add 4 or 5 ice cubes. Fill the remainder of the glass with your choice of Bloody Mary juice mix and other liquids. If you are going to add a pickle or a piece of celery, make sure you leave a little bit of room. It is really easy to overfill the glass. Add your seasonings and other garnishes and enjoy.