The Best Vodka Cocktails, Ranked

The Vodka Martini is the drink that most clearly demonstrates whether a vodka has any character at all. With only vermouth standing between the spirit and the glass, a low-quality vodka produces a drink that tastes like cold alcohol and nothing more. A well-made Vodka Martini with a quality Polish or Russian rye vodka produces something genuinely interesting — faintly grainy, clean, with a slight sweetness that the gin version never has. The serving temperature remains non-negotiable: the glass must be chilled, the stirring must be long enough, the vermouth must be fresh.

Best vodka: Belvedere, Chopin Rye, or Grey Goose. Avoid anything labelled "premium" without a country of origin on the bottle.

Invented by Dick Bradsell at Fred's Club in London in 1984 and the most-ordered cocktail in London and Sydney for the past 5 years. The Espresso Martini requires a freshly pulled espresso — not cold brew, not filter coffee, not coffee syrup from a bottle. The shake must be vigorous enough to produce a foam that holds for 2 minutes. A bar without an espresso machine cannot make this drink correctly. Kahlua works but Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur produces a noticeably better result. The three coffee beans garnish: traditional, not optional in a bar that takes it seriously.

Best vodka: Absolut Elyx or Belvedere. Clean vodkas let the espresso character come through.

Invented in 1941 in Los Angeles to sell Smirnoff vodka and Cock 'n' Bull ginger beer simultaneously. The copper mug is original to the recipe and keeps the drink cold longer — a bar that serves it in a plastic cup or a standard highball is missing the point. The ginger beer must be genuinely spicy; weak ginger beer produces a sweet vodka drink, not a Mule. Fever-Tree Ginger Beer or a craft ginger beer with real ginger content is the correct choice. Fresh lime squeezed directly in is not optional. A correctly made Moscow Mule is one of the most refreshing vodka cocktails in existence.

Best vodka: Smirnoff No.21, Tito's Handmade, or Ketel One. Any clean mid-range vodka works here.

Popularised by Sex and the City in the late 1990s to the point where it became impossible to take seriously for a decade. It is now back, in the same way that everything the 1990s dismissed has come back. A correctly made Cosmopolitan uses Cointreau rather than a generic triple sec, fresh lime rather than bottled, and just enough cranberry to colour the drink pink without making it sweet. The citrus vodka that Toby Cecchini used in the drink's modern development is the correct choice — it adds a level of citrus integration that plain vodka does not provide.

Best vodka: Absolut Citron, as Toby Cecchini specified when he developed the modern version in 1988.

The Bloody Mary is the most personal cocktail on this list because the spice level and the balance between tomato and citrus are genuinely matters of preference. The non-negotiables are fresh tomato juice or a well-seasoned premade, fresh lemon, and a quality vodka that does not clash with the savoury elements. A good Bloody Mary is a complex savoury drink that happens to contain alcohol. A bad one is thick tomato juice with a shot in it. The difference is in how seriously the bar approaches the seasoning mix. A bar with a house Bloody Mary programme is almost always a bar worth trusting.

Best vodka: Ketel One or Absolut. Neutral but with enough body not to disappear in the tomato.

Made famous by The Big Lebowski and dismissed as a guilty pleasure drink for years, the White Russian is now experiencing something of a critical rehabilitation. The basic version is simple and works exactly as intended. The version that rewards a serious bar is made with Mr Black Coffee Liqueur instead of Kahlua, a higher-proof vodka to cut through the cream, and fresh heavy cream rather than half-and-half. Poured over a large cube, it is a legitimately excellent after-dinner drink. The cream should be poured over the back of a spoon so it sits on top before being slowly stirred in by the drinker.

Best vodka: Stolichnaya or Belvedere. Higher-proof options cut through the cream more cleanly.

The most frequently ordered drink at after-work bars in New York and London, and one of the few cocktails where the vodka quality is almost entirely decisive. There is nothing else in the glass to compensate for a poor spirit. A Vodka Soda with premium soda water — Fever-Tree, Q Mixers — tastes noticeably cleaner than the same drink made with post-mix soda. The lime should be fresh and squeezed rather than dropped in as a wedge, which adds the right amount of acid to make the drink feel complete rather than just diluted. A bar that takes the Vodka Soda seriously is a bar paying attention to the small details.

Best vodka: Ketel One or Chopin Rye. The quality registers immediately in a drink this simple.

Vodka and fresh grapefruit juice. When the grapefruit is freshly squeezed — which should be the only acceptable version at any bar that takes itself seriously — the Greyhound is one of the cleanest and most refreshing vodka drinks available. The salted rim version is called a Salty Dog and is a better drink in our opinion, because the salt enhances the grapefruit's bitterness and rounds out the vodka's neutrality. Ask for whichever version sounds better. A bar that juices their grapefruit fresh is worth noting for future visits.

Best vodka: Any clean vodka works. This is a drink where the grapefruit quality matters more than the spirit quality.

The Tom Collins made with vodka instead of gin. For drinkers who prefer a longer, lower-alcohol-tasting drink without gin's botanical character, the Vodka Collins is the correct choice. It demands the same standards as the Tom Collins: fresh lemon, house-made simple syrup, quality soda. A bar that makes these from scratch rather than from a Collins mix is a bar worth returning to. Order it on a weekday evening when you want something cold and slightly tart but do not want to commit to anything heavier until you have assessed the situation.

Best vodka: Absolut or Ketel One. Any clean, neutral vodka works well with the fresh lemon.