Consumer Health News

Festive St. Patrick’s Day Inspired Vodka Cocktails

By April MacIntyre Mar 17, 2012, 18:01 GMT

St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in America 1737 and has long been synonymous with day long celebrations.

Today is St. Patrick's Day, and the discriminating Leprechaun will be offered a myriad of beverages, including green beer, to imbibe.

St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in America 1737 and has long been synonymous with day long celebrations.

Once confined to Irish neighborhoods, this March 17th holiday has grown dramatically in popularity over the years with over 100 U.S. cities hosting St. Patrick’s Day parades this year.

Calorie conscious revelers need to check out two brands of vodka that are lighter and offer more variety for cocktails.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with parades, dyeing city rivers and eating foods that are green like Colcannon (mashed potatoes with green cabbage), and, most importantly, by celebrating the festive holiday with friends.

Two premium vodka brands Voli (made in France) and Exclusiv (made in Moldova) each offers an alternative to the typical green beer served at Paddy’s Day parties throughout the country.

Exclusiv Vodka is a wheat-based spirit from Moldova, near the shores of the Black Sea.  With its Russian heritage, Exclusiv Vodka is a world-class vodka. This clean tasting spirit is made with quality winter wheat and a precision distilling process, giving it a sweeter, more polished taste without polishing techniques.

Exclusiv Vodka's must-try original St. Patrick’s Day cocktail is dubbed the Saint Pat’s-tini, and is a delicious minty chocolate treat that is really addicting:

Exclusiv Saint Pat’s-tini 
2 oz Exclusiv Vodka
1/2 oz Creme de Cocoa
1 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
1/2 oz green Creme de Menthe

Shake first three ingredients pour into a chilled martini glass and then sink Green Creme de Menthe.

Garnish with a mint leaf and chocolate shavings.

Did you know:

Leprechauns are believed to secretly live and work as cobblers. If you follow the sound of their little hammers and lay eyes on a leprechaun, you must apprehend him so that he will tell you where to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Luckily, you don’t have to work as hard for the Exclusiv Vodka St. Pat’s-tini.

The International Review of Spirits Award gave Exclusiv Vodka their Gold Medal and the Best Buy Rating.

Exclusiv Vodka on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ExclusivVodka and follow on Twitter @ExclusivVodka

French made Voli Light Vodka is the world's first low calorie fruit and fusion flavored vodka.

Hand crafted by the master blenders of Roullet-Fransac in Cognac, France, a 162 years old house of exceptional spirits, Voli light vodkas are a blend of wheat vodka, pure spring water from Protea and natural flavors.

Voli is distilled five times and filtered four times in order to create a crisp and clean smooth tasting flavored vodkas with between 25-40% fewer calories on average than leading brands.  Voli Light Vodkas achieve the perfect balance of natural fruit flavors and vodka distilled from superior French wheat and pure spring water. Voli is made from 100% French wheat, farmed according to the highest EU standards, certified natural spring water from Protea (Cognac region), FDA certified natural flavors and mineral salts.

Voli also has debuted the first low calorie fruit and fusion flavored vodkas.  Voli comes in original lyte, lemon, orange vanilla, pear vanilla, raspberry cocoa and espresso vanilla. We sampled the lyte and enjoyed their versions of St. Patrick's cocktails - recipes are below:

Flavors:

·         Lyte – extra smooth vodka with a light finish (74 calories per 1.5 oz serving)

·         Lemon – a strong and zesty flavor paired with a mellow verbena taste (81 calories per 1.5 oz serving)

·         Espresso Vanilla – the delightful aroma of coffee with vanilla and a hint of cocoa (81 calories per 1.5 oz serving)

·         Raspberry Cocoa – an irresistible fusion of raspberry and cocoa (80 calories per 1.5 oz serving)

·         Orange Vanilla – a fusion of orange and vanilla resulting in a delicious creamsicle flavor (81 calories per 1.5 oz serving)

Kiss Me I'm Irish Cocoa Kiss

1.5 oz VOLI Raspberry Cocoa or Espresso Vanilla
3/4 oz Irish cream liqueur
Serve over ice and stir
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Fresh raspberries or espresso beans
Approx 110 calories