BALTIMORE — “Oh!”
That just about sums up people’s reactions to Old Bay vodka.
“You know, that’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” was also a favorite line when we asked Baltimore bartenders to try the soon-to-be-released spirit.
Most of the people we interviewed expected the vodka iteration of Old Bay to pack more of a punch, but they were pleasantly surprised by how light the flavor was.
“You can taste the Old Bay flavor in it, but you can taste more of the vodka,” said Paul Padgett, a customer at Bertha’s Soul Food Bar and Grill in Belair-Edison.
“It definitely has a kick to it though.”
That makes sense, given the fact that Greg David, a co-founder and owner of George’s Beverages, described the spirit as “a very inviting, crisp, refreshing and smooth vodka. It has fresh celery and herbal notes, followed by sweet spice and mild heat [from red pepper].”
We asked a few Baltimore bartenders to come up with their recommended recipes for when Old Bay vodka hits the shelves. Read the recipes below to see how their takes vary.
J Stratton, bartender at The Manor
Old Bay Moscow Mule
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Old Bay vodka
Ginger simple syrup (made up of 2 parts water, 1 part sugar and shaved ginger)
Goslings ginger beer
Lime
Lemon
Old Bay
Fill up a shaker with ice, and add one and a half ounces of Old Bay vodka. Then, squeeze half a lemon and half a lime into the cup. Add half an ounce of ginger simple syrup to the mixture, and shake well. Then dip the rim of your glass in simple syrup, followed by Old Bay. Strain the mixture from the shaker into the glass, and top it off with ginger beer. Garnish with a slice of lime.
Shannon Fowler, bartender at Bertha’s Soul Food Bar and Grill
Bertha’s Crush
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Old Bay vodka
Triple sec
Orange or pineapple juice
Sprite
Pour an ounce and a half of Old Bay vodka into a glass, add a splash of triple sec and fill the glass almost to the rim with orange or pineapple juice. Top it off with Sprite, and enjoy.
William Jackson, beverage director at Lucky Buns
Deconstructed Bloody Mary
Ingredients:
3 oz tomato paste
.5 to .75 oz sherry vinegar
Pickled Fresno peppers or pickled jalapeño
Grilled onion
Tomato skin
Black pepper to taste
Old Bay
Old Bay vodka
Lime wedge
Mix the tomato paste, sherry vinegar and black pepper together. Peel the tomatoes so you have about a 1 inch long by .5 inch wide strip of skin. Then, lightly spread the tomato paste mixture on the tomato skin and top it with grilled onion, pickled Fresno peppers, and light dusting of Old Bay. Consume in this order: lime wedge, shot of vodka, and tomato skin.
