Pucker Up!

Beam Global has amped up Pucker (yes, that Pucker) featuring a line of brand new vodkas. Mixologist Stephanie Schneider from Huckleberry Bar in Brooklyn paid us a visit to show us how to shake up the following clever concoctions. She brought the hooch, the mixers and even the glasses and exquisitely crafted cubes of ice! The whole affair was a lot of fun and the actual Pucker itself a surprising pleasure and far more civilized than we expected. After a sip or two of these elevated cocktails, you may even be able to separate yourself from images of overwrought, excessively inebriated girls doing shots of the stuff at rodeo bars with their tops off.

Note the random magazine caught in the background that presumes to have Mr. Tony Bennett tending bar as well.

Sweet & Sour Apple
2 parts Pucker Apple Flavored Vodka
¼ part Maple Syrup
1 part Lime Juice
¼ part Anisette Cordial
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake ingredients and strain into a cocktail glass. Spray Anisette Cordial on top of cocktail.

Citrus Mist
2 parts Pucker Citrus Flavored Vodka
½ part Lemon Juice
½ part Ginger Cordial
1 Egg White
1 Lemon Peel
Combine and dry shake first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously several times. Double strain into a cocktail glass. Squeeze oils of lemon peel on top and then discard peel.

Main Squeeze
2 parts Pucker Citrus Flavored Vodka
½ part Ginger Cordial
½ part Lemon Juice
5 parts Lemon Thyme
1 part Q Tonic
Lemon Wedge
Muddle the herb with a few cubes of ice. Combine Pucker Citrus Flavored Vodka, Ginger Cordial and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker and shake with more ice. Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice, top with tonic and garnish with a lemon wedge.

First published in part for Next magazine.