Pair Vodka With Your Pickled Food To Bring Out That Briny Flavor

From bottom shelf vodka all the way to the top, this clear, distilled spirit is incredibly versatile. Its broad array of common mixers demonstrate vodka's seemingly endless applications, and the finest varieties are best prepared barely adorned, or very cold.

Whether you're sipping your vodka with a kiss of vermouth in a martini or as a frigid shot, it practically necessitates a little sustenance. And pickles, in all their own myriad forms, are the perfect accompaniment. The pairing is particularly popular in Russia, the world's leading consumer of vodka, where these types of drinking snacks are called zakuski. Zakuski can include caviar, cured meats, smoked fish, and practically any pickled vegetable.

While the common cucumber spheres have their place, think outside the grocery store jar when picking a peck of pickled whatevers. You've probably already delved into the wonderful world of vodka and pickled pairings without even trying. Most of the olives in your evening martinis have already been pickled, for example. Those brunchtime bloody marys are probably garnished with something or another that's had a briny bath. And there's plenty more pickle companions where those came from.

Vodka and pickles get along so well because of their natural harmony. The vodka cuts through the pickles' bracing, briny quality. Where the vodka is sharp like ice with an ABV, the pickles are deeply saline, with a different kind of prickliness. And while your own take on zakuski can amount to a meal, there are plenty of cocktails that offer a taste of the vodka-pickle classic without the commitment.

Cornichon martinis — that swap the standard olives for the most petite gherkins — are just a little deviation from the standard dirty. Pickled jalapeños can factor in fabulously for a hot kick. Pickled mushrooms are known to add their own signature earthiness. For their part, those bloodies can be enlivened by a little kimchi, rhubarb, fennel, or giardiniera. You can even use a pickle as a bloody mary shot glass. And a wide range of pickled peppers can flavor a whole bottle of vodka for future opportunities to double down on your pickled drink.