Katinka – David Embury

1 part Apricot Liqueur

2 parts lime juice

8 parts vodka

Shake well with crushed ice, some recipes call for 1 or 2 dashes of grenadine for colour

 

This seemed like the most appropriate drink to start things in Moscow with, Katinka is a familiar variation of my wife’s name, and she loves apricots which makes this a charming coincidence.

We are also not perfectly stocked here, I have my miniatures of Cartron Apricot brandy for this one, but no grenadine, crushed ice, or a cocktail shaker. And I’ve used lemon instead of lime.

I’ve made this stirred in a large cup, for a long time, over ice.

One reason I like visiting Moscow is to see which vodka is the latest and greatest, this visit sees the fridge well stocked with Husky vodka, 40% and in the very common (and sensible) 50cl bottle. They have a charming website www.huskyvodka.com if you want to find out more about it, and wonder why when translating from any language into English people don’t get a native speaker to check it.

The drink itself is a good one, it makes me wonder why you don’t see apricot as a flavour being used more. The apricot is subtle, and the drink the first of Embury’s classic 8-2-1 sour recipes we’ll be trying.