Vodka Soda

Yes, and in a drink this bare you can taste it. Club soda has added minerals, usually sodium bicarbonate and a little salt, which reads as a faint savory roundness. Seltzer is plain carbonated water and comes off cleaner. Sparkling mineral water sits between the two, depending on the source.

It is the one highball where it does. Nothing sweet or bitter is covering anything, so the texture difference between a rough grain vodka and a well-made one lands directly on the tongue. Serve it cold enough and a mediocre bottle behaves, but you will notice the finish.

Two or three dashes of aromatic bitters, a long strip of grapefruit peel, or a pinch of salt. All three add aroma or contrast without adding sugar. A splash of grapefruit juice is the boundary; past that you have made a highball with juice in it.

Around 100 from the 45 ml of vodka and nothing at all from the soda, since carbonated water has no sugar in it. That is most of the reason people order it. The same pour with tonic instead adds roughly ten grams of sugar on top.

A classic Vodka Soda calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Vodka, 120 ml (4 oz) Soda water. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Vodka Soda is roughly 11% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it a relatively light, sessionable drink — similar in strength to a beer.

A Vodka Soda is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.