Bison grass vodka isn’t the most common spirit in a home bar. And yet, as we did some MUCH overdue cleaning out of our liquor hutch, there it was. A nearly full bottle of Zubrowka bison grass vodka, a bit of dust on the outside and characteristic blade of bison grass on the inside. I don’t remember now when we purchased it or why. But we decided it was about time we did something with it.
Bison grass refers to the principle flavoring agent in this Polish rye-based vodka. This sweet grass is native to the Białowieża Forest and imparts an herbaceous character to the vodka. Think mown hay, green herbs, subtle vanilla notes, and warm spices. It’s typically served chilled on its own or mixed with apple juice in a cocktail known as tatanka or szarlotka, which translates to “apple cake.”
For this round of playing drinks, we found five different cocktail recipes that pair Zubrowka with an array of different fruits—from apple, to raspberry, grapefruit, and even pineapple—as well as different aromatic elements, including fresh thyme, honey, and an Italian amaro. Below are the recipes we followed, including our tweaks, and our honest review of each one.
Zubrowka and Raspberry Cocktail
We love a raspberry cocktail. The tart fresh flavor and bright pink hue are always appetizing, so this recipe from Food & Wine combining fresh raspberries and Zubrowka spoke to us.
How do you make a Zubrowka and raspberry cocktail?
Muddle 5 raspberries in a shaker.
Add the following and shake:
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. bison grass vodka
1/2 oz. honey syrup*
Dash Angostura bitters
Strain into rocks glass and top with a splash of soda.
*Mix 1 part honey to 1 part warm water and mix.
What does a Zubrowka and raspberry cocktail taste like?
This cocktail is pleasantly tart and slightly earthy and the berries bring out the vanilla notes in the vodka. While we enjoyed the flavors, it didn’t blow us away. We felt it was a solid start, but found it a little flat and lacking nuance. One more flavor element (orange, mint, or honey perhaps) might add some complexity and take it up a notch. Ultimately, we rated this cocktail a 3 out of 5. It was worth a try, but we probably won’t make this one again.
Zubrowka and Cider Cocktail
Apple juice is the traditional partner for Zubrowka. This recipe from Food & Wine swaps hard cider for the apple juice, which appealed to us, so we used it as our starting point.
How do you make a Zubrowka and cider cocktail?
Fill a pint or pilsner glass to the brim with ice.
Fill halfway with hard cider.
Add 1.5oz. bison grass vodka and mix.
Top with more hard cider and a squeeze of lemon.
What does a Zubrowka and cider cocktail taste like?
The recipe claimed that this cocktail tastes “exactly, almost uncannily like apple pie.” I was dubious. And I was wrong. The bison grass vodka comes through with notes of spice and vanilla, producing an absolutely delicious pie-like complexity with only mild sweetness. We tent to prefer our apple pie with a bit of tartness, so we found a wedge worth of lemon juice really makes this one sing.
We rated this cocktail a 4 out of 5. This is a simple yet straight forward drink that offers fall flavor without the cloying sweetness or overblown spice that puts us off of many autumnal beverages. We’ll likely be making this one again.
Grapefruit and Thyme Zubrowka Cocktail
We have a feisty little thyme plant that jumped one of our garden beds and took up residence right in the decomposed granite next to our Meyer lemon tree. This recipe seemed like the ideal way to put our renegade herb to good use.
How do you make a grapefruit and thyme Zubrowka cocktail?
Add the following to a well iced shaker and shake vigorously:
2oz. bison grass vodka
1oz. fresh grapefruit juice
3/4oz. thyme syrup*
Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
*Steep a few thyme sprigs in 1/2 cup boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove thyme and add 1/2 cup sugar, mixing until dissolved.
What does a grapefruit and thyme Zubrowka cocktail taste like?
Our grapefruit juiced lacked acidity, so we added about a teaspoon of Meyer lemon juice. The result was a well balanced, pleasantly tart and herbaceous tipple. We rated this one a 5 out of 5 and will absolutely be making this one again. Thank goodness it made enough thyme syrup for a few more rounds!
Bisontini
Raspberry and pineapple are a stellar combo. We’re so fond of it, in fact, that we were willing to do some translating from French in order to mix up this recipe from Atelier Cocktail.
How do you make a Bisontini?
Add the following to a well iced shaker and shake vigorously:
Generous shot (1.5oz.) bison grass vodka
1/2oz. Chambord
~2oz. pineapple juice
Strain into a cocktail glass.
What does a Bisontinin taste like?
This one wasn’t our favorite. The combo of Chambord and pineapple juice read a bit candy-like to us and, as is often the case, the recipe lacked acidity for our tart-tuned palates. With the addition of a teaspoon or so of lemon juice, it was brighter and more palatable, but still not something we’d seek out. We rated this one a 2 out of 5. We ended up dumping it after a few sips, but we’d give the concept another go subbing in muddled raspberries and pineapple chunks for the Chambord and juice.
Count of Zubrowka
We were inspired by this recipe from Liquor.com, but it calls for Amaro Montenegro, a particular variety of herbal liqueur. There are lots of Italian amari (bitters) on the market and while we didn’t have this particular type in our collection, we regularly keep Averna, a Sicilian amaro, on hand, so we substituted it in our version and added a bit more lemon than the original recipe calls for.
How do you make a Count of Zubrowka cocktail?
Add the following to a well iced shaker and shake vigorously:
1.5oz. bison grass vodka
3/4oz. Averna
3/4oz. fresh lemon juice
Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass and top with 4oz. hard cider.
What does a Count of Zubrowka cocktail taste like?
This is a downright respectable cocktail that would be a fabulous addition to your fall drink lineup. It’s like a warm apple crisp over ice. We couldn’t resist tweaking a bit so we added about a teaspoon of our reserved thyme syrup from the grapefruit thyme cocktail and the result was even better. We rated this one a 4 out of 5. I suspect we’ll be whipping up some more to sip beside the first fire of the season.