Lounge recently caught up with Björn Olsson, beverage consultant and ambassador of the popular vodka brand Absolut, at Smoke House Grill in the Capital.

In the accompanying video, he speaks about the vodka experience, how the drink tastes best, what ingredients mix best with it and tips and tricks for vodka cocktails.

Here are two cocktail recipes by Olsson:

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Clooney

Ingredients

1 part (60ml) vodka

2 parts (120ml) soda

2-3 wedges of fresh lime

Method

Take a rocks glass. Fill halfway with ice cubes. Add one part vodka and two parts soda. Squeeze the wedges of lime on the drink. Toss the rind into the drink and, optionally, garnish with a sliced lemon wedge.

Red Basil

Ingredients

1 part (60ml) vodka

3-4 strawberries, whole

2-3 basil leaves

3tsp sugar syrup

3tsp lemon juice

Method

Muddle the basil leaves, lemon juice, sugar syrup and strawberries in a shaker. Pour vodka and fill the shaker with ice cubes. Shake the ingredients and double-strain into a cocktail glass. To enhance the basil flavour, rub a basil leaf around the rim of the glass. Garnish with a few leaves of basil and a strawberry.

varuni.k@livemint.com