Chasers are surprisingly simple, they’re just a drink you have straight after a shot. They’re perfect for reducing the alcoholic burn and any bitterness. Finding the best chasers for vodka is particularly important, as low quality vodka can be pretty harsh.
We’ve talked about chasers before, for whiskey and for tequila. Those discussions highlighted a variety of different options. That’s the case for vodka too, so you have plenty of possible chasers to experiment with.,
Many of these chasers will be familiar and easy to find at most bars. But, there are a few less well-recognized chasers too. These are fantastic if you want to experiment, particularly if you’re drinking at home. After all, sticking with the traditional options can get a bit boring after a while.
The Best Vodka Chasers (With Pictures!)
Tonic Water
While tonic water is most famous for its role in the classic gin and tonic, it also works well as a chaser for vodka. Part of the appeal is the sharp flavors and relative dryness. This helps to clear your palate.
The bubbles and sugar are helpful too. They provide a different mouthfeel and flavor, perfect for overriding any harshness from your vodka. The combination of bubbles, sugar, and flavor is why sodas are particularly common as chasers for spirits.
Lemon-Lime Soda
Lemon-lime sodas, like Sprite or Sierra Mist, are another excellent choice. They have the same carbonation as tonic water, along with a distinct lemon-lime flavor. As you’ll see from other items on this list, citrus flavors are a sure fire hit with vodka.
Ginger Beer (and Ginger Ale)
Ginger beer is a fantastic chaser for most types of alcohol, vodka included. There’s something about the sweet and spicy flavor profile that is exceptional with spirits.
Of course, your experience will vary depending on the brand of ginger beer you choose. Some brands are very sugary and have a fairly muted ginger flavor. Others keep the sugar in check so that you can really taste the ginger. The dryer style is often best for following vodka, although there are no hard and fast rules.
You could experiment with ginger ale too. This drink has the same ginger flavor, but tends to be milder and a little more sweet. Some people will prefer the flavor balance of ginger ale, while others might prefer ginger beer instead.
Rather than focusing on the absolute best type of ginger ale or ginger beer here, why not pay attention to your preferences? After all, a product you’re not that fond of is hardly the best chaser.
Beer
You can actually use alcohol as a chaser for vodka as well. Beer is a common choice and you could easily focus on your favorite type of beer, whether this is a pilsner, an IPA, a stout, or something entirely different.
Beer has another advantage too – it’s readily available. You might even have an open beer in hand if you’re drinking at a party.
Still… using beer as a chaser is a little dicey. It risks getting you drunk very fast. If you’re going to do this, try sticking to a low ABV beer and only having sips of it between your vodka shots.
Or, why not experiment with 0% ABV beer? This would give you the same flavor as using regular beer, without getting you too drunk.
Orange Juice
Orange juice is most often used as a vodka mixer – giving you the two-ingredient screwdriver cocktail. So, why not drink the orange juice after your vodka instead? Doing so can even be tastier than making a screwdriver.
The quality of your orange juice makes a huge difference here. Cheap store-bought orange juice just isn’t going to cut it. Freshly squeezed orange juice is much better, as it has a fresher flavor and often isn’t as sweet.
If freshly squeezed orange juice isn’t realistic, try looking for a high quality product from your local store. The best juice will avoid additives and artificial flavors. It should be stored in the fridge too, rather than on the grocery store shelf.
Cranberry Juice
Cranberry juice and vodka already work well in cocktails. So, why not use cranberry juice as a chaser instead? This can even work better than orange juice, as cranberry juice has a slight tartness to it.
Cranberry juice is an interesting case, as the fruits are very tart and don’t give you an enjoyable drink on their own. To get around this, many cranberry juice products include other types of juice as well. These provide extra sweetness and a more complex flavor. Sugar may be added too.
This approach leads to considerable differences between products. Look for ones that avoid artificial additives and contain a decent amount of cranberry juice. There are now some unsweetened cranberry juice options on the market – although these can be very tart indeed.
Other Fruit Juices
To be honest, any type of 100% fruit juice is an excellent vodka chaser. Juice always gives you a refreshing flavor contrast, plus some sweetness.
The best choice is simply whichever type of juice you love the most. You could even experiment with mixed juice, such as tropical juice or pineapple-mango juice.
Most people will simply buy bottled juice from the store. But, for an even better experience, try making fresh juices yourself. This juice will always taste much better and should be healthier too.
Mountain Dew
If you want a vibrant flavor, Mountain Dew is an easy choice. It’s fun as a cocktail ingredient and equally good as a chaser. Part of the appeal is the citrus flavor that comes through in the soda – as citrus and vodka are perfect together.
You don’t actually need to stick to regular Mountain Dew either. Flavored versions of Mountain Dew can work well too, such as Baja Blast, Code Red, and Voltage.
Why not simply try your favorite type of Mountain Dew and see which works best with your vodka? The intensity of Mountain Dew makes this a particularly good option for chasing low quality vodka.
Iced Tea
What about iced tea? This approach works particularly well in the summer, although you could theoretically try it in the winter as well.
Iced tea works as a chaser because it’s refreshing. You can also choose the flavor and style of iced tea that you prefer. Do you want your tea sweetened or unsweetened? Do you want any extra flavors? Do you want to prepare the tea yourself or buy bottled iced tea from the store?
There aren’t any right or wrong answers. It’s just a matter of finding the style that works for you.
Cold Water
Cold water is one of the easiest chasers for vodka, yet it works surprisingly well. Unlike other chasers, there are no contrasting flavors, so the nuances of your vodka don’t get lost.
Instead, the water simply acts to knock out some of the alcoholic burn. This chaser might be best if your vodka is somewhat decent. Otherwise, you’d be better with a flavored chaser.
Water is also a great way to keep you hydrated while you’re drinking. This is crucial for preventing a hangover the next day.
The one catch is that vodka allows the nuances of your vodka to shine through. This is fine if you’re using halfway decent vodka, but isn’t so good if you’re using bottom shelf stuff instead.
Seriously. Don’t use water to chase bad vodka. You’ll simply make your experience worse.
Infused Water
Infused water is basically a step up from regular water. You’ve probably seen jugs filled with fresh fruit and herbs on Pinterest and the like.
The idea is that some of the flavors from your ingredients infuse into the water. These flavors tend to be fairly subtle, but they’re enough to make the water much more interesting.
Why not try this out and experiment with different flavors in your water? There are many amazing infused water recipes out there. You could even make up your own if you’re feeling a little creative.
Small Sandwiches
Stay with me on this one. Russians often use food as a chaser for vodka, rather than liquids. They even have a term for such chasers – zakuska.
There are plenty of options for food here. Honestly, almost anything goes. But, let’s talk about sandwiches for the moment.
The best style is to focus on bite-size sandwiches, so you can simply have one of them straight after each vodka shot. Rye bread sandwiches are particularly good here, although you can easily go with your favorites.
Plus, eating food between shots is a great way to ensure you don’t get too drunk too fast.
Sorbet
Sorbet is another example of a food chaser and is fantastic in the summer. The flavor contrast is much the same as using fruit juice as a chaser. Except, this time, you can take a small bit of the sorbet after each vodka shot.
Making slushies from fruit juice is another useful approach.
Lemonade
Lemonade is a popular vodka chaser. That’s not surprising, as it’s another one with plenty of citrus flavors.
You could also experiment with other types of lemonade, like pink lemonade or blueberry lemonade. Honestly, any extra flavors in your lemonade are just going to make the chaser better.
Another trick is to mix lemonade with lemon-lime soda. This gives you a bubbly drink with even more citrus flavors.
Pickle Juice
Pickle juice is a famous chaser, both for vodka and other liquors (a practice sometimes known as the pickleback). The intensity of the juice easily neutralizes the alcoholic burn and flavor of your vodka, even if the vodka is incredibly low quality. Who knows, pickle juice might even help with your hangover.
It’s also nice to have a chaser that isn’t overly sweet. After all, sugar seems to make hangovers worse for some of us. You may also simply want a different flavor, something that stands out.
The tricky thing is actually getting enough pickle juice. True pickle juice isn’t normally sold on its own, so you might be buying or making pickles just to get the juice.
If regular pickle juice doesn’t do it for you, why not try jalapeno infused pickle juice as a chaser?
Gatorade
We’re including Gatorade last because it’s a controversial chaser. Many people use it regularly – particularly college students who drink regularly. Others think that Gatorade is an awful chaser and the flavor profile simply doesn’t work.
Of course, the ‘fit’ of Gatorade is going to depend on the flavor you choose. You’ll have to experiment to see what works for you – and whether you even like using Gatorade as a chaser.
Still, Gatorade will help to keep you hydrated and even provides some electrolytes. From that perspective, it isn’t a bad chaser at all.
Is A Vodka Chaser Essential?
Chasers are most often used when you’re drinking bottom shelf vodka. Many of these vodkas are difficult to get down on their own, especially if you don’t drink shots regularly.
Plus, if you’re hosting a bachelor/bachelorette party or some other special occasion, cheap booze is often the way to go. You don’t want to be splashing out on the expensive stuff if there are a dozen or more people drinking shots.
There are also times when other people are choosing the vodka, particularly if they have a party mindset. On such occasions, having a chaser on hand just makes sense. After all, they might choose some seriously awful vodka.
But, if you have decent vodka, a chaser isn’t needed at all. Even many middle shelf bottles of vodka are smooth enough to be enjoyed on their own. You might even sip them over ice. Grey Goose Vodka is a good option here, as this is a decent expression that won’t cost you the earth.
Chasers For Flavored Vodka
So, what about chasers for flavored vodka?
The best chasers will be influenced by the vodka flavor that you’ve chosen. For example, citrus vodka should go well with lemon-lime soda, while black pepper vodka would be better chased by tomato juice instead.
The main trick is to watch out for dramatic flavor clashes. Don’t forget about complementary flavors too, like chasing peach vodka with cranberry juice.
If you’re really stuck, look for a mild vodka chaser like cold water or infused water. This way there’s little risk of a flavor clash and you get to enjoy the nuances of your vodka.
Are There Any Bad Vodka Chasers?
You can use almost anything as a chaser for vodka. Often it’s just a matter of choosing a drink (or even food!) that you enjoy.
However, there are a couple of chasers to be careful with.
The first is water. As we mentioned earlier, this doesn’t bury any of the nuances of your vodka. That’s a problem if your vodka is low quality. You could still use this chaser with high quality vodka, although such vodka mightn’t need a chaser at all.
Then there’s milk. The flavor doesn’t work well with vodka at all. It will still get rid of the burn, but you’d then need something else to change the taste in your mouth.
Finally, there’s the idea of following one shot with another shot. This might involve following a poor quality shot of vodka with a decent one or simply drinking shots back-to-back.
The only real benefit is to get you drunk faster. Still… do you need to get drunk that fast? As for flavor, following bad vodka with good won’t help at all. Instead of getting rid of the flavors from the bad vodka, you’re simply layering extra flavors on top. Doing so is just a waste.
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