Strawberry Vodka Smash Cocktail

Say cheers to summer heat and pool parties with a refreshing Strawberry Vodka Smash Cocktail, full of sweet berries, cool mint, and lime!

Why We Love A Vodka Smash

• Cool, sweet, tart, and bubbly- there is so much to love about this strawberry smash cocktail recipe, from the flavor to the simple ingredients!
• A vodka smash easily comes together in just a few minutes and is even faster when you make it by the pitcher, which is great for parties!
• Sliced strawberries muddled with mint and mixed with vodka, simple syrup, lime juice, and soda water is the perfect smash cocktail for summer and goes down faster than you do on a waterslide!
• This Strawberry Vodka Smash is so easy to create, that you’ll feel like an amazing bartender when making them at all your summer parties!

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Strawberry Smash Cocktail

PRODUCE: To make this vodka smash you will need fresh sliced strawberries, mint leaves, and lime.

VODKA: Grab your favorite vodka to use in this cocktail. While there are plenty of other good-tasting ingredients in this drink, the better the vodka the better the drink will be, but you don’t have to go top shelf for this.

SIMPLE SYRUP: You can certainly purchase simple syrup from the store but making your own is incredibly easy so check out this Simple Syrup recipe!

SODA WATER: Bubbles add more fun so pick up soda water for this drink! (If you forgot the simple syrup and need a quick option, swap in Sprite or 7-Up for the soda water since they are pre-sweetened.)

GARNISH: Top your drink with extra slices of lime, a few more berries, and a sprig of mint to complete the look.

How to Make a Smash Cocktail

Jump to Recipe

STEP 1 Muddle the mint and the strawberry slices in a rocks glass (or pint mason jar) until the berries are a little mashed and the mint is fragrant. Then fill the glass with ice.

STEP 2 Pour the vodka, simple syrup, and lime juice over the ice and muddled fruit.

STEP 3 Fill the glass with soda water.

STEP 4 Stir everything together and garnish with lime slices, more strawberries, and mint before serving.

Tips & Tricks

• If you don’t have a muddler you can use the end of a wooden spoon. The point of muddling is to break up large pieces of fruit and bruise the mint, which releases the wonderful mint oils so you can pretty much use whatever you have on hand to accomplish this.
• This vodka smash cocktail is sweet so if you’d prefer, you can add half of the simple syrup called for in the recipe for a less sweet drink.
• You can use other berries, fruits, and spirits to make a smash! Try out a bourbon smash with raspberries, cranberries, and lime, or whiskey smash, mixed with lemon and mint. A tequila smash is made with tequila, mint, and agave syrup, while a brandy smash is a muddled mix of mint and sugar mixed with brandy. Substitute fresh basil to make a gin smash or to liven up a strawberry smash. The possibilities are endless with smashes!
• Smask cocktails are best served freshly made by the glass but you can easily make this drink ahead of time in a pitcher if needed. Estimate how many drinks your pitcher will hold and then multiply that by the amount of each ingredient. For example, if you think your pitcher will fill 6 glasses, muddle 12 strawberries and a small bunch of mint in the pitcher and then pour in 1 1/2 cups of vodka, 3/4 cup of simple syrup, and 3 ounces of lime juice. Store the pitcher in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. To serve, add ice to the glasses and fill 3/4 full. Top with soda water and garnishes and enjoy!

Smash Cocktails FAQ

What is a smash cocktail?

The smash cocktail has been around for a very long time but did fall out of popularity shortly before the 1900s. Thankfully, the cocktail was revived in the 1990s and continues to be a summer staple. Unlike the julep, a smash is a simple cocktail mainly consisting of smashed seasonal fruit, mint, and a spirit such as whiskey or vodka. There is much less fuss when making a smash as they are meant to be enjoyed more quickly, in just about any kind of glass, unlike sipping on a julep in a tall metal cup! Whether you like bourbon, gin, tequila, brandy, or whiskey, there are plenty of smash recipes full of different fruits and herbs to try and determine your favorites.

What’s the difference between a julep and a smash?

Nowadays there is only one key difference between a julep and a smash and that is the addition of citrus or fruit. The julep was traditionally made without muddling the mint and sugar but today that is the standard. Both drinks require muddling or smashing, but the smash is muddled mint, spirit, and fruit, served in a cold rocks glass or something similar, while a julep is simply muddled mint, sugar, and spirit, served in a tall glass.

How much sugar is in a vodka smash?

Since this recipe is so simple, it’s easy to adjust the sugar to your taste and diet needs. There are some natural sugars in the berries, but a simple substitution from strawberries to raspberries will cut those natural fruit sugars almost in half. From there it’s just a matter of how much simple syrup you like. An ounce of simple syrup has about 19 grams of sugar (made from a 1:1 water to sugar ratio). This strawberry vodka smash, made as instructed, has 22 grams of sugar for a 10-ounce drink.

You can reduce the sugar in your cocktail by swapping out the simple syrup for a sugar-free sweetener or go for seltzer vibes and skip the simple syrup altogether. While that would mean this isn’t technically a smash cocktail anymore (it becomes more of a vodka mojito), it’s still tasty if you enjoy White Claw.

Other Recipes You May Like

• Mojito
• Hurricane Party Punch
• Cape Cod Drink
• Long Island Iced Tea
• Frozen Raspberry Daiquiri