You might be asking “what is a VR Enabled Cocktail???” Simply put, these are cocktails that you drink with a straw (typically in a high ball style glass). I work for a VR company and spend a lot of time in VR headsets. When I host happy hours with co-workers, it’s nice to do what we might do if we were physically in the same place: have a drink together. These cocktails are built for sippin’. But you can still drink them, even if you don’t have a VR headset handy. Enjoy!
Twelve Mile Limit
This was a very popular cocktail during the Summer months. Make sure to make your own Grenadine (it’s too easy to go with store-bought options).
This is also one of the few tiki cocktails that doesn’t call for a Hamilton Beach blender. All you need to your handy cocktail shaker and you can be sipping in the sun in no time. Even if it’s freezing outside!
Cheers!
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0.5oz Fresh Lemon Juice
0.5oz Grenadine (homemade is best)
1oz Blended Lightly Aged Rum
0.5oz Rye Whiskey
0.5oz Brandy
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker
Add cracked or cubed ice and shake for 15 seconds
Double strain into a chilled coupe glass
Source: Smuggler’s Cove Cocktail Book
The Tradewinds
This tiki drink has a fun garnish that should not be optional. It’s pretty satisfying pushing a cocktail umbrella inside out, as if blow back by the wind. So don’t skip that step. Umbrellas are cheap.
This tiki drink is all about balance. Lots of citrus balanced against a couple of rums. Don’t use spiced rum, just because it is usually black in color. The rum in the link is also very cheap and easy to find. No need to overthink it. For lightly aged rum, I almost always go with Appleton 8 or 12.
Cheers!
1oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1.5oz Coconut Cream
1oz Apricot Liqueur
Add all ingredients to a mixer tin (or blender)
Add 12oz crushed ice and 4-6 agitator cubes
Flash blend for 5-10 seconds
Open pour into a high ball or Zombie glass
Source: Smuggler’s Cove Cocktail Book
Tom Collins
It’s a classic. It’s easy. And since I discovered Old Tom style Gin, it’s the only way I would drink it. If you aren’t a big fan of the drier forms of gin (read: Beefeater London Dry style) you should definitely try out Old Tom Gin. It’s not a brand, it’s a style. My fav, at the moment, is Hayman’s Old Tom Gin. Stick with freshly squeezed Lemon Juice versus bottled, and you might consider making your own simple syrup as it is super easy to do. Just 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water. Heat on medium till the sugar is totally dissolved (meaning the liquid is clear). Allow to cool and then put it in a glass container for up to a month in the fridge. I hesitated getting into the syrup making game, but now I’m all in since learning how easy it is to do. I’ll talk about Home-Made Grenadine somewhere down the road (spoiler – that red stuff in the Rose’s bottle is NOT grenadine).
2oz Old Tom Gin
1oz Fresh Lemon Juice
0.5oz Simple Syrup
Top off with Sparkling Water (Lime La Croix is nice)
Add Lemon Juice to High Ball Glass
Add Simple Syrup
Add Gin
Fill glass to the halfway point with Soda Water
Add ice to fill the glass to the top
Top off with more soda water if needed
Garnish with Lemon Twist and optional Maraschino Cherry
Drop in your straw and put on your VR headset
Cheers!
Source: Cocktail Explorer
Greyhound
This is a super simple Spring/Summer cocktail. They key with any cocktail that is mostly juice is to do the hard work of juicing. There are juicers that can handle a grapefruit, but my best practice is just doing it by hand. Don’t use juice from a jug, no matter how “no artificial ingredients added” it says it is!
2oz Vodka or Gin
4oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
Lemon or Lime for garnish
Combine everything in a High Ball glass
Add ice and stir 15-30 seconds till chilled
Garnish with Lemon or Lime
Drop in your straw and put on your VR headset
Cheers!
Source: MasterClass Greyhound Recipe