"flavored vodka" news and stories

If you're a fan of flavored vodkas and can stand a little fun being poked at you, I recommend this post from the A.V.Club. They reviewed three new flavors of vodka from Three Olives brand, and it's pretty amusing.

The flavors in question are tomato, root beer, and triple shot espresso. Not being a huge vodka fan in the first place, I found this review ,um, not too helpful, but entertaining. In the name of humor, they were a little homophobic, but I tried to remember to take it with a grain of salt.

Apparently, the tomato flavor was the least popular, which sounds reasonable to me. Can anyone find a reason for tomato flavored vodka? It didn't even get great reviews with bloody mary mix. The root beer flavor was deemed "all right', but apparently it went well in a root beer float. The triple shot espresso was by far the favorite. A.V.club also tried it with a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino to raves.

If you have your own personal review of these or any flavored vodkas I'd love to read it. Maybe it'd inspire me to try vodka more often.

44°North Vodka ($29) is an ultra-premium vodka made in Idaho using - what else - Idaho potatoes as part of its distillation process. The 70-proof spirit is flavored with huckleberries, which give the vodka a grapey, blueberry flavor that is quite addictive, though the thing that sets it apart (aside from the sexy bottle) from other vodkas is its quality. It is incredibly smooth and well-balanced, a perfect sipping vodka when chilled.

Of course, a vodka that is good on its own is also good in drinks. And, all things considered, it might be for the best that not too many bars in my area stock this. 

My general philosophy on drinks is that simpler is better. Hence, this drink is a slightly more precise version of one of the vodka-maker's standard recipes and really only requires two ingredients, though it can be tarted up with a twist of lime, if so desired. I've noticed that my martini glasses are on the large side, so this drink is formulated to make a 5-ounce drink. If, for some reason, your martini glass can't handle it than you'll have to treat the bartender to the leftovers before you serve the drink.

44°North Boise Metropolitan
2 ounces 44°North vodka
3 ounces cranberry juice
twist of lime (optional)

Combine vodka and cranberry juice in a shaker filled with ice, shake and strain into a martini glass. Add a twist of lime for extra punch.

As you may have noticed, we at Slashfood usually keep an eye out for interesting types of booze, both new and old. I recently came across a website for Charbay Green Tea Vodka. The Charbay roster also includes other fruit flavors like Meyer lemon, blood orange, pomegranate and key lime. They also produce a "clear vodka," and I guess the distinction is necessary because the other vodkas seem to be rather brightly colored. I've yet to see the green tea vodka in my liquor store, although I guess I haven't been looking too hard. I can't really imagine mixing it with anything, and although the Charbay site says it's a "sipping vodka," they do offer some cocktail suggestions. At any rate, the stuff seems to have garnered a lot of praise. Anyone tried it?

Zygo Vodka is a vodka that contains guarana, taurine and yerba matte - giving it a caffeinated kick. It's tagged as being "the morning vodka," referring to the fact that it's supposed to keep you going until dawn - not because it should be drunk in the morning. Their sales pitch - one of them, at least - seems to be "Check this out, it's got all the same sh*t as red bull and doesn't taste like a tin can." Pretty persuasive marketing, especially as energy everything gets more and more popular.

Unlike Pink Vodka, which is flavorless as well as caffeinated, Zygo Vodka is a flavored with a blend of Mandarin Orange, Peach, Juniper and Vanilla. The spirit is 70 proof and can be used in any normal vodka application. It sounds like it would make a killer cosmo, though the company has lots of more inventive recipes on their site. They also have a blog that's worth checking out if you're interested in hearing about how a young company with spirit(s) gets started.

Zygo is carried in a number of clubs and bars, as well as hotels like NY's Mandarin Oriental, throughout 37 states. It also looks to be available online for $29.99.

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