Next time you walk into your favorite cocktail bar, scan the back bar for the flavored vodka options. If you don’t see any and you’re feeling brave, ask the bartender what they have on hand. The response will more than likely be a long stare.
But flavored vodka—good flavored vodka, at least—is to the home bartender what a solid Cocktail Kingdom shaker is to a professional bartender. It’s the original spirit hack for anyone wanting to make a beverage more interesting without having to spend too much time and mess in prepping. Yet it’s the laughing stock of the spirits world.
As bars became less like Tom Cruise’s Cocktail and more like a classic “speakeasy,” bartenders ditched the flavored vodka for their own house infusions. Those infusions spelled out the message, “These are cocktails you can only get at this bar, because this house-infused, citrus-flavored ingredient is special.”
Those flavored vodka-avoiding bars are great, but for a home bar, you don’t necessarily need house infusions for interesting, sometimes wacky, drinks. You might not be able to make the bartender infusions you love, but there’s almost surely a flavored vodka that will do the trick.
I’ve been beating the flavored vodka drum for ages. Part of that is personal preference—we all have our vices and guilty pleasures— and part of that is because the publications I’ve written for need to give the people what they want. When you look at the numbers, vodka and flavored vodka is very much what people want.
All of this is to say that you don’t necessarily need to spend your time infusing your spirits at home and then putting money and effort into a questionable house mix. Flavored vodkas have been here for home drink makers all these years. Today, there’s never been a better time to be (or start being) a flavored vodka drinker. No matter how many flavored vodka hit pieces, jokes on social media or cringe-worthy listicles there are out there, flavored vodka is never going away, and that’s the best piece of advice your average home bartender can hear.
Modern Era Flavored Vodkas To Try:
Cutwater Fugu Habanero: Spicy vodka is divisive, especially the stuff that’s really spicy. Cutwater Habanero has a kick without feeling like each one of your tastebuds was individually punched with a pepper. The heat is rounded out by some herbal notes. While it’d be easy to pigeonhole a habanero vodka by only using it for Bloody Marys, don’t be afraid to use Cutwater Habanero as a float on a Margarita, Moscow Mule, or any other cocktail you want to take up a notch. Cutwater Habanero won Silver at the 2018 New York International Spirits Competition.
Three Olives Coconut Water: You know coconut rum and its tendency to taste like ‘80s era sunscreen. What you should be using instead is Three Olives Coconut Water. It delivers exactly what the name suggests: A vodka with the subtle flavors of coconut water rather than a creamy and sugared up Coco Lopez vibe. It’s just sweet enough while maintaining some backbone, and blends well into coffee and any tropical drink you can imagine. Of course, you don’t have to get fancy with it to have a hit on your hands. All you need is Three Olives Coconut Water with some sparkling water and lime.
Van Gogh Double Espresso: You’ll feel caffeinated just smelling Van Gogh Double Espresso. The expression won Gold at the 2018 NYISC, and is made for all of the coffee lovers out there. On the rocks, in your Espresso Martini, in your to-go coffee cup—whatever you want to do with your coffee, start with Van Gogh Double Espresso and go from there.
St. George California Citrus: It’s impossible to talk about solid flavored vodkas without talking about St. George. It was one of the first distilleries to kick off the craft distilling boom on the West Coast, and it’s still putting out some of the best craft spirits in the country. There are plenty of orange vodkas out there, but this is one of the truest in orangey-ness. It’s flavored with California-grown Valencia and Seville oranges as well as bergamot for a bright and zesty flavor.
Hangar 1 Makrut Lime: This is not your average cirus flavor—Makrut Lime is made with just the lime leaves. Rather than being a one dimensional flavored vodka, the citrus is balanced out with fresh pepper and slightly woody notes. There’s an uncountable amount of drinks out there that use (or could be made better by using) more lime. Make that limey addition with this one and you won’t be disappointed.
Visit you local liquor store in Avon, CO and ask the attender over there what are the different flavored vodkas available.
Paul Williams 