There's been a lot of
Twitter snarkiness, social media griping and bitchy blog posts about the new
genre of flavored "vodkas" on the market today. Cocktail "gurus" are claiming foul
and screaming about the "purity" and "integrity" of the
cocktail, decrying the fall of the "art of the drink". While I won’t rush out and buy each new entry that
sails into the flavored vodka market, I disagree with those who would zap all
these vodkas into oblivion.
Every day it seems another
distillery plops a new flavored "vodka" in our laps to tempt us to
their brand. The trend started with citrus vodkas, followed closely by all the
other members of the fruit family, then spread out into chocolate vodka,
espresso vodka, tea vodka, herb vodkas, spice vodkas and, yes, even
meat
and
salmon vodkas. Then things got wilder and in came the whipped cream
vodkas, cake vodkas,
candy vodkas and –
I kid you not –
critter vodka! The latest concoctions to join the melee are
Van Gogh’s PB&J Vodka and
Three Olives Loopy Vodka (inspired by fruit loops
cereals).
Why are we waking up to a new flavored vodka nearly every
morning? Because vodka sales have reached into the billions, surpassing all
other liquor sales in the United
States alone, and everybody wants a piece of
that pie. It’s hard to compete with the
big boys like Smirnoff (who holds the largest market share) or Absolut, Grey
Goose, Belvedere and a few others who have cornered the lion's share of the
unflavored vodka market. Start-up distilleries don’t have the cash to splash
into the huge marketing and advertising campaigns that would be required to
swim with the sharks. In order to latch
onto a small piece of the vodka buyers wallet, start-ups have to go after a
niche market.
One approach to grabbing a
partial share of the enormously profitable vodka market is in creating a flavored
vodka brand.
Pinnacle Vodka, one of the more recognizable flavored vodka
brands, is currently in the process of being purchased by Beam, Inc. for
$605 million dollars, if this isn’t proof enough that flavored vodkas are a
proven path to vodka success then I’ll drink some of that Salmon vodka!
While I am of the opinion
that a lot of the new "vodka" flavors out there can't truly be called
vodka* and should be more properly called cordials or liqueurs**, or possibly
even "pop vodka" as in the case of some of the more inventive flavor
combinations, I will not agree that they are all the abominations some claim
them to be. Although the more complex
flavor combinations do take some of the fun out of creating a cocktail, many of
these spirits are
quite pleasant and complex in flavor and can be used in a variety of interesting recipes.
I might not run out and
buy a bottle of Van Gogh's PB&J Vodka or Three Olives Loopy – and I can
guarantee I will never spend a penny on a bottle of salmon vodka - but I will
be damned if I put down those who do buy them and enjoy them. Booze, like food,
is enjoyed because of the flavors that come to play and flavor preferences rely
heavily on the individual palate of the player. The experience is subjective
much like the experience of enjoying a work of art. Some of us like the classics, some prefer the
wilder splashes of abstracts while others might lean towards the cerebral
experience of surrealism.
For me the whole thing comes
down to the term of "Happy Hour" where the word "happy" is
prominent! If it makes you happy,
if you enjoy it, if it tastes good to you, then drink and make no excuses to
anyone for your choices and let the Booze Snobs be damned!
SOME BOOZE DEFINITIONS FOR
YOUR EDIFICATION:
**LIQUEURS & CORDIALS:
a sweetened alcoholic liquor flavored with fruit, spices, nuts, herbs, or
seeds. Typically Liqueurs are flavored
with nuts, herbs, spices and/or seeds while cordials are flavored with fruits.
COCKTAIL: originally a
mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters, the more modern defines a
cocktail as one or more spirits mixed with one or more mixers.
*VODKA: a colorless liquor
of neutral spirits distilled from a mash (as of rye, wheat or potato)
LIQUOR: a usually
distilled rather than fermented alcoholic beverage
MIXOLOGIST: the art or
skill of preparing mixed drinks
***
http://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/food/distilled-blended-liquors
