Toast to new spirits
Pour flavored vodkas to spike your Halloween cocktail
Americans are obsessed with options. It's not enough to have five types of cereal. We want 50. And especially when it comes to our libations, we want something that suits our taste to a T.
Over the past half-decade or so, the trend of flavored vodka has blossomed into a market saturated with fruit, herbs and candy. The liquor is suited to alteration. With a clean palette profile some people find harsh, flavors take to vodka like a college kid to a kegger. They tone down its sharpness, leaving just enough liquor flavor lingering under a cornucopia of other tastes.
(Supplied photo)
Some creative vodka lovers dont stop at buying flavored vodka. They infuse plain vodka with tastes to suit their desires. Some use herbs, such as rosemary or saffron, while others use fruit.
People at backyard barbecues have been doing this for years, using vodka to saturate watermelon.
Here is a look at another method, infusing vodka with Skittles candy, courtesy of www.mixthatdrink.com.
Materials:
One 1.75 liter bottle of vodka
Five 8.5 ounce glass flasks
One 1 pound bag of Skittles
Five empty plastic water bottles
A funnel
Bowls to separate Skittles into flavors
A measuring cup
Coffee filters or paper towels
Separate Skittles into flavors, with a goal of 60 for each flavor.
Fill water bottles with 6 ounces of vodka each.
Pour each flavor group into its own vodka bottle until all five bottles have a pile of Skittles soaking in the vodka.
Shake well. Allow the Skittles to soak for several hours, or overnight. Sediment will float to the top.
Place the funnel inside the measuring cup, and place three or four coffee filters inside the funnel. Strain each flavor separately until all solid matter is removed.
Pour completed vodka into its own flask and chill.
Serve chilled, over ice, or mixed with cola, lemon-lime soda or fruit juice.
Some have adulterated vodka so far that die-hards shake their heads and highball glasses over what they see as a diminishment of a fine drinking experience. Consider Bakon, a bacon-flavored vodka.
Others extol these variations as inventive, and just the thing to mask the taste of cheaper varieties. Some flavors also reduce the need for mixers. Again consider Bakon, and its potential in a bloody Mary.
Whether sweet or savory, flavored vodka seems here to stay. Here are some of the more inventive options, and recipes with which to enjoy. Perhaps the 2010 James Bond will place his order as such: "A martini, shaken, not stirred. Oh, and use pomegranate vodka."
Somewhere, Ian Fleming is rolling over in his grave.
Crystal Head Vodka
Created by Dan Akroyd, this is super-premium, quadruple distilled, triple crystal-filtered vodka.
The Cranium
1 1/2 oz. Crystal Head Vodka
Cranberry juice
Grenadine
Hanger One Chipotle Chile Infused Vodka Alchemist Series #3.
This vodka is constructed in stages. First, Hangar One Vodka is steeped for several days with chopped fresh jalapenos and Fresno chili peppers. Then it's filtered and redistillled. The process is repeated with individual infusions of smoked jalapenos, habaneros and bell peppers. The resulting vodka offers smoky aromas and peppery flavors. Hangar One offers several other intriguing flavors, including wasabi and lime.
Savage Delight
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. maple syrup
1/2 oz. Hangar One Chipotle vodka<
1 1/2 oz. Hangar One Straight vodka
Dash angostura bitters
Shaken, served up in a cocktail glass.
Recipe created by Lara L, at Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge, Alameda, Calif., and courtesy of www.hangarone.com.
Hearts On Fire
3/4 oz. Hangar One Chipotle Vodka
1 1/2 oz. St. George Heirloom apple brandy
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/1 oz. grenadine
Shake ingredients with ice and fine strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.
Recipe created by Jacky Patterson of Heaven's Dog, San Francisco, and courtesy of www.hangarone.com.
Van Gogh EspreXXO Ultimo 19/90
Van Gogh Vodka claims its spirits are works of art worthy of the man who graced us with "Starry Night." Perhaps most attractive for those addicted to affecting beverages is the XXO Ultimo 19/90. It combines 19 milligrams of caffeine and 90 proof vodka in a bottle to drool over. It's perfect for people who want an kick with their drink, but can't stand the candy flavor that accompanies Red Bull and other energy drinks. The company offers several other flavors, including black cherry. More recipes are at www.vangoghvodka.com.
Grim Reaper
1 ounce Van Gogh EspreXXO 19/90
1 ounce white chocolate liqueur
4 ounces Guinness
Mix vodka and liqueur in a shot glass. Pour Guinness into a pint glass. Drop shooter into pint glass and consume immediately.
Dracula's Kiss
2 ounces Van Gogh Black Cherry Vodka
2 ounces cola
1/4 ounce grenadine
Fill highball glass with ice. Pour in vodka, fill with cola, sink grenadine and serve.
Sobieski Vanilla
Sobieski Vodka's Web site says a heck of a lot about the company: www.truthinvodka.com. The Poland-based company espouses the belief that good vodka need not cost and arm and a leg. It reflects this conviction in bottle prices less than $15. "Spending too much on vodka is so 2008," the company says. The company, which leads vodka sales in Poland, dips its toe into the flavor category this season with Sobieski Vanilia and Sobieski Cytron. It offers a calorie-conscious recipe, with more at the Web site.
The Polished Princess
1 1/2 ounces Sobieski Vanilia Vodka
5 cranberries
Pinch pumpkin spice
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup
1 egg white
In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle the cranberries and spice in the simple syrup and lemon juice. Then add remaining ingredients and dry shake. Then add ice and shake again. Strain into chilled martini glass and add a few floating cranberries for garnish.