Cake- and candy-inspired vodkas are all the rage
FORT WORTH, Texas — First came the popular fruit-flavored vodkas. Then came the sweet-tea vodka craze.
Now, liquor store shelves are lined with bottles of sweet, dessertlike vodkas.
Whipped cream. Cupcake. Cookie dough. Even gummy-bear flavor.
These latest bakery- and candy store-inspired incarnations probably would make your grandfather spit out his martini.
Sylvia Cosmopoulos, a corporate mixologist for Republic National Distributing Co., says the trend mirrors one seen in the culinary world: with specialty cupcake stores invading cities, s'mores popping up on restaurant menus and cake pops serving as the go-to party favor, sweets have never been so chic. Cocktails, Cosmopoulos says, are simply following suit.
"I preach to consumers that (we) as Americans love sweets, and the liquor industry is looking to capitalize on that fascination," she says.
Pinnacle and Three Olives are two vodka makers that have pioneered the craze. Pinnacle's flavor portfolio includes cake, chocolate whipped, cookie dough, cotton candy, marshmallow, whipped cream and whipped key lime. Three Olives brings loopy (think Kelloggs' Froot Loops cereal), root beer and chocolate, among others, to the flavor mix.
Distillers boast that the vodkas can stand alone served over ice, or they can be mixed with liqueurs and other ingredients for dessert-inspired sips.
The vodkas are flying off liquor-store shelves, said one store manager in Texas, who rightly figured out that we looked a little overwhelmed on a recent visit and pointed us to his most popular sweets-flavored vodka, Pinnacle Whipped (whipped cream).
Shawn Horne, owner of Monty's Corner, a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, says the influx of flavored vodkas allows bartenders and mixologists to maximize creativity, mirroring the range that chefs and bakers are allowed.
"I think with all the products out there, it makes mixology that much more fun," Horne says. "It creates new creative outlets for our bartenders."
Horne says the dessert-inspired creations are — as one might predict — most popular with women, with the just-turned-21 crowd lured by the drinks that don't have the overpowering taste of alcohol.
Cosmopoulos agrees.
"The target for these flavors is the millennial generation, aged 21 to 32," she says. "Marketers consider them the most influential, and it is this group seeking new flavors at the bar and looking for adventure in their cocktail."
Here are some drink recipes that probably could take the place of dessert at your next dinner party. Each recipe makes one drink.
RECIPES
Strawberry shortcake
1½ ounces Three Olives Cake vodka
½ ounce Carolans Irish Cream liqueur
2 strawberries, muddled in shaker
3 ounces milk
Shake over ice and strain into martini glass or tall glass.
Garnish idea: shipped cream and a strawberry sliver
From Sylvia Cosmopoulos, Republic National Distributing
Monty's red velvet martini
2 ounces Pinnacle Whipped vodka
1 ounce Irish cream liqueur
1 ounce cherry juice
½ ounce cream
Shake ingredients vigorously with ice and strain into martini glass with chocolate on the rim
From Monty's Corner, Fort Worth, Texas
Carrot cake martini
1½ ounces Three Olives Cake vodka
½ ounce Bols Butterscotch schnapps
½ ounce Carolans Irish Cream liqueur
5 raisins, muddled in shaker
1 ounce milk
Sprinkle of ground cinnamon
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into martini glass.
Garnish idea: Rim glass with cheesecake frosting from a can, a few raisins and a sprinkle of brown sugar.
From Sylvia Cosmopoulos, Republic National Distributing
Key lime martini
Graham cracker
2 ounces Pinnacle Cake vodka
1 ounce Rose's lime juice or fresh lime juice
1¼ ounces fresh cream
Crumble graham cracker and rim a 10-ounce martini glass with crumbs.
Shake vodka, lime juice and cream, then pour into glass.
From Bar 9, Fort Worth, Texas
Breakfast martini
2 ounces Three Olives Loopy vodka
1 ounce Coole Swan Irish cream liqueur
1 ounce milk
Shake ingredients vigorously with ice and strain into martini glass.
From Sylvia Cosmopoulos, Republic National Distributing
This story was originally published August 8, 2012 at 11:59 AM.