WEST OCEAN CITY Liquor, I
am new to this rodeo and so much
of it intrigues me. Maybe it's be-
cause college was 20 years ago for
me or maybe it's because I live in a
wine barrel, but I had no idea of the
extent of flavored vodkas that exist.
Reading my inventory list you
would think that I own a Dessert
Shop. Cake, Whipped Cream, Car-
amel Apple. Cookie Dough. Obvi-
ously, I have not tried them all, but
that surely would make for an inter-
esting day at work.
Thanks to vodka giants, such as
Pinnacle, Smirnoff and Three Olives,
there has been a tsunami of ludi-
crous flavors unleashed over the
past couple of years. In fact, flavored
vodkas more than doubled their
share of the U.S. market from 2007
to 2012. Consider Gummi Bear, Fruit
Loops, Cotton Candy and Rainbow
Sherbert, I kid you not. These are
flavors I laughed at when I ordered
them for the shop and still chuckle at
when I see them on the shelf.
Plain vodka, is just that, plain,
clear and essentially
odorless. It can be
made from all sorts
of things, corn, pota-
toes, rye or even su-
gar. It's not difficult
to come up with fla-
vors that come from
fruit, herbs and spic-
es and shove them
in the bottle to infuse the taste. This
was being done in homes and bars
way before they became marketed
products.
We are a long way from that now.
Flavors and smells are created in labs
and sold to distillers to add to their
vodkas during the production pro-
cess. It is highly likely that no whipped
cream was ever poured into a still.
So what's the driving force here
of flavored vodka? It could be tied to
health and diet trends considering
that we can cut calories by eliminat-
ing the need to add sugary mixes to
our favorite cocktails.
What do we make, then, of vod-
kas that taste of marshmallow, whip-
ped cream, bubble gum, fruit loops
or cola? Who are these products try-
ing to attract? I am of the generation
that loved the Slurpee machine.
Maybe we as Americans just like
things light, sweet, fruity and fun.
Another thought would be that
we are easily thrilled by the magic of
something new. Of the flavors I
have tried, they are remarkable.
The newest kid on the block here
is Cinnabon Vodka. As Pinnacle de-
clares, "this is a vodka designed to
celebrate the lip-smacking indul-
gence of America's best-known
food-court sweet ..." Would anyone
drink it on a regular basis? No. But
who eats Cinnabons on a regular
basis and a one-ounce pour of the
vodka has about an eighth of the
amount of calories.
Either way, let's raise a glass to
having our cake and drinking it, too.
Sara Hambury
Special To The Dispatch
(The writer is the co-owner of the
West-O Bottle Shop and this col-
umn is a musing on the world of
wine and spirits and their life influ-
ences.)
Raise Your Glass!
January 17, 2014
Page 45
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
SARA HAMBURY
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