Frïs Vodka is reportedly “relaunching” the brand in the US. I have no idea what that means since the method of making the vodka appears to be the same as before. What we do get, though, is a nifty new bottle. Fris already had quite a unique bottle design. That was one of the reasons I first bought Fris so many years ago. The new bottle design is just as interesting as the old bottle.
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Skyy is making its TV debut. According to everything I can find, this is Skyy’s first TV ad. It’s been on the docket for a week or more, but I couldn’t find a YouTube version of the ad until now. Sadly, I’m not impressed. I think the high water mark for vodka advertising is Absolut. With ads by notable artists such as Andy Warhol, it’s really difficult to compete. Sadly, Skyy just doesn’t.
Drink Spirits shared what I consider to be a great alternative to beer for vodka drinkers called Air, short for Alcohol Inspired Refresher. The down side of vodka is that it’s easy to go too far. Beer has a relatively low alcohol content, so it takes a fair amount to get a buzz going. Plus, vodka isn’t quite as portable as beer out of the box. Air is a 4% ABV “malt beverage” that is
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Over at Liquor.com, Dushan Zaric tells you how to drink vodka. He suggests the types of vodkas to use in different scenarios. The Yugoslavian-born writer does make another interesting point: However, the liquor was never created for mixing—it was intended to be a food spirit. Just as wine in southern Europe was developed to be enjoyed with meals, so were the vodkas of northern Europe, where grapes didn’t grow easily. In the US, it’s far
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We’ve been hearing a lot about new vodka start ups and micro distilleries. We recently posted on Industry City Distillery’s unique processes. We’ve recently been informed of Heartland Distillery, makers of Indiana Vodka, and it seems there are more micro distilleries coming out of Kansas, Chicago, and even North Carolina. The common thread is a small number of people focusing on making exceptional vodka. Unfortunately, unless the vodka is made in your area, it may
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Over at Reuters, Kara Newman describes her experience with spicy vodka in Kiev, Ukraine. A long standing tradition in the Ukraine, she calls their hot vodka, such as honey pepper and horseradish, the first flavored vodka. Bartender Yuriy Sokiryan suggests that helps Ukrainians have more sophisticated tastes. We’ve reviewed National Vodka’s Horseradish and Pepparo, but couldn’t see ourselves drinking it straight all the time (well, maybe the Pepparo, which had a pepper in the bottle).
According to an article at The Economic Times, India’s youth are taking a liking to vodka. India is likely to witness accelerated levels of growth in sales of liquor in tier II and tier III cities as companies are focusing on retail channels like bars, restaurants and pub joints across these towns apart from huge investments in infrastructure, supply chain, bottling facilities etc. which will also open employment avenues, ASSOCHAM says. With neat molecular mixology
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Harpers reports that Zubrowka is getting a branding reboot. The premium rye vodka from north-east Poland will be targeted at 25 to 40-year-old “authenticity-seeking drinkers” with a new look based on the illustrations of artist Kristjana S Williams. Sounds a bit like Absolut Elyx, huh?
The latest big-deal flavor is Stoli’s Salted Karamel. The Huffington Post wrote up their thoughts on the vodka, and included a few tweets from the public. Apart from making fun of the spelling of “caramel” (all Stoli products have stylized spellings), there is an undertone of disdain for the flavored vodka trend. Today, I found out my new go-to cheap vodka, New Amsterdam, is releasing a few flavors and I was a little put off by that.
Continue Reading Has the Flavored Vodka Trend Peaked?
The New York Times has a followup article called “Learning from Tito’s Vodka.” I have been asked in the past about what “features” a vodka should have to be successful. I think this quote from the article sums up everything: Be authentic: Don’t try to be something you’re not. Deliver a good product and the market will find you. Tito’s wasn’t a Russian vodka and it didn’t come in a sexy bottle. It took time,
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