Dukes makes a variety of interesting sweet vodkas. Dukes Sweet T Raspberry vodka is vodka infused with sugar and raspberry tea. At 40% alcohol by volume, this vodka makes no compromises for the flavor.

Dukes Sweet T vodka, like the rest of the Dukes line, is made in Auburndale, Florida. Like Dukes Sweet T vodka, the raspberry version is, of course, made with tea. It has the same allure as the sweet tea vodka to this Southerner.

The Shot

Dukes Sweet T Raspberry vodka, like Dukes Sweet vodka and Dukes Sweet T vodka, is very sweet. The raspberry flavors are very strong. The bitters are stronger with the raspberry flavored mix, but, like the sweet vodka, they only stick around for a half second before the raspberry and tea aftertaste washes back through the mouth. Of the three, this is the worst to drink straight, but it is really great by itself.

The Mixed Drink

I mixed Dukes Sweet T Raspberry with Simply Lemonade, as I did with Dukes Sweet Tea vodka. This wasn’t as strong of an entry as it was for the regular Dukes Sweet T. The lemonade comes off a bit better with competing with the raspberry flavors. It is still a good cocktail and very easy drink. As with Dukes Sweet vodka, I’d check their website to find the best cocktails to sample.

Opinions

I gave Erin a taste of straight Dukes Sweet T Raspberry vodka. She said it tasted like cough syrup and scoffed at it. Given the lack of an available easy mixed drink, she avoided it the rest of the time. This may be a little too sweet for most people, especially given the way Dukes thickens when cold.

Daniel tried a shot of Dukes Sweet T Raspberry. He felt the sweet flavors may have been too much. He thought, like the rest of Dukes, that it went down smooth enough. Daniel also drew the cough syrup analogy. He thought the other offerings from Duke were better.

I personally liked the flavor of the vodka straight. As with the Dukes Sweet vodka, I’d rather drink this straight. The flavors are good enough that I’m happy with it as it stands. Like the rest of the Dukes line, grab a bottle as soon as you can. These are great entries in the flavored vodka category.

Rated 4 out of 5.