Hubby and I just discovered vanilla flavored vodka. I read in a magazine that it’s now fashionable, in upscale restaurants, to order a “dessert cocktail” instead of dessert. One of the more popular ones, according to the article, is vanilla flavored vodka mixed with root beer schnapps and topped with whipped cream. Well, my dietary restrictions don’t allow for anything as sweet as schnapps, but I got thinking. . .why not vanilla vodka and diet root beer? So we tried it. And we liked it. And I like the vodka with Diet Pepsi Vanilla.
So, have you tried the vanilla flavored vodka? Do you like it? What do you like to mix it with?
I like to make a shot called Chocolate cake. Its Frangelico and vanilla vodka. You coat an orange wedge with sugar, down the shot and suck the wedge. Tastes identical to a bite of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
Ginger ale or cream soda go well with vanilla vodka. I also like it mixed with grenadine for a shot I call “strawberry shortcake,” but that might be too sweet for you.
This probably won’t matter to you, but it might be entertaining. The mystique and attraction of Stolichnaya Vodka was built on the original, straight stuff, and whatever legendary taste it has. After the Soviet Union came apart, another distillery began making cheap knockoffs. Counterfeit Stoli. The original Stolichnaya folks took it to court. The outcome was this: The upstarts had to agree not to sell straight vodka under the trademark, but they’re allowed to make flavored vodkas with the purloined name.
I’m not a vodka purist, myself. Those with a cultured palate, though, would probably tell you, “If you’re not buying the real Stolichnaya, you might as well be swilling Dark Eyes.” It doesn’t matter to me. I’m not into vodka.
I’m not really into vodka either, and never even tried the flavored ones before; the vanilla just appealed to me, because I tend to like things on the sweet side, but since I don’t do sweets anymore, things I’ve always liked, like Bailey’s Irish Cream or Kahlua were out of the question. When we first tried it, we tried a miniature of Absolut Vanilla, to see if we liked it. When hubby went back to buy a full-size bottle, the Absolut and the Stoli were the same price, and the clerk at the liquor store said the Stoli was better. We do like it marginally better, but for mixing, I think they’d be comparable.
