Are consumers bored of flavoured vodka?

Two renowned bartenders get involved in the great flavoured vodka debate – has the category had its day or is there still room for innovation?

We ask two esteemed bartenders to offer their views on the controversial flavoured vodka category

As vodka producers release ever-more weird and wacky flavours and general vodka sales have begun to slide, commentators have questioned whether the category has become cannibalised.

Recent figures have suggested that the rapid rise of flavoured vodka in the US, which has given birth to fantastical flavours such as bacon, salmon and cake, may now be coming to an end.

However, some bartenders claim such spirits allow for greater cocktail experimentation, others claim the category has been taken too far.

Opinion is divided in the industry, and the question remains, how are consumers bored of flavoured vodka?

We put two noted bartenders – Sam Fish, general manager at Mojo Bar in Leeds and Chris Edwardes, owner of at Hidden Bar in Ibiza – head to head in the debate.

Which of our judges do you agree with? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Sam Fish – general manager, Mojo Bar, Leeds

“Flavours like salted caramel and chocolate are taking the category too far.”

I do agree that certain types of flavoured vodka definitely have a place in the market, but brands get carried away somewhat on styles and flavours, making themselves unmarketable.

Flavours like salted caramel and chocolate are taking the category too far. I just don’t see the point as, to me, those flavours just don’t serve a purpose in the cocktail world.

They seem like gimmicks to me, put in a nice bottle for people to display on shelves or put in a liquor cabinet but with no real purpose. Just putting something in a fancy bottle and making it look nice doesn’t necessarily mean it should be on the market.

It all just seems a bit daft in my opinion because it’s not the kind of thing we as bartenders would mix; it wouldn’t go in a classic like a vodka and coke.

Generally, I do think there’s a place for fruit flavours such as raspberry and citrus as they are easily mixed and work really well. We had mango flavour in the bar and it just completely bombed, nobody really wanted it. There’s not really a serve that goes with it; people don’t want mango vodka and coke. It just always does very poorly, even when we try to push it.

On the contrary, raspberry and citrus flavours do very well for us. I think if people want a flavour to go with their alcohol they will drink a whisky or gin. Vodka drinkers drink it because you’re not getting much flavour with the spirit.

I’m not like the majority of bartenders in that I do actually enjoy vodka. Bartenders never really want to push vodka as they don’t see it as an appealing spirit, but I’m not like most – I just prefer making my own flavours to go with it.

When you’re a cocktail bartender you don’t want those flavours to already be there; we want to impart that flavour ourselves, to have control over that flavour and what goes into it.

In bartenders’ minds I think it’s just something fancy to have as a mixer just in case, but it wouldn’t be something I would focus on cocktail-wise at all. I think they might even make it too easy as the flavours are already there and, for me, there’s nothing exciting or inspiring about that.

Chris Edwardes – owner, Hidden Bar, Ibiza

“It gives you a much better taste and option for flavours when making cocktails.”

Vodka was huge in the 90s when everyone wanted fruity drinks to mask the taste of the alcohol. It’s such a neutral flavour to put in a concoction. People generally tend to prefer gins, Tequila and Bourbon if they want a product with lots of flavour.

So on that basis, I think flavoured vodka is far more exciting as it gives you a much better taste and option for flavours when making cocktails.

In terms of flavoured vodkas, last year I had a Polish bartender work for me and when he went back to Poland one time for a wedding he came back with eight or nine amazing Polish flavoured vodkas. I specifically remember one that was meat flavoured, which was just incredible.

The best flavoured vodkas are made with macerated fruits or herbs, so the flavours are really distinctive. It also means the product isn’t too sweet.

Quite a lot of the cheaper versions of are made with essences – flavours that have been created artificially rather than with natural fruit or herbs, and this is when the quality lessens.

I would only use flavoured vodka that has been very well made and, like the majority of bartenders, I like to create my own flavours rather than buying flavoured products as a general rule.

As long as you’re using a good quality flavoured vodka and using it well, then I see it as merely one part of a creation that you have to balance with your other flavours – much the same as you would have to do if you were using another spirit such as gin, Tequila or rum. Cocktails have moved so rapidly since the 80s and 90s; now we have many amazing professionals creating drinks that taste of alcohol but within that they’ve used other flavours to compliment. Flavoured vodka is capable of this.

I’m not surprised flavoured vodka has declined recently. It’s not because it’s out of fashion; it’s because people aren’t pushing it. I think it’s a natural decline that follows the upsurge in popularity of gin, specifically, and mezcal as something else that consumers are going to drink. But it will always be there – don’t write it off – it will keep coming back.