Bartenders are ’embracing vodka again’

As bartenders’ appetite for innovation grows and consumer taste becomes ever more refined, vodka is transforming its reputation from a cocktail list workhorse to a go-to spirit for the sophisticated drinker.

Vodka-based drinks often encourage consumers to make their first foray into cocktails

In February the cocktail community mourned the passing of Dick Bradsell, a pioneer in the formation of London’s cocktail scene and the creator of a wealth of modern classic cocktail serves, most notably the vodka-based Espresso Martini.

Now, more than 20 years since Bradsell first served up the iconic drink at the request of a famous, unnamed model, vodka is often found clinging to speed rails and cocktail lists with a certain anonymity – accepted as a straightforward revenue driver, with experimental activity reserved for bolder spirits.

“The old adage ‘vodka pays the bills’ still holds true,” Elliot Ball, co-founder of the Cocktail Trading Company in London, explained. “We’ve always positioned our house vodka in cocktails to be in a visually-appealing vessel, partly to drive sales, and partly because the drinks in question were always high-margin, enabling us to sell other products or drinks at a lower profit without shipwrecking the business.”

An astute decision, which goes a long way towards encouraging consumers to make their first foray into cocktail drinking – as Jack McGarry, managing partner of New York’s Dead Rabbit, attests, “Bartenders have this complex about using vodka because of the ‘disco drinks’ era of the 1980s and 1990s, and indeed the early 2000s. But vodka, and vodka drinks, are perfect for what I call ‘gateway cocktails’ – introductory cocktails for the cocktail novice and indeed for the connoisseur.”

And once they’re in cocktail territory, savvy imbibers are proud of their personal drinks repertoire. As bars strive to accommodate this relatively new-found drinks identity, a revival of appreciation has hit the back bar, bringing elegant, subtle, stripped back vodka cocktails such as the Martini to the fore.

The spirit has also had its fair share of innovations – more recently for its fat-washing and infusing potential, beside its supreme mixability with homemade shrubs and delicate tinctures.

“I’ve noticed that people, after having indulged in various cocktail and spirits fads, have come back to look at vodka in a new light,” said East London Liquor Company’s Mikey Pendergast.

“It’s a little like the bartenders’ girl next door: people are starting to realise they’ve been overlooking vodka’s finer points and now don’t only see it as a blank canvas upon which they can throw all the fruit purée they possibly can. They’re starting to appreciate the subtle and important flavours and negative space certain grains and fermentation can create.”

Going further

Not only is the spirit shaking off the tired ‘flavourless’ and ‘boring’ labels it accrued in the 90s; it’s also being recognised for its efficiency in developing the flavour spectrum of other spirits.

“Vodka can help unpack flavours in complex, difficult spirits and liqueurs, like Malört or fernet, without reducing their capacity to carry flavour,” said T Cole Newton, owner of LA bar Twelve Mile Limit. “Certain flavour molecules are only soluble in solutions of high enough proof. Sometimes you don’t want to change a flavour, you just need to stretch it out a little.”

In spite of ‘flavour fatigue’ cries, which have long-echoed across the category, Newton believes flavoured expressions – particularly the new wave of true-to-taste variants – have practical uses in “serious mixology”, too.

“Think of flavoured vodkas like single-botanical distillates,” he added. “They can make excellent modifiers for other base spirits. I’m not saying that you should dedicate half of your back bar to flavoured vodka, but having one or two carefully curated flavours for specific purposes is a good choice.”

There’s no doubt that versatility is vodka’s middle name – and despite jostling with gin on global bar gantries, it’s clear that the bartending elite believe the category is vital to cocktail innovation.

The future looks bright for vodka in the cocktail sphere

Chris Edwards, co-owner of London bars The Shrub and Shutter and First Aid Box, believes vodka lends itself particularly well to the ongoing trend towards savoury, herbaceous cocktails. “Obviously the Bloody Mary has a long history, but twists on this, as well as the more floral, vegetal or meaty and seaside concepts, work really well.”

Edwards says “at least 20%” of the cocktail menu in his bars are vodka-based, and he plans to increase this over the coming months. “The more it’s available, the more it’s talked about – it’s just usually shunned on menus, so people end up ordering gin.”

This can be for a number of reasons – but the overall consensus is that many brands place too much emphasis on their marketing strategy. Franky Marshall, beverage director of New York’s Le Boudoir, believes the key to engaging bartenders lies not in marketing, but in the product itself.

“I think education, as usual, is key. The more bartenders know about production methods, provenance, ingredients, unique stories, etc., the more informed decisions we can make about what we like and don’t, and the more we can help to educate our guests,” she says.

“Some brands have been very savvy by hiring respected, high-profile bartenders to visit their distilleries and to work with them. Those associations can definitely be helpful.
“It never went away in the mainstream, but the cocktail community is much more comfortable with itself and is embracing vodka again.”

According to Ball, vodka’s place in cocktails is now increasingly “for its benefits, rather than its existence”, a trend which has gone a long way in reinstating the spirit’s credentials with the bar community. “Bartenders, when they’re actually out for drinks, don’t snob away from it quite as much now,” he adds.

Bouncing back

With the bartending elite back on board, what does the future hold for vodka cocktails? Myles Donneky, UK brand ambassador for Grey Goose, believes that as consumers become more educated, their drinking habits will evolve naturally to further boost vodka’s standing as the go-to cocktail choice.

“Recently consumers are getting real access and education in the art of mixed drinks,” Donneky says.

“As this continues, families of cocktails will become a lot more defined and you’ll see a journey of cocktails for certain times of the day and night – similar to a starter, main and dessert in a restaurant.

“This will be reflected in vodka cocktails especially – perhaps a Martini as an apéritif, an Espresso Martini as a dessert cocktail. You wouldn’t go to a restaurant and just order ice cream, so why would you go to a bar and just drink one serve all night?”