Close Menu
Top 10

Ten flavoured expressions for National Vodka Day

As vodka maintains its position as the backbone of the spirits industry, we’ve looked to the category’s flavoured offerings to mark its national day in the US.

Brands have turned to a variety of ingredients to flavour their vodkas, from mangoes to asparagus

According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, nearly 75 million nine-litre cases of vodka were sold in the US in 2023, generating US$7.2 billion in revenue for distillers.

Being the highly mixable spirit that it is, vodka is up there with one of the preferred base spirits for cocktail connoisseurs, and an important growth driver of the category has been the continued popularity of flavoured vodkas, which now account for around 22% of all vodkas sold.

As distillers and producers turn to infusing their vodkas with natural spices, refreshing citrus flavours, fruits and other botanicals, there seems to be a flavoured vodka for every palate on the market. Here, we’ve shared 10 of our favourites.


Desi Daru Alphonso Mango

The official vodka pour of the upcoming Spirits Business Awards on 14 November, Desi Daru is a British-Indian vodka brand that scooped the Taste Master award at The Vodka Masters 2023 for its Alphonso Mango expression.

The Alphonso mangoes used in this flavoured bottling are sourced from Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, and are prized for their superior sweetness and indulgent quality.

Referred to as ‘the king of mangoes’ in India, the fruit is described as ‘the sun-yellow jewel in the crown of Desi Daru’s flavoured vodka’, and offers a tropical taste.


Absolut Vanilla

Absolut Vanilla Vodka

If you’re shaking up a round of Porn Star Martinis, this is the vodka you need in your well.

Made with natural vanilla flavour, Absolut Vanilla is said to offer notes of dulce de leche and crème brûlée, with fine caramel notes on top. Bottled at 38% ABV, it’s as versatile as a Swiss army knife, and perfect for any cocktail connoisseur that likes to experiment with contrasting flavours.


Rozél Rosé vodka

Not ready to let go of summer yet? This Rozél Rosé Vodka is a light, delicately fruity vodka inspired by the flavours of a classic Provence rosé wine, which will make you feel like you’re on a sun-drenched terrace in the south of France rather than on a rapid departure from daylight saving time.

Expect bursts of sweet raspberry, juicy peach and zesty pink grapefruit from this delicately fruity blush vodka, which pairs beautifully with a raspberry lemonade.


Black Cow English Strawberry

You can’t go wrong with strawberries and cream (just ask the organisers of Wimbledon), and this expression from English producer Black Cow harmoniously blends the two in both flavour and texture.

The brand utilises locally sourced, leftover or misshapen English strawberries that would otherwise go to waste and presses and infuses them into its Black Cow pure milk vodka to create a fresh, light spirit with the unmistakable taste of freshly-picked strawberries. Where does the cream come from, you ask? Its all about that silky, creamy vodka that has been created from the surplus whey left over in the cheese-making process of its Black Cow cheddar.


White Claw Vodka

White Claw vodka 

Last year, hard seltzer brand White Claw launched a range of premium vodkas using a ‘first-of-its-kind’ filtration process, including three flavoured expressions: Mango, Black Cherry, and Pineapple, all bottled at 30% ABV.

The launch was a response to a change in regulations that for years made vodka tasteless by law in America. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Board previously required the spirit to be “without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or colour”, and so American vodka was engineered to be ‘neutral at best’. However, in 2020 regulators changed the rules to allow for distinction.

The three flavoured vodka drinks are designed to complement White Claw’s signature hard seltzers, and are said to contain half the sugar of other flavoured vodkas.


Hot Ones

Fans of spice will enjoy this expression from New Amsterdam. The Spirit of Gallo-owned brand collaborated with YouTube series Hot Ones to create a hot pepper-flavoured vodka this summer.

Named Heat Check, the expression uses New Amsterdam vodka as its base. Its spicy notes are said to offer a blend of hot pepper flavours from deep, earthy serrano and fresno, to the fruity, bright notes of habanero. It is recommended to ‘spice up’ cocktails such as a Bloody Mary or Martini, or to be drunk on its own or as a shot.


Pod Pea Vodka

Pod Pea Vodka

While not strictly intended to be a pea-flavoured vodka, Ten Locks’ ‘planet positive’ Pod Pea Vodka is made with 100% British peas, and subsequently boasts “expressive green, grassy, leafy, lactic notes’’ on the nose, and “sweet caramel notes’’ on the palate, according to the judges of The Vodka Masters 2023, in which it won a Master medal.

Bottled at 40% ABV, the vodka is fermented and distilled just once, specifically so it retains some of the flavour of its base. And why peas? Well, aside from its flavourful characteristics, they are ”quintessentially British, growing plentifully right here in the UK”, Becky Davies, head of commercial at Ten Locks, told us when it launched in 2022.


Masons of Yorkshire Espresso Vodka

Masons of Yorkshire

Accounting for 50% of all of Masons of Yorkshires vodka sales in 2023, this Espresso vodka was launched exclusively to the on-trade last year.

Designed to tap into the popularity of Espresso Martini cocktails, it is vapour-infused with El Salvadorian coffee beans, supplied by Yorkshire roaster Rounton Coffee.


Portobello Road Asparagus Vodka

Portobello Road

Portobello Road Distillery’s Jake Burger isn’t a man shy of a bit of experimentation, so for this expression, he examined the growing demand for savoury drinks and came to the conclusion that what the world needed was an asparagus vodka.

Inspired by young wine, Beaujolais nouveau, the vodka was distilled and bottled in a matter of days from harvest. The asparagus was sourced from Portwood Farm in Norfolk, then steeped for 24 hours in British potato vodka. The result was a 42% ABV vodka laced with herbal, vegetal and slightly nutty notes, and only 600 bottles of the expression were made.

And before you ask, no, it doesn’t.


XIX Vodka Gumball Orange

In partnership with the GumBall 3000 Rally, an event that ‘unites supercars and superstars’, XIX Vodka’s first product collaboration has resulted in a limited edition Gumball Orange-flavoured vodka.

The premium spirit brand was created by British YouTube collective The Sidemen in 2022. Now, the XIX Gumball Orange is the coming together of two British brands that has resulted in a candied orange flavoured vodka and ‘a taste of the Gumball life’.

Bottled at 37.5% ABV, it is also available in a 250ml pre-mixed can for a limited time.

Related news

Luchino Vodka expands range

Sapling creates regenerative vodka

Ketel One taps Patrick Schwarzenegger as spirit advisor

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No