Head Towards The Light

            Are they producing these increasingly more exotic offering to further the ambitions of professional mixologists and aspiring cocktailians? If so, then thanks, but we're completely set down here. We hardly have back bar space for the brands we already carry.

            Also, and I hesitate to mention this, but a few of us are old enough to remember a time before flavored vodkas, when in order to create a specific flavor profile in a cocktail we reached for the real deal and resorted to using fresh products. If we wanted to work with a particular flavored spirit we created it ourselves in jars on the back bar.

            Additionally, I don't think consumers are still clamoring for more shades of vodkas. To the contrary, most of the people I talk with express hope that the trend is waning. Even some market shrinkage would be okay. Consumers and retailers are getting a glazed look in their eyes at the mere mention of the topic.

            On the positive side, it's been a fabulous ride. The growth and assimilation of flavored vodkas into the marketplace has been a boon to the ongoing evolution of cocktails. It has provided enthusiasts and aficionados highly imaginative products with which to work, sip, discern and discuss. (Hangar One or Domaine Charbay? Both? Pith or not pith?)

            Ah, but the situation has drifted a wee bit past that point. Wouldn't you agree? :

            "What flavored vodkas do you carry?"

            "Lady, tonight we've got kiwi, watermelon, cantaloupe, caramel, vanilla, coconut, ginger, wasabi, cinnamon, apple, prickly pear, mint, citrus, orange, pineapple, peach, pomegranate, green tea, mango and tangerine."

            "Oh, that's a shame, I was hoping for something in the geranium family. Well, ta ta."

            To those who feel their back bar may be getting overburdened with flavor, here are some survival tips:

            • Be Discriminating -- Sort through your vodkas by class and set about conducting a few horizontal tastings within the same flavor profile. Invite guests and staff to participate in the process. It's the independent operator's version of a focus group. The favorites make the cut; runner-ups get their walking papers. The end result will be a back bar loaded with spirits your staff, clientele and you can believe in and invariably creates more room on your back bar. That's always a good thing.

            • Check the Blueprints -- How are you using the flavored vodkas you currently stock? Every product should be an integral ingredient in several of your specialty cocktails, or be considered a candidate for elimination. If it's a worthy product, one that the staff wants spared, you'll need to get it some more playing time in your drink program.

            • Gin, The Original Flavored Vodka -- If you're a devotee of crafting cocktails--luscious, classically structured cocktails--then prepare to pay homage to the original flavored vodka, gin. Certainly, if you redistill pure grain spirits (i.e. vodka) with an infusion of botanicals and fruit zest, the result is gin; a supple, character-laded spirit with personality and flavor to spare. The delectable twist is that each major label of gin is made according to a creatively unique recipe that can't be duplicated. When you hold a bottle of gin it's genuinely a singular entity. Just a thought.