Flavored Vodka: Which to Buy

Flavored vodka does half the work of a cocktail for you. Add one mixer and you have a drink. The trick is to buy the flavor for the drink you want to make, not the other way around.

Four kinds of flavored vodka

• Lemonade and candy flavors. Pink lemonade, whipped cream, cake. These are sweet. Pour them over ice with soda water or lemon-lime soda. Smirnoff and New Amsterdam make many of these.
• Citrus. Lemon, orange and grapefruit. These are the most useful in real cocktails. A classic Cosmopolitan uses citrus vodka, and Ketel One Citroen is a good bottle for it.
• Fruit. Pineapple, peach, mango, pear. Good with soda water or juice for easy summer drinks. Ciroc, made from grapes in France, is the brand people ask for, and New Amsterdam covers the same flavors for less.
• Botanical. Ketel One Botanicals are distilled with real fruit and herbs, with no added sugar, and they are lower in alcohol than regular vodka. Pour them with soda water if you want flavor without sweetness.

One flavor that works like a cocktail

Deep Eddy Sweet Tea vodka, from Texas, is made with real tea. Pour it over ice with lemonade and you have a spiked Arnold Palmer.

Check the strength

Many flavored vodkas are lower proof than plain vodka, often 60 or 70 proof instead of 80. The proof is on the label. If you are making drinks for a group, it is worth knowing.

If you only buy one

Buy a citrus vodka. It works in more drinks than any other flavor, from a vodka soda to a Cosmopolitan to a lemon drop. If you want plain vodka instead, read our guide to good cheap vodka.