Like Jeffrey Morgenthaler I really dislike Vodka on general principle; it’s Gin without pants on wearing tighty-whiteys, a party no one shows up for, a bar with flourescent lighting, and only people who think Greedo shooting first and replacing the Force-Ghost of Anakin at the end of RotJ with that Rat-tailed¹ assface was an improvement should drink it.² I recently read a book that said bascially, take any drink using vodka, replace it with gin, and you’ll have a much improved drink. And generally, I agree (except for the Moscow Mule – gin just makes it fussy).

So, all that being said and now that you and I understand one another, when a marketing firm, distributor, or producer contacts me with a request to try a sample, and it’s vodka, I usually decline. However, with ‘Pinky’ vodka, that it’s infused with roses and violets along with other botanicals caught my attention, especially given my pursuit, capture, and subsequent love of Creme de Violette anything with violet overtones was welcome.

As with most tasting features here, I’ll break it into three parts; nose, neat tasting, and mixing:

Nose/Aroma: Pinky vodka comes across as very aromatic and floral. The concentration I found to be mainly in the violet/general flowery area more than specifically rose and it’s very pleasant if not particularly deep or complex. There’s a heavy and sweet quality to the smell and it’s certainly has far more character than most vodkas and seems it’s not afraid of making itself known in a drink.

Neat Tasting: This is much more dry than I expected from its smell. I was taken aback by how subtle, but lasting, the flavor of the floral bouquet was. It’s very clean and the floral tones hang around a long time, dominated by rose and then a general floral taste on the verbenia side of the spectrum. Very nice, but it made me realize that Pinky vodka won’t muscle itself over any cocktail it’s used in. Unlike G’Vine gin, which uses grape flowers to create a very heavy floral tone and overpowers most drinks in which it’s used, Pinky vodka is more like a vodka that will bring its character to a cocktail in much more accented ways. So, it’s a vodka that will blend nicely, but could also be easily overpowered. And, with that consideration I started experimenting³ .

Mixing: Joana and I discussed the flavors typically used with rose in cooking and generally associated with rose petals and rose hips and struck upon light fruitiness, chocolate (it was Valentine’s Day after all) and nuts. And, given the name ‘Pinky Vodka’, my mind immediately went to Pink Gin and replacing the Angostura bitters with Peach Bitters (Fee Brothers).

Pinky and Peach

• 2 oz Pinky Vodka
• 2-3 dashes peach bitters (used Fee Brothers)

Fill an old fashioned/rocks/lowball glass with ice and build the drink in the order given.

Yeah, ummmmm, this is drinkable but only just. Yeah, the peach and rose come together very very nicely but it’s just too damned dry and thin in flavor to go anywhere. A start, certainly, but a bad one. It was pretty though!

So, onto better things, thinking we might need to take a different tack after that peach-laden disaster. Ok then, let’s go the nutty route. There’s a recipe in The Joy of Mixology called the ‘Russian Walnut Martini’ that consists of vodka, walnut liqueur (which i seldom get to use), and dark creme de cacao which would incorporate the nut and chocolate pairing we thought the floral of Pinky vodka might accent wonderfully.

Russian Walnut Martini

• 2 oz vodka⁴
• 1 oz Nocello walnut liqueur
• 1/2 oz dark creme de cacao

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad drink, and I’d like to see how it goes off in the original non-Pinky version, but at least with Pinky I can say that it never quite melds and comes together the way you’d like it to. The Cacao and Nocello are a very tight squeeze but with their richness against the Pinky vodka’s light, but distinctive, tones they sort of just sit and mock the vodka like it’s trying to get into the car and they’re the asshole buddies who keep scooting it forward as it reaches for the handle; the liqueurs just don’t play nice in this one.

So, back to the drawing board and, incidentally, back to the peach concept; it had enough potential for me to want to give it another go, but this time with a more cocktail-based approach in ratios. This one came off very well.

Peachy Keen

• 3 oz Pinky Vodka
• 1 oz Peach Schnapps⁵
• 2-3 dashes peach bitters (use Peychaud’s if Peach is unavailable)
• Champagne (preferably in the Brut-to-Extra Dry family)

Shake all ingredients, except champagne, and strain into a cocktail glass. Top wth champagne and garnish with a sugar or cinnamon-sugar rim or a peach/cherry flag.

The first iteration of this was missing something and adding the final touch of champagne really pulled it together and added effervesence along with a dry edge that it needed. Everything blended very well with the floral and peach combining to create a very spring-like touch to the whole arrangement. Nothing got lost and the bitters and Pinky Vodka add a complexity that’s necessary to keep this from being a chain restaurant’s ‘Peach-a-tini’ exercise in annoyance.

Pinky Vodka impressed me with its ability to ride the edge of being a vodka that’s easily mixed with many other ingredients versus being simply an infused clash of sweet, citrus, and cheap into a drink. It’s subtle but flavorful and could easily be featured in many different drinks to add additional character and complexity: just not the Russian Walnut Martini. For those of you reading in Oklahoma it’s supposed to arrive here eventually so keep an eye out for it; you’re sure to notice it as the packaging and bottle are striking in their classy and retro feel (it looks like Trump Vodka’s well-bred, far less gauche, and highly embarrassed sister – man that Trump bottle is horrible).

Now I’m off to shave with the straight razor Joana bought me for Valentine’s Day along with a life insurance policy. Wish me luck!

Pinky and Peach Rating:
Russian Walnut Martini (modified) Rating:
Peachy Keen Rating:

1. yes, I know it’s a Padawan hair braid people – please don’t write me concerning this [↩]
2. ok, maybe I shouldn’t go to THAT extreme [↩]
3. sure, I could just try a couple of recipes from the packaging, but where’s the fun in that?! [↩]
4. calls for Stolichnaya in the original [↩]
5. creme de peche would be too sweet in this application [↩]