Cake, candy-inspired vodkas are all the rage

By Bailey Shiffler/McClatchy Newspapers

FORT WORTH, Texas - First came the popular fruit-flavored vodkas. Then came the sweet-tea vodka craze.

Now, liquor store shelves are lined with bottles of sweet, dessertlike vodkas.

Whipped cream. Cupcake. Cookie dough. Even gummy-bear flavor.

These latest bakery- and candy store-inspired incarnations would likely make your grandfather spit out his martini.

Sylvia Cosmopoulos, a corporate mixologist for Republic National Distributing Co., says the trend mirrors one seen in the culinary world: with specialty cupcake stores invading cities, s'mores popping up on restaurant menus and cake pops serving as the go-to party favor, sweets have never been so chic. Cocktails, Cosmopoulos says, are simply following suit.

“I preach to consumers that (we) as Americans love sweets, and the liquor industry is looking to capitalize on that fascination,” says Cosmopoulos, who has worked to help develop the beverage programs of Texas restaurants such as Monty's Corner, Blue Sushi Sake Grill and Blue Mesa.

Pinnacle and Three Olives are two vodka makers that have pioneered the craze. Pinnacle's flavor portfolio includes cake, chocolate whipped, cookie dough, cotton candy, marshmallow, whipped cream and whipped key lime. Three Olives brings loopy (think Kelloggs' Froot Loops breakfast cereal), root beer and chocolate, among others, to the flavor mix.

Distillers boast that the vodkas can stand alone served over ice, or they can be mixed with liqueurs and other ingredients for dessert-inspired sips.

The vodkas are flying off local liquor-store shelves, said one local store manager, who rightly figured out we looked a little overwhelmed on a recent visit and pointed us to his most popular sweets-flavored vodka, Pinnacle Whipped (whipped cream).

Shawn Horne, owner of the new restaurant Monty's Corner in Fort Worth, says the influx of flavored vodkas allows bartenders and mixologists to maximize creativity, again, mirroring the free range that chefs and bakers are allowed.

“I think with all the products out there, it makes mixology that much more fun,” Horne says. “It creates new creative outlets for our bartenders.”

Horne says the dessert-inspired creations are - as one might predict - most popular with women, with the just-turned-21 crowd lured by the drinks that don't have the overpowering taste of alcohol.

Cosmopoulos agrees.

“The target for these flavors is the millennial generation, aged 21 to 32,” she says. “Marketers consider them the most influential, and it is this group seeking new flavors at the bar and looking for adventure in their cocktail.”

Here are some drink recipes that probably could take the place of dessert at your next dinner party.

Key lime martini

Makes 1 drink

Graham cracker

2 ounces Pinnacle Cake vodka

1 ounce Rose's lime juice or fresh lime juice

1 ¼ ounces fresh cream

1. Crumble graham cracker and rim a 10-ounce martini glass with crumbs.

2. Shake vodka, lime juice and cream, then pour into glass.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 232 calories, 9 grams fat, 5 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 31 milligrams cholesterol, 25 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 77 percent of calories from fat.

Source: Bar 9, Fort Worth, Texas

Breakfast martini

Makes 1 drink

2 ounces Three Olives Loopy vodka

1 ounce Coole Swan Irish cream liqueur

1 ounce milk

1. Shake vigorously with ice and strain into martini glass

Nutritional analysis per serving: 230 calories, 5 grams fat, 7 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 39 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 55 percent of calories from fat.

Source: Sylvia Cosmopoulos, Republic National Distributing

Carrot cake martini

Makes 1 drink

1 ½ ounces Three Olives Cake vodka

½ ounce Bols Butterscotch schnapps

½ ounce Carolans Irish Cream liqueur

5 raisins, muddled in shaker

1 ounce milk

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon

1. Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into martini glass

Garnish idea: Rim glass with cheesecake frosting from a can, a few raisins and sprinkle brown sugar.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 197 calories, 3 grams fat, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 27 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 43 percent of calories from fat.

Source: Sylvia Cosmopoulos, Republic National Distributing

Strawberry shortcake

Makes 1 drink

1 ½ ounces Three Olives Cake vodka

½ ounce Carolans Irish Cream liqueur

2 strawberries, muddled in shaker

3 ounces milk

1. Shake over ice and strain into martini glass or tall glass.

Garnish idea: Whipped cream and a strawberry sliver

Nutritional analysis per serving: 186 calories, 4 grams fat, 8 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 6 milligrams cholesterol, 55 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 44 percent of calories from fat.

Source: Sylvia Cosmopoulos, Republic National Distributing

Monty's red velvet martini

Makes 1 drink

2 ounces Pinnacle Whipped vodka

1 ounce Irish cream liqueur

1 ounce cherry juice

½ ounce cream

1. Shake vigorously with ice and strain into martini glass with chocolate on the rim

Nutritional analysis per serving: 283 calories, 8 grams fat, 14 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 12 milligrams cholesterol, 31 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 53 percent of calories from fat.

Source: Monty's Corner, Fort Worth, Texas