I approach tasting flavored vodkas with, in the words of my favorite author, Hunter S. Thompson, “fear and loathing”. Actually, it’s more like a crap shoot since you never know if you’re going to get something incredibly great or something incredibly horrible or possibly something somewhere in between. By this writing, I have taste driven almost 100 different flavors of vodka, and I have to admit that some are pretty darned tasty if not at least interesting but the few that were putrid beg to ask the question: what in the hell were they thinking?
UV now makes 27 flavors of vodka, with such interesting varieties as Sriracha, Whipped, Candy Bar, Chocolate, Espresso, Cake, Coconut and now Salty Caramel Apple. They must hold the most interesting focus groups at their HQ. Their chocolate and whipped vodkas are actually pretty good and surprisingly good when mixed together – go figure.
Let’s see which category this Salty Caramel Apple falls into. The nose immediately reminds me of cotton candy and then settles into caramel, apple and salt, just as advertised. The mouth feel is syrupy and thick and the green apple, caramel and salt come through in that order. The finish is smooth yet sweet with the salt coming in first followed by green apple and then the caramel and lasts for a good amount of time. While I wouldn’t go so far as to recommend it as a standalone sipper, it would add interest to a mixed drink made of some club soda or possibly whipped cream or cranberry juice as a counter point to the sweetness.
Perversely, I like the combination of sweet and salty, as I really like the combination of chocolate and potato chips. The green apple in this vodka adds a third dimension of tanginess and works pretty well with the other two flavors. I do believe younger drinkers in their 20’s might really go for this sweet, salty, tangy vodka.
At between $11.99 to $13.99 per 750ml bottle, this vodka is a real bargain; just remember that it contains 30% ABV or weighs in at 60 proof.
By George Brozowski