There was a night, maybe four or five years ago, when you were out with your friends and you noticed that someone was drinking whipped cream flavored vodka. Your initial reaction was to vomit, but you quickly collected yourself and moved on, trying your very best to forget about the whole thing.
Then, one fateful night months later, you ventured into the unknown and had your first taste of this confection-y liquor. This either won you over, or made you stay away for life.
In any case, now these crazy flavored vodkas are everywhere. They range anywhere from marshmallow to pickle to bacon to tobacco (yup). And boy, are some of them disgusting. But, almost as if the gods and goddesses of vodka have heard our pleas, it looks like Americans are starting to lose interest in these pairings.
Whereas in recent years, flavored vodkas were driving consumers to certain brands (think Pinnacle, the fifth most popular vodka in the US), now these sales have plateaued and are almost deterring consumers from indulging. This is as growth for major brands of vodka like Smirnoff and Ciroc, as well as their extensions, declines.
But where does this leave us? Well, it looks like there will be room in the liquor world for some changes. And one such change is bringing Whiskey back. Since 2006, vodka has been the highest selling liquor in these 50 states. But, not any more—whiskey is projected to hold the crown this year. And we can’t complain.
Are we surprised? Not entirely. Are we upset? Unlikely. Will we be sad to say goodbye? Definitely not.