Vodka and Other Spirits

Vodka and Other Spirits: Four Flavoured Vodkas and Seven More Bottles

This collection holds eleven bottles. Four are flavoured vodkas: Black Forest Wild Vodka, Blood Orange Vodka, Cara Mia! Caramel Vodka and Sour Cherry Vodka. The other seven run from absinthe to tequila: Absinthe Green, Amaretto Almond Liqueur, Andalusian Sherry Cream, CasaAñejo Calaita Tequila, Nussino hazelnut chocolate liqueur, Nussler Nut Spirit Drink and Sambuca. If you came here for a plain, unflavoured vodka, this is not the page for it: every vodka listed here is flavoured. You must be 18 or over to buy alcohol from us.

The Four Flavoured Vodkas

Vodka is a clear distilled spirit made up mainly of water and ethanol, sometimes carrying traces of impurities and flavourings, as Wikipedia's vodka entry sets out. That near neutral base is the whole point of a flavoured vodka: there is little in the spirit itself to fight what has been added, so the flavour named on the label leads.

The four here are:

• Black Forest Wild Vodka, which takes its name from the Black Forest.
• Blood Orange Vodka, the blood orange bottle of the four.
• Cara Mia! Caramel Vodka, flavoured with caramel.
• Sour Cherry Vodka, flavoured with sour cherry.

We do not publish tasting notes for these on this page. The fruit or flavour named on the bottle is the flavour you are buying. Flavoured vodka is usually served very cold and neat, lengthened with soda or tonic over ice, or used as a cocktail base in place of plain vodka.

The Other Seven Spirits, and How They Are Usually Served

Absinthe Green

Absinthe Green is an anise flavoured spirit derived from several plants, among them wormwood, anise and fennel. It is traditionally bottled at high strength and normally diluted with water before drinking. Pour iced water slowly into the glass and the drink clouds: that milky opalescence is called the louche, and it happens as the anise oils come out of solution. Wikipedia's absinthe entry covers the ritual in full.

Sambuca

Sambuca is an Italian anise flavoured liqueur. The traditional serve is con la mosca, Italian for "with the fly": a shot with a single coffee bean floating in it. A shot served with seven coffee beans stands for the seven hills of Rome.

CasaAñejo Calaita Tequila

Añejo is a regulated designation rather than a marketing word. Under tequila's category rules an añejo must be matured in white oak barrels of no more than 600 litres for at least twelve months, where a blanco is bottled with no ageing, or under two months. That puts CasaAñejo Calaita Tequila at the aged end of the scale. Aged tequila is more often sipped than mixed.

Amaretto, Andalusian Sherry Cream, Nussino and Nussler

Amaretto Almond Liqueur is an almond liqueur, usually served over ice or stirred into coffee. Andalusian Sherry Cream takes its name from Andalusia in southern Spain. Nussino is a hazelnut chocolate liqueur, and Nussler Nut Spirit Drink is a nut spirit drink.

Refills from the Cask in Our Stamford Shop

vomFASS pioneered the refill concept in 1994, and spirits are part of it. Bring an empty vomFASS spirit bottle into our Stamford shop in Lincolnshire and we will refill it from the cask. The name explains the idea: "vom Fass" is German for "from the barrel". The model started in Germany and has now served the United Kingdom for over 30 years. Our shop information page has the details.

Where This Collection Sits in the Range

Vodka and Other Spirits overlaps with our Gin & Vodka collection: all four vodkas are listed in both, alongside the gins. If you would rather taste before committing to a full bottle, our sample sets include taster sets built from 40ml measures. For the flavour without the alcohol, our alcohol alternatives collection covers zero and low alcohol bottles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is in the Vodka and Other Spirits collection?

Eleven bottles. Four are flavoured vodkas: Black Forest Wild Vodka, Blood Orange Vodka, Cara Mia! Caramel Vodka and Sour Cherry Vodka. The other seven are Absinthe Green, Amaretto Almond Liqueur, Andalusian Sherry Cream, CasaAñejo Calaita Tequila, Nussino hazelnut chocolate liqueur, Nussler Nut Spirit Drink and Sambuca.

Are the vodkas flavoured or plain?

All four are flavoured. Vodka is made up mainly of water and ethanol, sometimes with flavourings, and that near neutral base is what lets the flavour named on the label lead. If you want a plain, unflavoured vodka, this collection does not have one.

What does añejo mean on a tequila label?

Añejo is a regulated designation. Under tequila's category rules an añejo must be matured in white oak barrels of no more than 600 litres for at least twelve months, where a blanco is bottled with no ageing at all, or under two months of it.

How is absinthe traditionally served?

Absinthe is traditionally bottled at a high strength and is normally diluted with water before it is drunk. Pour iced water slowly into the glass and the drink clouds. That milky opalescence is called the louche, and it happens as the anise oils come out of solution.

Can I refill a vomFASS spirit bottle?

Yes. Bring an empty vomFASS spirit bottle into our Stamford shop in the UK and we will refill it from the cask. vomFASS pioneered the refill concept in 1994.

Still deciding? The sample sets are the low commitment way in.