Rosé Vodka Is Here, Just in Time for Valentine's Day
If every Friday night you ask yourself: "Should I have a glass of rosé or a vodka soda?" then we have great news for you. Hangar 1 combined your two vices into rosé vodka, meaning all of your cocktails can be millennial pink and you can have rosé shots all day (well, maybe don't). The latest iteration of the trend brings a little summer to the dead of winter, hitting stores today (February 1) for $32.
Unlike Wölffer Estate's rosé gin, Hangar 1's rosé vodka actually tastes like rosé. When we sipped some straight, it was "less sharp than a standard vodka" and had an "appealing roundness of flavor with a bit of crisp fruitiness and floral notes." It goes down smooth with a faint bubblegum-like aftertaste, and has more body than a lot of vodka we've tried. The best description is that it tastes exactly like it sounds: rosé with higher proof from vodka, or vodka watered down slightly with rosé.
Hangar 1 head distiller Caley Shoemaker used grapes and grains to distill the vodka and combined it with a blend of Northern California Petit Verdot and White Meritage wines for a "full-bodied, flavor-forward vodka inspired by the Bay Area." It took a little time to find the right blend with a local winery, but the result was a smoother vodka with a vibrant color. "It smells like Burnett's pink lemonade vodka and tastes... pink," remarked one Bon Appétit staffer. But definitely much better than anything we drank in college.
Rosé vodka can make "the most basic vodka soda," a higher proof rosé-Aperol spritz or frosé, spiked lemonade at a picnic, or a shot that doesn't burn going down. Also ideal for a Bachelor-watching drinking game during rose ceremonies, or as a last-minute Valentine's Day gift when all the actual roses are sold out.
