Happy Hour- Viniq

You can immediately tell when a new liquor comes on the market and it's marketed to women. It's always pretty, in an elegant bottle, flowery or fruity and usually light on the alcohol. The Chef and I recently stopped in a little shop we had never been in before and had a little look around. The selection was impressive, lots of different vodkas, a fairly good wine selection and a walk-in beer vault with a really nice selection of brews.

Don't try putting out a fire with THIS bottle!!

Trying to pick out a new and different cocktail was a real challenge when faced with thirty or so flavored vodkas. I'm not kidding. They had flavors of Absolut I never knew existed! Between the shelf after shelf of vodka, rum and wine I was like a kid in a candy store.

Hibiscus?? Grape and dragonfruit? I die !!!

Cherry, cranberry, acai and peach- fruit cocktail cocktail?

I took my time, considering all the options on the shelves and finally decided. I thought I was ready to go and went to collect The Chef from where he was browsing and something caught my eye. Literally just a flash of purple and I had to take a second look. Sitting on the counter was this tall, slim bottle filled with a mysterious purple liquor. I picked it up to read what it said and IT MOVED! The entire contents of that bottle instantly came alive with floating, sparkling glitter. I knew right then and there I was taking that home with me.

I would be doing you a serious disservice by showing you a picture of this bottle without you being able to see the glittery shimmer. You MUST go to the website and see it for yourself. Click HERE to see the amazing glittering bottle.

Now, let's talk about the drink. It is premium vodka, moscato and fruit. It makes a striking shot in a cute stemmed shotglass (which is how I drank mine) but would make a BEAUTIFUL martini or cocktail. I wish I had a cabinet full of mixers- I want to try this in lots of concoctions. It's 40 proof but it seems a lot stronger as a shot. It's very very fruity and is very "perfumey"- just the sort of thing I can see a bunch of girlfriends mixing up in a cocktail shaker on a Girls Night In. I couldn't really pick out any individual fruit notes but it has a very tropical flavor, maybe passionfruit or mango flavors hanging out in there. With alllll that beautiful glitter.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Happy Hour- Kinky Pink

I absolutely detest the dreaded "wine cooler." Who are they kidding, it's not wine at all and it doesn't make you "cool" one bit. Some of the other malt beverages are ok. I was a HUGE Zima fan in the 90s but of course, I was probably the only one, because they quit making it. I was so bummed.

A year or so ago I discovered Kinky, the liqueur. They make a pink and a blue version, both versions are delicious and fruity, and it's a lower alcohol liqueur so it's good for shots without caused unnecessary behavior problems (we've been there, right girls?). A couple weeks ago a friend mentioned to me that she had tried a "Kinky drink that's like Smirnoffs" so my interest was immediately piqued! I was on a mission to find it!

Of course, none of the stores near the Little Lake House had it. I was not surprised. It takes new things a while to make their way out here, if ever. Lucky for me I was able to catch a ride to a bigger store in a bigger town and Voila !!!! They had them!! I grabbed a 6 pack to sample and made my way home to tuck them safely in the cold fridge for a future happy hour.

24 hours later......I am having Happy Hour! Imagine that! These are really good !!! Fruity and refreshing, I thought they tasted a lot like pink grapefruit and mangoes. They have 5% alcohol, which is similar to a light beer, really, so they are a good summertime sipper! 

Grab some friends, some Kinky cocktails and hit the beach!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."