What Actually Goes Into Flavoured Vodka? (The Good, The Bad, and The Frankly Weird)

Picture this: you're standing in the vodka aisle, confronted by an alarming rainbow of bottles promising everything from "wild berry fusion" to "salted caramel dream" to something called "birthday cake blast" that definitely shouldn't exist but somehow does.

You pick up a bottle of raspberry vodka. The label shows beautiful, dewy raspberries. The liquid inside is an unnaturally vibrant pink that no raspberry in nature has ever achieved. You turn the bottle around to read the ingredients, and that's when things get interesting.

Or rather, that's when you realise the ingredients list is either suspiciously vague or reads like someone's GCSE chemistry coursework. Either way, you're left wondering: what am I actually about to put in my body?

Welcome to the wild world of flavoured vodka, where not all bottles are created equal, and some of them contain things that would make a food scientist weep quietly into their lab coat.

The Three Types of Flavoured Vodka

Before we dive into the ingredients horror show (and it will be a horror show), let's establish that there are basically three ways to make flavoured vodka:

1. The "Real Deal" Method

This involves taking actual, real ingredients, fruit, herbs, spices, things that grew in the ground or on a tree, and infusing them into vodka. It's the method humans have been using since someone accidentally left fruit in their alcohol and discovered it tasted quite nice.

This is how Dutch Barn does it, because we're not monsters. Real apples become real vodka, and any flavouring comes from actual ingredients you could theoretically grow in your garden (if you were industrious and had excellent agricultural skills, which, let's be honest, you probably don't).

2. The "Natural Flavouring" Method

This uses "natural flavours," which sounds wholesome until you realise that "natural" is doing some seriously heavy lifting in that phrase. Yes, the flavour comes from something that was once alive, but it's been processed so heavily that its own mother wouldn't recognise it.

The raspberry flavour might come from raspberries, or it might come from beaver anal glands. Yes, really. Look up "castoreum" if you want to ruin your day.

3. The "Science Experiment" Method

This uses artificial flavourings, which are chemicals created in a lab to taste like something they're not. It's the vodka equivalent of those jelly beans that taste like popcorn, impressive in a terrifying way, but you're not entirely sure you should be eating them.

What "Natural Flavours" Actually Means (Spoiler: It's Complicated)

Let's talk about that "natural flavours" phrase that appears on about 70% of flavoured vodka bottles.

In the UK and EU, "natural flavouring" means the flavouring substance must come from natural sources, plants, animals, microorganisms, or minerals. So far, so good, right?

Here's the catch: that natural source can be processed, extracted, distilled, refined, and generally messed about with until it bears almost no resemblance to the original ingredient. The "strawberry flavour" in your strawberry vodka might technically come from something natural, but it probably didn't come from an actual strawberry.

It could come from:

• Bark
• Roots
• Leaves
• Flowers
• Other fruits entirely
• Things you definitely don't want to know about (see: beaver situation above)

The flavour chemist's job is to recreate the taste of strawberries using whatever natural compounds they can find that, when combined, trick your brain into thinking "strawberry." It's like creating a cover band that sounds exactly like the original, but none of the musicians are the ones you actually wanted to see.

Artificial Flavours: When Nature Just Isn't Weird Enough

If natural flavours are the cover band, artificial flavours are the tribute band made up of robots.

Artificial flavours are synthesised in a laboratory from chemical compounds. They're designed to mimic natural flavours but are created entirely from scratch, like some sort of culinary Frankenstein's monster.

The good news: artificial flavours are generally safe (they're heavily regulated) and can be more consistent than natural flavours.

The less good news: you're basically drinking chemistry, and while chemistry is fascinating, it's not necessarily what you want to contemplate while enjoying a cocktail.

Common artificial flavouring compounds include:

• Ethyl maltol (sweet, caramel-like)

• Vanillin (vanilla, but fake)

• Isoamyl acetate (banana flavour that tastes more "banana" than actual bananas)

• Benzaldehyde (cherry/almond, also found in bitter almonds and can be toxic in large amounts, but don't worry, the amounts in your vodka won't kill you. Probably.)

The Ingredients Label Decoder Ring (When You Can Find One)

Here's the thing: in most markets, vodka bottles don't actually have to list their ingredients. The UK and EU don't require full ingredient disclosure on alcoholic drinks, which means many producers don't bother telling you what's actually in the bottle beyond "vodka" and maybe an alcohol percentage.

This lack of transparency makes it difficult for consumers to know whether they're getting real fruit or laboratory creations, natural ingredients or artificial colours, and how much sugar is hiding in there.

When brands do provide information (either on the label, their website, or in marketing materials), here's how to interpret what they're telling you:

"Made with real fruit"

This sounds promising, and sometimes it is. But the devil's in the details. Are they using real fruit juice, real fruit during distillation, real fruit concentrate, or just a tiny amount of real fruit alongside artificial flavourings? Without full disclosure, it's hard to know.

"Natural flavours"

As discussed earlier, this could mean anything from actual fruit maceration to heavily processed compounds extracted from tree bark. It's technically natural, but that's doing a lot of heavy lifting.

"Natural and artificial flavours"

At least they're being honest. This means they're using a combination of real ingredients and laboratory-created compounds to achieve their flavour profile.

Nothing at all

Many vodkas, particularly in markets without disclosure requirements, simply don't tell you. The lack of information isn't necessarily a red flag (some excellent vodkas don't list ingredients) but it does make it impossible to know what you're drinking.

The Dutch Barn approach: We're transparent about using real fruit and spices in our flavoured vodkas, along with natural concentrates and juices where they help us achieve consistent, delicious flavours. Our Ginger Spiced, for instance, contains pressed ginger juice and lime juice, real ingredients that create real flavour.

The Colour Situation

Let's talk about why some flavoured vodkas are neon colours that would make a highlighter pen jealous.

Real fruit infusions tend to produce quite subtle colours. Strawberries give you a pale pink. Blueberries might give you a purple-ish tint. Raspberries produce something vaguely pinkish.

If your vodka is the colour of a traffic cone, someone has been adding things. Specifically:

Artificial colours like Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5, these are synthetic dyes that make your vodka look "more appealing" (debatable) and "more like the fruit" (absolutely not).

Natural colours from things like beetroot extract, turmeric, or butterfly pea flower. These are better than artificial colours, but they're still added to make the vodka look more interesting than it naturally would.

Dutch Barn vodka is crystal clear, as vodka should be. Some of our flavoured expressions have natural colour from the distillation process or from the real fruit juices and concentrates we use, but our traditional vodka is as clear as it gets, no artificial colouring, no nonsense.

Sugar: The Flavour Enhancer

Here's something that might surprise you: some flavoured vodkas contain added sugar, and that's not automatically a bad thing.

Vodka itself doesn't naturally contain sugar, it's fermented and distilled, which removes the sugar. But in flavoured vodkas, small amounts of sugar can be added to enhance and balance the flavours, making them more rounded and enjoyable.

The key word here is "enhance." Quality producers like Dutch Barn use small amounts of sugar to bring out the natural fruit and spice flavours, creating a more complete taste experience. It's the difference between tasting raw cranberries versus cranberry sauce, a touch of sweetness makes the flavour pop without masking anything.

The problem is when cheap vodka producers use excessive sugar to mask harshness from poor base spirit or artificial flavourings. If your flavoured vodka tastes like syrup, that's a red flag.

How to spot this:

• Check the nutritional information if provided (though in the UK, alcoholic drinks aren't required to show full nutritional info, which is convenient for some producers)

• If it tastes overwhelmingly sweet rather than balanced, there's probably too much sugar

• Quality flavoured vodkas taste primarily of their flavouring (fruit, spice, etc.) with subtle sweetness, not like liquid candy

The Preservatives Question

Vodka, being high-proof alcohol, is naturally quite good at preserving itself. Bacteria can't really survive in 40% ABV, which is one of vodka's many charming qualities.

However, some flavoured vodkas, especially cream-based ones or those with real fruit particles, might contain preservatives like:

• Potassium sorbate

• Sodium benzoate

• Sulphites (especially in grape-based products)

These are generally safe (unless you're allergic, in which case they're very much not safe), but they're another thing that wasn't in your vodka until someone decided to add it.

How Flavours Are Actually Added

There are several legitimate ways to add flavour to vodka, and quality producers often use multiple methods depending on the desired result:

Distillation with botanicals Some flavours are achieved by adding ingredients during the distillation process. The botanicals or fruits are placed in the still, and their essential oils and flavour compounds are carried over with the alcohol vapours, infusing the spirit naturally.

Maceration/Infusion This involves steeping real ingredients (fruits, spices, herbs) directly in the vodka for a period of time, allowing the flavours to transfer naturally. Think of it like making a very alcoholic tea.

Natural juices and concentrates High-quality producers use real fruit juices or concentrates made from actual fruit. For example, Dutch Barn's Ginger Spiced contains pressed ginger juice and lime juice added after distillation, giving it authentic, fresh flavour. Our other flavoured vodkas use real fruit and spices, with some natural concentrates to ensure consistency.

Artificial or "natural" flavourings This is the shortcut method, adding laboratory-created or heavily processed flavour compounds. It's faster, cheaper, and more consistent, but arguably less authentic.

The best flavoured vodkas often use a combination of these methods to achieve complex, balanced flavours. Dutch Barn uses distillation, maceration, and real juices depending on which technique works best for each specific flavour we're creating.

The Weird Ones: When Flavoured Vodka Goes Rogue

Let's take a moment to acknowledge some of the frankly bizarre flavoured vodkas that exist:

Bacon vodka – Because apparently, someone looked at breakfast and thought, "You know what this needs? To be alcoholic and room temperature."

Birthday cake vodka – Contains what the label calls "natural and artificial flavours" which definitely don't include actual birthday cake, because birthday cake isn't a natural ingredient, it's an achievement.

Pickle vodka – For when you want your bloody Mary to taste like a jar of gherkins had an identity crisis.

Buttered popcorn vodka – This exists. We can't explain it. We're not sure anyone can.

Salmon vodka – Yes, really. From Alaska. It apparently tastes like smoked salmon. The real question is: why?

What goes into these? Honestly, we're afraid to ask. The ingredients lists are either mysteriously vague or read like a chemistry exam gone wrong. Either way, they're proof that just because you can flavour vodka with something doesn't mean you should.

How to Spot Quality Flavoured Vodka

Right, after all that horror, here's how to identify flavoured vodka that won't make you question your life choices:

Short ingredients list – If you can't pronounce half the ingredients, that's a red flag waving frantically at you from across the room.

Clear about its source – "Made from apples" is better than "made from premium grains" which is better than "made from stuff, probably."

Actual fruit mentioned specifically – "Infused with raspberries" is better than "berry flavour" which is better than "red flavour experience."

No neon colours – Unless the fruit is naturally neon (spoiler: it isn't), someone's been creative with the E-numbers.

Reasonable price point – If it's suspiciously cheap, corners have been cut. Those corners are usually in the "real ingredients" department.

The Dutch Barn Difference (Yes, We're Going There)

Look, we're biased. We make the stuff. But here's why Dutch Barn vodka is different:

We make our vodka from a unique combination of apple and potato spirit, something only we do, to our knowledge. The base is majority apple (made from 100% British apples), which gives natural smoothness and subtle fruit character, balanced with a touch of redistilled potato spirit that brings a creamy mouthfeel to the vodka.

This isn't just about being different for the sake of it. Apples and potatoes both bring specific qualities to vodka, and by combining them, we get the best of both worlds: the clean, smooth character of apple-based spirit with the luxurious, velvety texture that potato spirit provides.

Our production process uses both a modern column still and a traditional pot still with rectification columns, giving us precise control over the distillation and allowing us to create a vodka that's pure and clean whilst retaining character.

For our flavoured vodkas, we use real fruit and spices, combined with natural juices and concentrates where they help us achieve the best flavour. Our Ginger Spiced, for example, contains pressed ginger juice and lime juice added after distillation, real ingredients creating real, vibrant flavour.

We add small amounts of sugar to our flavoured vodkas not to mask anything, but to enhance and balance the natural fruit and spice flavours, creating a more complete drinking experience.

No mysterious "natural flavours" that could be anything from bark to beaver glands. No artificial colours making the vodka look radioactive. No excessive sugar masking cheap base spirit. Just quality ingredients, skilled production, and a refreshing lack of chemicals that sound like they belong in a science fiction novel.

The Bottom Line

Not all flavoured vodka is created equal. Some of it is made with real fruit, traditional methods, and genuine care. Some of it is made with natural flavours that are "natural" in the most technical sense possible. And some of it is made with things that would make a chemistry teacher cry tears of either joy or horror, depending on their moral stance on artificial flavouring.

The good news is that labels are getting better, people are asking more questions, and brands are (slowly) being more transparent about what goes into their bottles.

The even better news is that some brands (like, hypothetically, Dutch Barn) have been using real ingredients all along because we're not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. We're just trying to make decent vodka that tastes good and doesn't require a chemistry degree to understand the ingredients list.

So next time you're in the vodka aisle, confronted by that rainbow of bottles promising berry blasts and cream dreams and flavours that shouldn't exist, take a moment to read the label. Your body will thank you. Your taste buds will definitely thank you. And you'll have the smug satisfaction of knowing exactly what you're drinking, even if that knowledge is occasionally horrifying.

Now if you'll excuse us, we need to go check our apples haven't been replaced by a laboratory experiment overnight. You never know these days.

Cheers (to real ingredients),

The Dutch Barn Team

(Using actual fruit since always, avoiding beaver glands since forever)