Valentine's Day: Time to think, drink pink
So why should we be surprised that he adroitly launched ‘Pinky’ vodka in India just ahead of Valentine’s Day?
By Reshmi R Dasgupta, TNN |
NEW DELHI: You���ve got to hand it to Dr Vijay Mallya, the dude knows how to catch those eyeballs. From his solitaire diamond ear tops to the flying women-in-red to India���s first F1 team. So why should we be surprised that he adroitly launched ���Pinky��� vodka in India just ahead of Valentine���s Day? He has his timing down pat: he bought the US-based parent company for a mere $3 million last September but bided his time before debuting the Swedish-blended Pinky.
Nor could it have been better timed for vodka is still the haute-est liquor, and this one���s a cool shade of pink too. And despite the rather Punjabi-nickname moniker, it comes in a trendy container that looks like a big perfume bottle, and apparently is ���redolent of flowers and fruit...a bouquet of violets, rose petals, wild strawberries and other botanicals...���
This ���pink��� idea has struck a lot of marketers this Valentine���s Day across the world. Practically every champagne worth its froth has an interesting ���pink��� avatar for the season, like the limited edition Piper-Heidsieck Ros�� Sauvage by Viktor & Rolf for $90 whose label is shocking pink! Even Moet & Chandon showcased the favourite salmon pink choice, Rose Imperial, in frosty pink tulips in Mumbai and Delhi on the last two pre-Valentine���s Day weekends.
But if vodka is the new champagne and pink means love, it���s not surprising that besides Pinky, several vodka distilleries are thinking pink, if not in colour, then literally in spirit! In the 19th century, Poland had vodkas flavoured with the essence of roses; a modern version is now available as Wyborowa���s Dzika Rose, using the natural essences of wild roses, violets, cherries and jasmine. And garagiste US vodkamaker Modern Spirits has offered Rose Petal Artisanal Vodka for Valentine���s ���08.
Wyborowa and Modern Spirits��� vodkas are pink in essence only, though, not hue. Lanique Rose Petal Vodka liqueur, also from Poland, on the other hand, is actually bright pinky-red in colour! But the closest pink vodka at hand in India besides Pinky is that sexy club crawler, X-rated Fusion Liqueur, the pink ���fusion��� of French premium vodka, blood oranges, mangos and passion fruit...
The ���pink��� vodka that seems to have made people sit up in the west, however, isn���t pink in anything but name ��� P.I.N.K. ��� and a becoming blush on the bottle. Its ���sit-up��� factor is the inclusion of caffeine and guarana in the $40 Dutch vodka, which packs the equivalent of the rush given by vodka and Red Bull! Now that���s something that lovebirds can look forward to besides Pinky ��� even after Valentine���s Day.
Nor could it have been better timed for vodka is still the haute-est liquor, and this one���s a cool shade of pink too. And despite the rather Punjabi-nickname moniker, it comes in a trendy container that looks like a big perfume bottle, and apparently is ���redolent of flowers and fruit...a bouquet of violets, rose petals, wild strawberries and other botanicals...���
This ���pink��� idea has struck a lot of marketers this Valentine���s Day across the world. Practically every champagne worth its froth has an interesting ���pink��� avatar for the season, like the limited edition Piper-Heidsieck Ros�� Sauvage by Viktor & Rolf for $90 whose label is shocking pink! Even Moet & Chandon showcased the favourite salmon pink choice, Rose Imperial, in frosty pink tulips in Mumbai and Delhi on the last two pre-Valentine���s Day weekends.
But if vodka is the new champagne and pink means love, it���s not surprising that besides Pinky, several vodka distilleries are thinking pink, if not in colour, then literally in spirit! In the 19th century, Poland had vodkas flavoured with the essence of roses; a modern version is now available as Wyborowa���s Dzika Rose, using the natural essences of wild roses, violets, cherries and jasmine. And garagiste US vodkamaker Modern Spirits has offered Rose Petal Artisanal Vodka for Valentine���s ���08.
Wyborowa and Modern Spirits��� vodkas are pink in essence only, though, not hue. Lanique Rose Petal Vodka liqueur, also from Poland, on the other hand, is actually bright pinky-red in colour! But the closest pink vodka at hand in India besides Pinky is that sexy club crawler, X-rated Fusion Liqueur, the pink ���fusion��� of French premium vodka, blood oranges, mangos and passion fruit...
The ���pink��� vodka that seems to have made people sit up in the west, however, isn���t pink in anything but name ��� P.I.N.K. ��� and a becoming blush on the bottle. Its ���sit-up��� factor is the inclusion of caffeine and guarana in the $40 Dutch vodka, which packs the equivalent of the rush given by vodka and Red Bull! Now that���s something that lovebirds can look forward to besides Pinky ��� even after Valentine���s Day.
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