“A Refreshing Blend of Premium French Vodka, Exotic Fruit Juices and a touch of Cognac”
My friend Marie suggested I blog about this one next and she’s right, it’s a good choice!
The Hpnotiq mini (50 ml) is a robin’s egg blue liquid in a frosted bottle with a wide bottom that flutes up to a long, narrow neck with an attractive swirly design printed above the name. It smells like a sweet, tart fruit that I feel like I should know the name of but can’t quite remember. A sip proves I’m right, it tastes like lightly spiked fruit punch and I still can’t identify the fruit… frustrating. But it’s so easy to drink it’s hard to believe that it’s 17% alcohol, it tastes like what my youngest daughter calls a “bitch beer”.
Their website doesn’t say what exotic fruit juices they use, I’m sure it’s a closely guarded secret, but I did get a few recipes from them:
Blue Breeze
- 2 OZ. HPNOTIQ
- 1 OZ. PREMIUM COCONUT RUM
- SPLASH OF PINEAPPLE JUICE
SERVE OVER ICE IN A ROCKS GLASS.
Berry Blue
- 2 OZ. HPNOTIQ
- 1 OZ. RAZZBERRY OR STRAWBERRY VODKA
- SPLASH OF LEMON-LIME SODA
POUR OVER ICE IN A ROCKS GLASS.
Peachy Keen
- 2 OZ. HPNOTIQ
- 1OZ. PEACH SCHNAPPS
- 1OZ. PREMIUM VODKA
SERVE OVER ICE IN A ROCKS GLASS AND GARNISH WITH LEMON TWIST.
So virtually every recipe says to add the Hpnotiq to a vodka or some other alcohol with very little mixers so I’m feeling like this is more of an alcoholic mixer that you put with harder liquors??? Hmmm… Whatever, it’s really good on it’s own.
I think I’ll try it with some ginger ale. I pour in not quite as much ginger ale as there is Hpnotiq and stir it with my finger. That’s yummy! The ginger ale makes it just a hair sweeter. And now, just to mess with it a bit, I’m going to add a splash of cranberry juice. Ooooh, well that’s fascinating… The cranberry juice went from the top, where I poured it, to the bottom of the drink which gives it this pretty ombre color fading from cloudy white to a deep red. More finger-stirring makes the drink a pale reddish pink again and adds just a hint of flavor to the drink. Honestly, this is the kind of thing you could probably add any fruit flavored juice or alcohol to it and it would taste good. This liqueur would be hard to ruin I think and that makes it a fool-proof, go-to party drink.
It’s not my favorite fruit flavor and it’s more tart than sweet so it’s probably not going to be one I keep for myself but I think it will be first on my list of things I grab when I need to bring alcohol to a party for sure!
The technical bits:
Bottle Esthetics: Frosted glass, elegant design, bold letters… earns it the rating of “Attractive” and a place on my windowsill.
Scent: Fun, fruity, tart.
Viscosity: Water thin.
Taste: Tart, fruity, not much alcohol flavor.
Versatility: Very. I think you could put just about anything i this and have a great drink.
Overall Score: 7 out of 10