Popular drinks come and go and nearly each and every one of them has a story behind them. If you’ve wondered what is Pink Whitney and what does Pink Whitney taste like, this article will tell you what you need to know. Yet you might also want to know what to mix with Pink Whitney and which ingredients to avoid if friends want to ask- is Pink Whiney Gluten Free.
What is Pink Whitney?
If you’ve ever heard of the E. & J. Gallo Winery, you most certainly have heard of Ernest and Julio Gallo. These were the two innovators behind one of America’s best-selling wine coolers Bartles and Jaymes. Well, these were the early days of the rise of wine coolers which were a little more than a status symbol that lasted from 1984 to the early 90s. If you remember Van Halen, The Bangles, and Gary Numan, chances are you remember these iconic wine coolers.
However, in 1991, the US government placed a heavy excised tax on wine that went from 17 cents a gallon up to over one dollar and 7 cents per gallon. This ended an era of wine coolers and a major switch to the next big thing. This in turn allowed malted drinks such as Zima and Delicia malt liquor to become the standard go-to ghetto alternative. Delicia was created by E. & J. Gallo Winery and appealed to inner-city hipsters in 2012.
This was an attempt to create a new kind of malted liquor wine drink that is actually malted like beer. The result is a fruity mixture of alcohol that can be rather unpredictable. Just like malt liquor exposure to sunlight will cause the natural sugars to increase the alcohol content and create a monster of a drink called Jungle Juice. Once again, if you don’t know your history too well, this was the official drink used to burn and loot most of downtown L.A.
However, the L.A. riots of 1992 are a long way from civility and mostly long-forgotten. In 2011, a new generation of E. & J. Gallo Winery was behind the creation of New Amsterdam liquor products that are a near carbon copy of their previous malt brewed fruit liquors. Pink Whitney is a vodka that’s infused with pink lemonade. It also comes from the New Amsterdam line of vodka drinks which all contain lemonade and added sugars.
This story all started with a famous NHL hockey star Ryan Whitney who retired in 2015. He joined with another NHL ex-player Paul Bissonnette to create a podcast program called ‘Spittin’ Chiclets’ on the Barstool Sports Podcast. This radio station-style show was an immediate success that led many NHL players and guests to discuss the highs and lows of playing ice hockey.
In 2018, New Amsterdam was interested in becoming a sponsor of the program and helped to organize a show where these two hockey pros talked about their favorite drinks as an ice-breaker (so to speak). Keep in mind this was all to help promote New Amsterdam and their relatively new products that had only been around for 7 years. When it came time to ask Ryan what his favorite drink mixer was, he responded that he was fond of mixing pink lemonade and vodka.
Now, perhaps this sounds a bit too convenient, but consider that a professional NHL hockey player that likes pink lemonade vodka is about as probable as college loan debt being canceled. Not only was Ryan’s choice of drink a big shock, he further confessed that everyone should try this combo before giving it any second thought. And being that Ryan is a tough-as-nails NHL player, perhaps a sincere part of his story was his love for pink lemonade as a kid.
Well, it didn’t take too long before fans of the show started posting pictures of their mixed drinks with pink lemonade and vodka. Perhaps this might be one moment where the true fans of Ryan Whitney came out in full support to show their empathetic side. This was further explored online with lots of talks that discussed the idea of an actual drink that combined these two ingredients.
No more than one year later, a deal was struck that announced that New Amsterdam would begin producing Pink Whitney which finally hit the market in 2019.
Is Pink Whitney gluten free?
New Amsterdam claims that they have a 5-step distillation process that removes gluten from their vodka. Sadly vodka is made from grains and isn’t so easy to remove from the alcohol, even after re-distillation is repeated five times.
What is for certain is that 95% of the main ingredient used to make their vodka is corn and 5% are cereal grains. New Amsterdam refuses to give any information on what kinds of grains these are or if they also contain gluten.
Removing the gluten from alcohol is not an easy task, New Amsterdam claims to be using 5 separate distillation passes and 3 separate filtrations. Another problem comes from the flavors that are added which include the pink lemonade flavors that cannot be confirmed have gluten or not. Those who are very sensitive to gluten or have celiac disease are advised to not drink Pink Whitney without making a gluten test beforehand.
What to mix with Pink Whitney?
Many additional flavors can turn pink Whitney into a cocktail simply by choosing the right mixer. You can add Sprite, cola, and other carbonated soft drinks that add a different layer of flavor that can complement this flavored alcoholic mixture. It’s been common for cola including Coke or Pepsi pair well with citrus flavors and always go well with vodka anyway.
Lighter bubbly drinks including ginger-ale and Sprite are good choices since these aren’t muddying the waters very much. Fruit juices will also work great when pineapple juice, lemonade, grapefruit, cranberry, and lime juice all have a satisfying tingle from using real fruit flavors. There is also a suggestion of using energy drinks, but pairing these with vodka can cause one heck of a hangover when caffeine drinks and vodka together.
Pink Whitney nutrition facts
There is not a lot of information out there about the nutritional facts of Pink Whitney, but the most known ones are:
| Nutrition facts | Pink whitney |
|---|---|
| Units | 1 Shot (1.5 ounces) |
| Calories | 100 |
| Total Fat | 0g |
| Sodium | 0mg |
| Carbohydrates | 6.6g |
| Protein | 0g |
| Sugars | 6.6g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0g |
| Alcohol | 30% ABV |
| Calcium | 0mg |
| Iron | 0mg |
| Potassium | 0mg |
What does Pink Whitney taste like?
If you’ve ever tried a lemon drop martini, this is what Pink Whitney tends to taste like. This is a combination of sweet and tart flavors that you’ll experience with pink lemonade with a clean citrus finish. You can still taste the vodka that does have a kick if you aren’t familiar with the natural burn of vodka that’s 60 Proof. For most Europeans, 30% alcohol by volume isn’t shabby and could be considered strong liquor.
Pink Whitney is similar to the types of sugary drinks that Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor used to serve. The pink lemonade at Farrell’s was delightfully sweet and tart, but obviously, the Green River soda was much better. This cocktail version is made using Midori Melon liquor and ginger-ale mixed 50/50 in a cup.