The reason the above photo is so blurry is because it was taken in haste a couple weeks ago while I was thinking more about Christmas dinner than I was about Carnival season. But Rouses, being the forward thinkers they are, have been preparing for some time now. Especially in the bakery where shoppers have noticed king cakes popping up for months.
December 6, 2013. Feast Of The Pre-Piphany
Because today is the first day of Carnival season, New Orleanians everywhere are following their time-honored tradition of getting on Twitter and yelling at one another about when they are not allowed to eat king cake, where are the places they should not buy a king cake, what sorts of things are not okay to put on a king cake, and whether or not king cake is really cut out for the rock and roll lifestyle.
Thanks #OneEyedJack for the N'Orleans King Cake! Careful with that knife Jim... mind the baby! pic.twitter.com/XNEbm10TDK
— theBreeders (@thebreeders) December 30, 2013
But whatever your feelings on these divisive issues may be, one thing we should be able to agree on is there are worse ways to handle the chill of a Polar Vortex than turning your sno-ball stand into a temporary bakery.
Can't imagine many people will brave the Vortex for a glimpse of the Phunny Phorty Phellows tonight. Although, I suppose a supply of that disgusting king cake flavored vodka might help with that.
Which brings us back to the blurry photo up top. It appears that this year Pinnacle has introduced a mid-range offering for the king cake vodka market. I searched the Pinnacle website for more information. I do not recommend trying this because 1) there is no information about king cake vodka there and 2) viewing that website is like previewing your own king cake vodka hangover.
Since I have (not sure why) made it my business to track such things, I can report that Pinnacle is currently available at Rouses for $8.99. The low-end brand is Taaka. It was on display for $6.59. Having been too much in a hurry to even stop and take a decent photo, I can only report that I didn't bother to price the Lucky Player. In recent years it has been as high as $28.99 a bottle and as low as $24.99
The wide price disparity among gimmick flavored vodkas is especially puzzling given that Taaka actually won a taste test administered by NOLA.com last year. Personally I still recommend none of the above. If you must ruin your liquor and your stomach with king cake infused vodka at least a little bit this Carnival season, the best and most economical move is to make your own.
Wow! So who knew you were such a crusty old bastard, from reading the nola.com piece. ;-)
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