It's no fairy tale after all. Turns out, there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow –– the rainbow of spirits flavors, that is –– out there just waiting on a smart operator to find it.

Top of the Top
    Flavored vodkas, rums and liqueurs — and now even tequilas leaping on the flavor bandwagon — represent the top of the top end of spirits sales and rank as the most desirable and bankable spirits on any back bar, whether by premium and super-premium status or value pouring utility.
    The mere fact that practically every spirits house on the planet has at least one flavored vodka or rum or liqueur in its portfolio, with whole lines more the norm now than the exception, is reason enough to get some elbow muscle behind selling them. And some expert testimony only backs this up.
    As noted spirits author and BarMedia President Robert Plotkin recently told bar and club owners at the Nightclub & Bar show in Las Vegas, “Spirits are sexier. Super-premiums are up, with double digit growth.”
    And then the ass-kicker, in terms of ample motivation for anyone in the drink-pouring line of work: “Flavored vodkas constitute 20 percent of all vodka sales.”

Big Four and More
    Not all flavors are created equal, however, as Plotkin reminded the audience at his popular Overhauling Your Beverage Program seminar. At the very top of the flavor hierarchy is lemon, representing 29 percent of all flavored spirit sales, followed closely by orange at 24 percent, raspberry with 22 percent and vanilla at 19.
    This big four flavor domination leaves only 6 percent of the market for the rest of the rainbow of flavors. Yet in a market where 25 percent of all cocktails poured are in the No.1-ranked vodka category, and flavored rum represents a third of sales in a category now second only to tequila in terms of growth, a single or even a half a percentage point can add up to a ton of funds in the till over the long haul.    
    Who knows how long this consumer-driven trend for flavored spirits will last before it veers off in another direction, as the comeback of gin, the original flavored spirit, may indicate. All the more reason to take advantage of this cocktail kaleidoscope of flavored spirits booty while it lasts.  
    The present variety on the market is too much to process, but here is a sampling, by flavor, of some brands offering flavorful options:

Apple
Seagram’s Apple vodka, Smirnoff Apple Twist vodka, Fleischmann’s Apple Vodka, Frïs Apple, UV Gren, Three Olives, Vox Green Apple, Players Extreme Green Apple vodka, Beachcomber Apple rum, Smirnoff Green Apple vodka, Burnett’s Sour Apple vodka, McCormick Apple vodka, Citadelle Apple vodka, Van Gogh Wild Appel vodka

Banana
Cruzan Banana rum, 99 Bananas vodka, Hamptons Real Banana Flavored vodka, Zone  Banana vodka

Berry
Finlandia Wild Berries vodka Stoli Blueberi vodka, Skyy Berry vodka, Luksusowa Berry vodka

Caramel
Cuba Caramel vodka, Players Extreme Caramel Infused vodka

Cherry
Players Extreme Cherry vodka, Smirnoff Black Cherry vodka, Hamptons Real CherryVanilla vodka, Effen Black Cherry vodka, Three Olives Cherry vodka, Ultimat Black Cherry vodka, Cabana Bay Wild Cherry

Chocolate
Goldenbarr Chocolate Vodka, Van Gogh Chocolate vodka, Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate vodka, Ultimat Chocolate Vanilla vodka, Hamptons Real ChocoRaspberry Flavored vodka, Hamptons Chocoraspberry vodka, Three Olives Chocolate

Citrus
Absolut Citron vodka, Absolut Ruby Red Grapefruit vodka, Cruzan Citrus rum, Hangar One Citron vodka, Gordon’s Vodka Citrus, Cabana Boy Citrus Rum, Ketel One Citroen vodka, Smirnoff Citrus vodka, Burnett’s Citrus vodka, Belvedere Cytrus vodka, Stoli Citros vodka, Skyy Citrus vodka, Domaine Charbay Ruby Red vodka, Van Gogh Citroen vodka, Luksusowa Citrus vodka, Boru Citrus vodka, Danzka Citrus vodka, Seagram’s Citrus vodka, UV Citruv, Grey Goose Le Citron vodka, Boru Citrus

Cranberry
Finlandia Cranberry vodka, Smirnoff Cranberry vodka, Boru Crazzberry vodka, Stoli Cranberi vodka

Coconut
Bacardi Coco rum, Beachcomber Coconut rum, Cruzan Coconut rum, Burnett’s Coconut vodka, Malibu Coconut Flavor rum

Currant
Absolut Kurant vodka, RU Black Currant

Ginger
Yazi Ginger Flavored vodka, Imbirowa Ginger Flavored vodka

Lemon
Players Extreme Lemon, Stoli Limonnaya, Wyborowa Lemon, Bacardi Limón rum, Cuba Lemon vodka, Zone Lemon vodka

Lime
Finlandia Lime vodka, Smirnoff Lime vodka, Cuba Lime vodka, Domaine Charbay Key Lime vodka, Burnett’s Lime vodka

Mango
Cruzan Mango rum, Burnett’s Mango vodka, Van Gogh Mango vodka, Finlandia Mango vodka
Melon
Bacardi Grand Melon rum, Smirnoff Watermelon vodka, Zone Melon vodka

Orange
Absolut Mandarin vodka, Boru Orange vodka, Hangar One Mandarin Blossom vodka, Smirnoff Orange Twist vodka, Bacardi O rum, Grey Goose L’Orange vodka, Cruzan Orange rum, Burnett’s Orange vodka, McCormick’s Orange vodka, Orange V vodka, Domaine Charbay Blood Orange vodka, Van Gogh Orange Express vodka, Belvedere Orange vodka, Wyborowa Vodka Orange, Tarantula Orange Azul

Other
Players Extreme Mandtango, Hangar One Kaffir, Cuba Cool Mint vodka, Zone Tangerine vodka, Shakers Rose vodka, Wyborowa Bison Grass Vodka

Peach
Absolut Apeach vodka, McCormick Peach vodka, Zone Peach vodka, Stoli Persik vodka

Pepper
Absolut Peppar vodka, Inferno Pepper Pot vodka

Pineapple
Beachcomber Pineapple rum, Cruzan Pineapple rum, Van Gogh Pineapple vodka, Wyborowa pineapple vodka

Pomegranate
Pearl Persephone Pomegranate Flavored vodka, Belvedere Pomarancza vodka

Rasberry
Smirnoff Raspberry vodka, Smirnoff Raspberry Twist vodka, Absolut Raspberri vodka, Cruzan Raspberry rum, Burnett’s Raspberry vodka, Vox Raspberry vodka, McCormick Raspberry vodka, Stoli Razberi vodka, Citadelle Raspberry vodka, Hamptons Real ChocoRaspberry Flavored vodka, Hamptons Chocoraspberry vodka

Spiced
Beachcomber Spiced Rum, Skyy Spiced vodka, Cabana Boy Spiced rum, Four Square Spiced rum

Strawberry
Stoli Strasberi, Smirnoff Strawberry vodka, Cuba Strawberry vodka, Tarantula Strawberry Azul

Vanilla
Grey Goose Le Vanille vodka, Smirnoff Vanilla vodka, Smirnoff Vanilla Twist vodka, Bacardi Vanila rum, Cruzan Coconut rum, Burnett’s Vanilla vodka, McCormick Vanilla vodka, Stoli Vanil vodka, Skyy Vanilla vodka, Ultimat Chocolate Vanilla vodka, Van Gogh Vanilla vodka, Hamptons Real CherryVanilla vodka, Van Gogh Vanilla vodka NCB