The Popular Fast Food Chain That Once Ventured Into The World Of Booze

Plenty of things are on offer at your average fast food joint, but one thing that is pretty much guaranteed to be absent? That restaurant's own booze. Sure, at least 11 different fast food chains serve alcohol — though that's a relatively small number and doesn't always include American locations — but they don't tend to make their own. Well, most of them don't, at least. According to the chain's Facebook post, in 2021, Arby's introduced two different vodkas of its very own. One was a crinkle-cut french fry variety, the other a curly fry version. Even for the most ardent fry fans, this seemed like a stretch — where on earth did a fast food company get the idea to make fast food-flavored booze?

Arby's curly fries are some of the best fast food french fries in the game. In early 2021, the chain debuted crinkle-cut fries. The vodka flavored for the two fry options was dreamed up to market that both were now available at Arby's. They partnered with Minnesota-based Tattersall Distilling to create the vodkas, and with the celebrity chef (who has more recently fallen out of favor after being charged with serious domestic abuse charges) Justin Sutherland to whip up a bloody mary recipe for each, which also included other Arby's menu items like their mozzarella sticks. Arby's vodka was only available for two November days, on a special website where people entered their birthdates to see if they could secure a bottle or two.

French fry vodka might seem chaotic, but it's not necessarily as unhinged as you might think. For one thing, some vodkas are indeed distilled from potatoes since this spirit can be made from any starch or sugar product. Tattersall made traditional potato vodkas for Arby's, proving that a "french fry vodka" isn't that much of a stretch. Tattersall, by the way, is an award-winning distillery with many fine spirits under its belt and a penchant for using the best ingredients. So, these fry vodkas were no hastily thrown-together gimmick. Plus, savory spirits and cocktails have been growing as a trend for several years thanks to popular orders like the dirty martini. If garlic-infused vodka makes for a mean savory cocktail, why not french fry vodka? The Curly Fry Vodka was distilled with garlic, onion, paprika, and cayenne; the Crinkle Fry Vodka with kosher salt and sugar — these vodkas captured complex, savory profiles.

Redditor BorgMercenary says Curly Fry "has some paprika to it," but that it also has some fruity notes, and that Crinkle Fry had some salt and acid to it that seemed on target. Reviews from the pros tended to skew positively, either finding the french fry flavors muted but the vodka good quality, or that the flavors were indeed bonkers but worked in savory drinks like a bloody mary. In fact, many Redditors agreed Arby's vodka belonged in a bloody mary, ideally with Arby's famed Horsey sauce.