A "Vodka Diet Coke" Is Not A Cocktail

Earlier today, during an interview game of “73 Questions,” a faceless reporter from Vogue asked famous robot Taylor Swift what her favorite cocktail is. The Diet Coke brand ambassador said it’s a “vodka Diet Coke,” which is a drink that can indeed exist by way of mixing the ingredients found in its namesake but is not consumed by actual human adults. Yes, the combination of liquids has previously been used in times of desperation by teens and college students who have run out of soda water, and tonic water, and juice, and lime-flavored sodas, and iced-tea, and regular tap water as they try to cut the bite from their $10 plastic handles vodka. But no one voluntarily drinks a vodka Diet Coke, or orders one at at a bar. No one who has the choice to drink what they want to, at least.

For reference: Taylor Swift announced a partnership with Coca-Cola in 2013, when she asked her then-50 million Twitter fans to also become fans of Diet Coke’s Facebook page. “As a longtime Diet Coke fan, Taylor is a natural example of who we’re celebrating...” said the VP of Coca-Cola Brands North America when Taylor Swift first began to display her love for Diet Coke. “It’s all about passionate fans who simply love the delicious taste of Diet Coke.” (Note: We cannot confirm whether she was drinking “vodka Diet Cokes” then, or now.)

In the years since, she has made millions of dollars as a result of “being herself” and cultivating her taste for other unlikely things— like dancing to her AppleMusic (TM) rap playlist while running on her treadmill, and alleging to enjoy the combination of vodka and Diet Coke so much that it has become her favorite alcoholic beverage. (Later in the interview, when asked what she would do if she wasn’t a singer, she said she would go into advertising.) Her favorite food “if calories didn’t count,” by the way, is “chicken tenders.” There are 69 calories in a “vodka Diet Coke.”

In a search for a recipe for “vodka Diet Coke,” I found a few links that claim that the drink does indeed exist outside of this interview with its corporate shill. One recipe, found on a vodka brand’s website, called for 1.5 oz of Brand Vodka and 3 oz of non-specific cola. Another one used both ingredients but added others to make it a cocktail. I also asked a Brooklyn-based bartender if anyone has ever ordered a “vodka Diet Coke” cocktail from him in his many years of bartending. His reply: “Never. Not once. Because it’s not a cocktail.”