So Cold the Vodka: A New Spirit with a Movie-Inspired Twist

If you’re looking to add a little color to your upcoming stay at French Lick Resort – or even your liquor cabinet at home – here’s something new to get you in the spirit.

A joint effort among the 2022 motion picture So Cold The River, West Baden Springs Hotel (where the movie was filmed) and Cardinal Spirits, raise a glass to this new movie-inspired liquor: So Cold the Vodka.

With its frosty blue hue, So Cold the Vodka is a nod to Pluto Water, the famed mineral elixir that brought about the rise of our hotels in the early 20th century — and also played a key part in the So Cold the River plot. Cardinal Spirits craft distillery is located in the same Springs Valley where Pluto Water was once bottled at the source.

From Cardinal Spirits co-founder Adam Quirk: “It’s been a longstanding goal to create a spirit that embodies the essence of the film and French Lick’s famed Pluto Water. So Cold the Vodka delivers a taste experience that matches the thrill of the film and plays into the area’s local lore.”
So Cold the Vodka is the main character of a specialty cocktail you can sip on right here at French Lick Resort. The limited-time “Campbell’s Curse” (named for the So Cold the River character with some shady secrets) starts with the vodka, shaken with peach schnapps, blue Curacao, Crème de Banana and a splash of Sprite. Your bartender will garnish it with a cherry and lemon wedge and finish it with grenadine for a “bloody” little twist. (“So Cold” is a supernatural horror flick, after all, and fits the spirit of the season with Halloween hiding around the corner.) Order one at Power Plant Bar & Grill, Valley Bar & Grill, Ballard's Bar, or 1875: The Steakhouse.

You can also pick up a bottle at Big Red Liquors locations in the Indy-Bloomington-French Lick-Terre Haute sphere. With a crisp, clean profile and notes of fruit, it’s perfect for a classic martini or for your other go-to cocktails. Mule or vodka & soda, anyone?

For another way to enjoy, you can also sip on some at the Cardinal Spirits tasting room in Bloomington, which is home to a distillery, restaurant and bar.

Cheers to a whole new way to experience one of your favorite spirits!