The Usual Suspects have been drinking Three Olives Chocolate Flavored Vodka with increasing regularity and increasing quantities since the spring, and there is no end in sight. It’s my fault.

Fancying myself a bit of a Spirits Swashbuckler, I plucked a bottle of the stuff from the shelf early this year and was regularly enjoying it at home as a post-work “calmer downer”. It is difficult to find around here, but it was always worthy of a special trip to the one store I know of that stocks it.

I was, therefore, surprised and downright giddy when I found it in the little liquor store in Fort Meyers Beach on which the Usuals descend every May as our first stop on the way from the airport (the owner is always very glad to see us and listen to his cash register sing). I bought a bottle and introduced the Usual Suspects to it poolside. It was a boffo smash hit, resulting in several more trips to the little liquor store until we ultimately bought out the stock.

We have been drinking it ever since. Taken from the freezer, and poured over lots of clear ice, it is like taking a small bite of semi-sweet chocolate and chasing it with ice-cold vodka. I have yet to come across anyone (even people who are strictly beer people and people who only rarely drink) who does not instantly love the stuff. Now, we can’t seem to get enough of the stuff.

And there is the problem.

It is quite easy to forget that this wonderfully ice-cold mini-chocolate sipper contains 35% alcohol and will eventually deliver a first-class ass kicking. That was the case yesterday as the Usuals sat around sipping and shooting the shit, and before we knew it, three bottles of the stuff were gone, designated drivers were enlisted for the trip home, and several of us today are slightly ragged around the edges.

I give Three Olives Chocolate Vodka a five-shooter rating and recommend that you pick up a bottle (or three) if run across it in your local spirits store.

But, be careful. The stuff is like crack.