Review: Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka
I’ve never met a tea-flavored vodka I didn’t like, because I don’t think it’s possible to make a bad tea-flavored vodka.
At popular request I sought out a bottle of Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, which is distinguished by its all natural ingredients, 10-times distillation, and sweetening that uses clover honey instead of high fructose corn syrup.
Does all of that matter? Deep Eddy, straight outta Austin, Texas, is indeed a fine product, but I’m not sure it’s ultimately better than Firefly, Jeremiah Weed, or Plantation River in the taste department.
The big departure here is that — while the nose features, like all of its compatriots, lovely and authentic sweet tea character that exudes real, brewed tea — there’s a distinct cocoa character on the palate that complements the sweetness in the spirit. Is it the honey that’s responsible for it? You really can tell the difference vs. corn syrup — or even sugar — as the honey leaves a slightly earthy, veggie aftertaste in the mouth. The finish, perhaps a touch more bite to it than the competition. Otherwise, you’d have trouble telling this apart from many other sweet tea vodkas, not that that’s a bad thing.
Good stuff. More complex than the rest of the crowd… and very good, though not clearly “better” than the rest of this increasingly crowded category.
70 proof.
A- / $19 / deepeddyvodka.com
Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka
$19
This is really awesome and interesting where on earth can i get my hands on this, i am in south africa?
Just to clarify a big point that “Melissa” doesn’t seem to understand:
None of this brand is ‘infused’ with real tea. Rather it is all sweetened with High-Fructose Corn Syrup and use Caramel Color additive to make it look like it’s tea. NOTE: The bottles that are distributed in the area immediately surrounding the Deep Eddy distillery probably contain real tea leaves and but that is not the case for the largest majority of their consumers. This is how Deep Eddy can say it is an all-natural product when that is not necessarily the entire story.
Now, I do have some good news… There is a relatively older brand that was born in Wadmalaw Island, SC known as the successful Firefly Sweet Tea. First, they start with a 4x distilled vodka (which is perfect to lack the bite of alcohol on the 1:1 mix), they use American black tea leaves basically next door from the Charleston Plantation. and sweetened with cane suger. There is a reason it caught on so quickly, as any southerner knows how they like their tea. http://www.fireflyvodka.com/
Firefly is simply here to stay.
That said, Deep Eddy … Ahem, I mean “Melissa” can keep spreading laughable rumors, but there really is no mistake. Try the Firefly, its the best hands down.
Deep Eddy being an all natural product is actually the entire story. They do use tea leaves and all natural products for, yes, every bottle. I think it’s delicious, everyone should try it and make their own judgement. You won’t be disappointed!
I feel like the comments above me are just shills for their respective company… The truth is Deep Eddy is infused with sweet tea… Yes, Assilem, with tea leaves from overseas… Also, they do not use said “high-fructose corn syrup”.
Do you really think a product with high-fructose corn syrup would survive in a city like Austin? Nope, hippies wouldn’t buy it. I think it’s utterly ridiculous that you seem to believe they brew a special batch just for Austin and then ship fake stuff elsewhere.
That said, both brands are great. Firefly and Deep Eddy both deliver flavor unique in its own way. Different, but still sweet tea vodka…
However, to break it down, here are some comparisons…
Deep Eddy uses local honey from the Austin area to sweeten their product; Firefly uses cane sugar from local grower in Louisiana.
Firefly is distilled 4x; Deep Eddy is distilled 10x.
Just to add a little flavor to the discussion (and knock back the shill, Mr. Assilem) it is worth noting that Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka won a GOLD MEDAL at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition… Haha, don’t shoot the messenger, just saying…
Anyways, I really hope that you get a chance to argue the case for your company… I’d love to hear what you have to say.
When I was down in Houston in March, we were provided with complimentary bottles of Deep Eddy’s Sweet Tea Vodka at our hotel. I never had any tea flavored alcohol and I wasn’t expecting much. All I can say is it’s very smooth, and it captures the sweet tea flavor. I mixed it with some ginger ale for a tasty and mellow drink. I’ll have to try the Firefly stuff people are mentioning here.
I can confirm this is delicious and extremely drinkable – and it does taste like tea. Never been a tea drinker (a coffee guy myself), nor am I from the South, but this was definitely pretty delicious. Picked it up for $13 (on sale from $15) at Binny’s. Better price and presumably comparable, if not superior, quality to Firefly or Diageo’s knockoff (not that there’s anything wrong with that), Jeremiah Weed.