Review: Tallarico Vodka
Tallarico is the brainchild of Giancarlo Tallarico, a Beverly Hills-based entrepreneur with his eyes on his own vodka (and a $45 price tag). Distilled from common rye and white winter wheat, this vodka (tagline: “Imbibe Elegantly.”) comes in a monolithic and mostly opaque, black decanter that fades to clear at the bottom.
On the nose, it’s a classic blend of Old World and New — lightly medicinal, but with hints of something spicy and sweet beneath.
On the body it’s a whole other animal: Intense and alternately rum- and white whiskey-like, with a big grain character plus a whole host of other things you don’t get with vodka — banana, coconut (both meat and husk), and indistinct fuel notes.
The finish is long and turns rough, with more of that whiskey character than you might expect. Funky and wholly unexpected, like pot-distilled, unaged rum, this is a spirit that will find a few big fans and plenty of detractors. Frankly, it’s just much too far from “neutral” for me. Let the debate begin in the comments below.
80 proof.
B- / $45
Tallarico Vodka
$45
*Round 1*
*Ding* *Ding* *Ding*
I found this vodka to be very palletable, and not at all medicinal or rough as you described. I was pleasantly surprised when I and a group of my friends did a blind taste test with this new vodka against some of the accepted category leaders that were already in my liquor cabinet, namely Grey Goose, Belvedere and Stoli Elite.
5 out of 6 of us surprised even ourselves when we chose Tallarico first. I found it to have a clean but not invisible flavor profile. I agree that you can certainly detect the grain substrates of Wheat and Rye, which is something I appreciate greatly. Any spirit I choose to imbibe should have body and life to it. I like the spicyness the Rye provides and the buttery creaminess given by the wheat. If someone were out to find a truly neutral, invisible vodka, by all means, move right along to something else. For those who seek something more substantial and interesting though, you might give it a go.
Salud!
I really liked this. It has flavor but not rough. I will recommed this to my family and freinds!