Vodka
Vodka goes in and out of fashion, but not its popularity with drinkers. It remains the biggest-selling spirit in the U.S, and even the Scots drink more vodka than whisky. In the U.S., according to the Code of Federal Regulations, vodka is defined as “neutral spirits so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color.” Nevertheless, there are subtle differences between vodka made from potatoes and from grain, for example, two of the most common base products for distilling into vodka. (In recent years, a wide variety of other bases have been used to make vodka.) Infused vodka has usually been infused with natural products (e.g. real lemons), while flavored vodka can mean it contains either natural or artificial flavorings. Rules regarding the acceptable strength of vodka differ slightly around the world. Within the European Union, vodkas can be bottled at as low as 75 proof, while in most countries outside the European Union, and in the U.S., vodka must be at least 80 proof.
Top Vodka Posts:
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Having recently reviewed two salted vodkas, how appropriate that next in line was a pepper vodka, albeit of the smoked jalapeño kind, known as chipotle. It’s a sweet and spicy flavor commonly used in Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Southwest cooking. This vodka, though, comes from the Pacific Northwest, Oregon to be precise. Starting with water from…
It’s the tequila guys who typically have all the fun with novelty decanters, putting their juice in vials shaped like everything from M-16s to the state of Texas. Amateurs, says Teaz, which puts its French vodka in a bottle shaped like, well, you really have to see it to get it. I’ll try to do…
Just when you thought the flavored vodka thing was over, because every flavor under the sun had been used, along comes Saltworks Property with a range of vodkas that are flavored… with salt. Salted vodkas? Right. I do have more of a sweet tooth, but I’m open-minded, if also a little open-mouthed at the prospect. Several…
This is our fourth encounter with Our/Vodka, an Absolut spinoff that had the brave concept of making vodka not in a centralized, global plant but rather in small microdistilleries built in various cities around the world. While each distillery uses the same recipe (distilling from corn), each uses local ingredients and water to showcase the individual…
Just when you thought you’d encountered every vodka twist known to man — from marijuana to bacon — comes a definite first: vodka distilled from black-eyed peas from Muleshoe, Texas. It may reek of gimmickry, as does the very name, BLK EYE, all in uppercase. However, the striking black, white, and gold bottle, with artwork…
It’s 2019. Is it too late to release a watermelon vodka? (Technically this came out in mid-2018, but you get the idea.) Skyy’s watermelon version of its umpteenth flavored vodka expression, and clearly it has the formula down pretty well. Here we find fresh (sun-ripened, perhaps?) watermelon on the nose, though it’s filtered through a…
The reputation of Everclear is perhaps not the best, the kind of thing that is mentioned in the same breath as frat parties, jello shots, and the worst kind of Saturday night bad judgment. But Everclear, distilled from mixed grains, has a legitimate place in the drinking universe — and it doesn’t involve bar bets.…
2018 marks our eleventh annual holiday gift guide, and we’re hoping this year really gets you in the spirit of giving at Christmas. Ha! Seriously, you’ll need it. Prices are creeping ever higher, especially on popular categories like whiskey, and stocks of some of the most prized products seem to be more limited than ever this…
Panther City Distillery, in Fort Worth, Texas, is the home of a single product, and it’s not what you’re expecting, which is whiskey. These guys are making vodka, called Hell’s Half Acre 1885, and it only gets stranger from there. Hell’s Half Acre 1885 is made not from corn, wheat, or potato, but rather from cassava…
I know more about the politics of Equality vodka — which gives a portion of its proceeds to more than 30 non-profit organizations that support the LGBT community — than I do about the vodka itself. Equality for all (that is the name of the product, of course) and giving back is nice and all, but…