Adnams East Coast Vodka 70 cl 40%

Beer has been brewed in Southwold on the English east coast since 1872. When the distillery arrived in 2010, nobody had to go looking for a wash to distil. It was already fermenting in the brewery next door.

Expert description

Adnams East Coast Vodka is an English Single Malt Vodka from Adnams Copper House Distillery in Southwold, distilled from 100% East Anglian malted barley and bottled at 40%.

Adnams is a brewery first and a distillery second, and that explains most of what this vodka is. The house makes its own wash from East Anglian malted barley, the same grain that goes into the beers, and distils it on in the Copper House Distillery. The grain is followed from local fields to the bottle, and that thinking runs through the whole spirits range.

Using malted barley rather than wheat or neutral molasses is a choice with consequences. Barley delivers an obvious malt sweetness that an ordinary vodka would have filtered away, which is why Adnams calls it a Single Malt Vodka. The character sits closer to a young malt spirit than to a Polish rye vodka.

In the glass that means body. The texture is soft and close to velvety, and there is a clear trace of caramel and toffee that is added nowhere but comes from the grain itself. It stands up to being drunk neat, and in a drink you can tell there is something behind the alcohol.

Tasting notes

Nose

Softly malty with the smell of freshly baked bread. A hint of caramel and cooked apple sits behind it.

Palate

Full and lightly sweet. The malt stands out clearly with caramel and toffee, and the texture is soft without turning fat.

Finish

Medium and warm. The malt sweetness hangs on, and a small dry grain note appears at the end.

Specifications

Name: Adnams East Coast Vodka
Distillery: Adnams Copper House Distillery
Region/Country: Southwold, England
Type: English Single Malt Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from the house's own wash of 100% East Anglian malted barley
EAN no.: 5016878600025
Serving suggestion: Neat in a small glass at cool temperature, or in an Espresso Martini where the malt sweetness carries the coffee.

Flavour profile

Malty · Full · Caramel and toffee · Soft texture

Did you know?

The same barley spirit is the foundation of the house's Copper House Dry Gin. Adnams calls it the botanical they do not talk about, because without the malt vodka underneath, the gin would not taste the way it does.

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Frequently asked questions about Adnams East Coast Vodka

What does Single Malt Vodka mean?

That only malted barley from one distillery has been used. The term is borrowed from the whisky world and applied to vodka where the raw material is a single grain rather than a blend. It is still vodka, but the raw material gets to be heard.

Why does it taste of caramel and toffee?

Because the malt is still there. Malting barley creates sugars and Maillard compounds that produce exactly those notes, and a less aggressive filtration programme lets them survive. Nothing is added to create them.

Is it related to whisky?

Yes, at the starting point. The malted barley wash is the same type a Single Malt Whisky begins with, and the difference is that the vodka is distilled to a far higher strength and never matured in cask. Hence no colour and no cask notes.

Why is it called East Coast?

After Southwold, which faces the North Sea in Suffolk on the east coast of England. The brewery has held an address in the town since 1872, and the names across the house range refer consistently to the coast, the harbour and the beaches around it.

Which drinks work?

The ones where sweetness is an advantage. An Espresso Martini turns round and full, a White Russian gains something to rest on, and a Moscow Mule works because the malt can stand up to ginger. In a dry Martini, on the other hand, it comes out sweeter than expected.

What else does Adnams make?

Beer, gin and whisky. The house brews Ghost Ship and Southwold Bitter among others, makes Copper House Dry Gin and bottles Single Malt, Rye Malt and Triple Malt Whisky. There are hotels and pubs across East Anglia under the same name too.

What separates it from an ordinary grain vodka?

The raw material and the filtration. A standard vodka often uses simpler grain or molasses and filters hard to end up neutral, where Adnams uses malted barley and lets the character stay. That gives more to taste but less neutrality. Compare it with the other Vodka brands.