Paris, 1814. Russian soldiers are sitting in the occupied city and are not allowed to drink in the taverns. They get a glass anyway, quickly and discreetly, while saying bystro — Russian for quick. That, if you believe the story, is where France got the name for its most beloved kind of eating house. This vodka believes it.
Expert description
Bistro Vodka is a French Vodka made from French wheat by Spiritique, bottled small batch at 40%.
The French have no long vodka tradition, but they do have centuries of experience in distilling finely. That is the tradition the house draws on here. The grain is high quality French wheat, the distillation is fine grained rather than brutal, and batches are kept small enough that tasting can happen along the way.
In the glass it is bright and pale, and the remarkable thing is that the alcohol does not burn. The attack is soft, the middle round and floral, and the close is long without turning bitter. This is a vodka built on finesse rather than force, and it lacks the sharp edge many people associate with the category.
Bistro has taken gold at the Bartender Spirits Awards, where the judges are bartenders rather than critics. That tells you where it belongs: behind the bar, as the base of a drink where it is not meant to shout over anything but to carry the whole thing. Spiritique also makes gin, whisky and liqueur, all in smaller batches in France.
Tasting notes
Nose
Soft and elegant. A fine wheat character with a floral tone and pale citrus peel over the top.
Palate
Round and light, with no burn on the attack. The wheat gives a mild sweetness, and a creamy, almost nutty texture sits underneath.
Finish
Long and dry without bitterness. The freshness holds longest and no sharp warmth arrives at the end.
Specifications
Name: Bistro Vodka
Producer: Spiritique
Region/Country: France
Type: French Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Small batch, distilled from French wheat
EAN no.: 3760290620025
Serving suggestion: Cool and neat in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini with lemon peel.
Flavour profile
Soft · Floral · Creamy · Dry
Did you know?
The story about the Russian soldiers is a good one, but French linguists do not buy it. The word bistro first appears in print in the 1880s, some 70 years after the occupation of Paris, which points instead towards dialect words such as bistouille and bistingo. It is still printed on the bottle, because who wants to ruin a good story.
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