Ciroc Premium French Vodka 6 liter 40%

Behind every bar stands a bottle nobody touches on a Tuesday. It does not come out because someone ordered a drink. It comes out because it fills the room the second it lands on the shelf.

Expert description

Ciroc Premium French Vodka in the six litre format is a French Vodka distilled five times from French wine grapes and bottled at 40%.

Six litres equals more than eight standard 70 cl bottles. This is not a format for a home bar. It belongs on the back wall of a cocktail bar, at a corporate reception, or on the table where everyone is meant to see what is being served. The glass is correspondingly heavy, and the bottle needs both hands or a fixed cradle.

The liquid is identical to the standard bottling. Mauzac Blanc from Gaillac and Ugni Blanc from Cognac are fermented into wine, run through four column distillations and finished in a copper pot still at Maison Villevert in southern France. Nothing is aged, nothing is added, and the spirit is cut to 40% before bottling. The advantage of the format is not the flavour but the staging.

Tasting notes

Nose

Quiet and cool on first approach. Lime peel and white blossom arrive first, followed by something lightly mineral, close to wet flint.

Palate

Smooth and full with clear grape character. The sweetness is restrained and dries out along the way, while a point of pepper holds the middle in place.

Finish

Dry and mineral, short in duration. Nothing tacky is left behind, which counts when it is being poured in long rounds.

Specifications

Name: Ciroc Premium French Vodka
Distillery: Ciroc
Region/Country: Cognac, France
Type: French Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 600 CL
Distillation method: Five times distilled
Serving suggestion: Decant into a chilled carafe and serve in a tall glass with ice, lime and soda water.

Flavour profile

Smooth · Mineral · Dry grape · Clean finish

Did you know?

Ciroc has moved outside the vodka category as well. June 2018 brought Ciroc VS Brandy, a blend of aged French brandies, part of it distilled in copper pot stills and matured in French oak. Same fruit, this time with cask time behind it.

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Frequently asked questions about Ciroc Premium French Vodka in six litre format

How much vodka is in the bottle?

Six litres, which is more than eight 70 cl bottles gathered in one vessel. At 4 cl per drink that comes to roughly 150 servings. Enough for a sizeable reception, and also the reason the bottle rarely ends up in an ordinary kitchen cupboard.

Is a bottle this size worth it?

That depends on what you want from it. As a drink you get the same spirit as in the standard bottle: grapes from two French regions, five distillations and a copper finish. As a centrepiece there is very little competition. The format is produced in small numbers, and a filled six litre bottle is something most guests have simply never seen.

How do you pour from it?

Not by lifting it. Set it in a cradle or on a low table and decant into a carafe or jug to serve from. Pouring straight from the bottle takes two people or a tilting stand. A full bottle at this size is unpleasantly heavy to hold at arm's length.

What is it typically used for?

Bars and hotels use it as a back wall statement that signals which brand the house works with. Beyond that it turns up at weddings, company anniversaries and VIP events where a lot of people need serving quickly. A few buyers treat it as a collector item and never open it.

How should the bottle be stored?

Upright, dark and cool, ideally somewhere it does not have to be moved often. Vodka does not suffer from age, but the bottle should stand up so the closure is not in constant contact with the liquid. Long exposure to direct sunlight costs you the finer citrus notes.

What does the liquid taste like?

Smooth and dry with clear grape character. Lime and white blossom on the nose, restrained sweetness through the middle and a short mineral finish. It is softer than a typical grain vodka and leaves nothing heavy on the palate.

Why are wine grapes an unusual base?

Because vodka has historically been made from whatever was easiest to source locally: grain, potatoes, sugar beet. Grapes require a full wine production before distillation can even start, which is a good deal more work than mashing grain. To compare raw materials, browse our Vodka brands.