Silvio Carta Vodka Italy 70 cl 40%

Just north of Oristano lies Zeddiani, a village on the flat west coast of Sardinia. The Carta family have worked with wine here since the 1950s. The vodka is a late chapter in a story that began with an entirely different glass.

Expert description

Silvio Carta Vodka is an Italian Vodka from Silvio Carta in Zeddiani on Sardinia, bottled at 40%.

The company was founded by Silvio Carta himself in the early 1950s in Baratili San Pietro in the province of Oristano, and the starting point was Vernaccia di Oristano — the oxidative white wine that is the great classic of the island. Only at the end of the 1970s did Silvio and his son Elio build a distillery alongside the winemaking.

That distillery has since grown into one of the most respected on Sardinia. The house is known above all for mirto, the dark red myrtle berry liqueur, and for gin, vermouth and amaro made from the herbs of the island. The vodka is the quiet one in the company: full and complex, yet round and soft with a clear mark of dried fruit.

Tasting notes

Nose

Discreet and warm. Dried figs and raisins sit below the surface alongside a pale grain note.

Palate

Round and full with a sweetness that leans towards dried fruit. The alcohol carries without stabbing.

Finish

Medium and soft. The fruit sweetness falls away slowly and leaves something nutty and dry.

Specifications

Name: Silvio Carta Vodka
Producer: Silvio Carta
Region/Country: Zeddiani, Sardinia, Italy
Type: Italian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: Neat and lightly chilled in a tulip glass, or in a Vodka Martini where the fruit notes get room.

Flavour profile

Round · Full · Dried fruit · Soft

Did you know?

Silvio Carta have also turned their hand to whisky made on Sardinia. It remains a rarity on the island, where the distilling tradition otherwise revolves around myrtle berries, herbs and wine.

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Frequently asked questions about Silvio Carta Vodka

What separates an Italian vodka from an Eastern European one?

The approach, above all. Where the Polish and Russian houses chase the razor sharp and neutral, Silvio Carta come from a tradition of wine and liqueur where body and roundness count for more. That gives a vodka with more fruit and less edge.

How is it best drunk?

Lightly chilled rather than ice cold. At freezer temperature the fruit notes close up, and you lose the very thing that makes it different. Around 10 degrees in a tulip glass shows it off best.

Which drinks work with it?

The clear and simple ones. A Vodka Martini or a Vodka Gimlet lets the round fruit sweetness through, while a Bloody Mary hides it completely. See more directions in our range of Vodka.

Does it suit food?

Yes, and Sardinian classics especially. Try it beside pecorino, cured sausage or salted almonds, where the dried fruit meets salt and fat. It can also close a meal in place of a liqueur.

What is Vernaccia di Oristano?

A Sardinian white wine that matures under a veil of yeast in partly filled casks and develops an oxidative, nutty character related to sherry. That wine built the reputation of the house long before any spirit stood on the shelves.

What is mirto?

The best known liqueur of Sardinia, made from myrtle berries steeped in alcohol. It comes in a dark red version from the berries and a paler one from the leaves, and it is served ice cold after a meal. Silvio Carta are among the producers most associated with it.

Does it make a good gift?

Yes, particularly for someone who knows Sardinia or collects spirits from smaller countries. An Italian vodka is still an uncommon sight on a shelf, and the house behind it has more than seventy years to its name.