A griffin sits in the coat of arms of Riga, half lion and half eagle, and it has followed the brand onto the label. Behind it stands a distillery that has worked in the city since 1900 and still runs its vodka through both charcoal and silver before it reaches the bottle.

Expert description

Riga Black Vodka is a Latvian Vodka from Latvijas Balzams in Riga, distilled from wheat and rye and bottled at 40%.

Latvijas Balzams dates back to 1900 and today belongs to Amber Beverage Group. The house is best known for Riga Black Balsam, but the vodka is made at the same address, and the two products share both a name and the griffin on the label.

The spirit comes from selected wheat and rye, run up to five times through copper stills. Artesian spring water is then added, meaning water from a sealed aquifer that pushes itself up under its own pressure. The filtration is the pride of the house: seven stages, with both activated black charcoal and silver ions in play.

The rye is the reason it does not simply turn soft. The wheat lays down a round, creamy texture while the rye sends spice into the finish. Aniseed and pepper hold on after the sweetness lets go, and that combination is what makes the bottle useful for more than disappearing into juice.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and cool with a light dark rye bread note. A trace of aniseed sits in the background.

Palate

Creamy and soft on the attack, after which the rye spice takes over. Aniseed, white pepper and a dry grain note share the middle between them.

Finish

Medium and spiced. The pepper hangs on and delivers a warmth more obvious than on most pure wheat vodkas.

Specifications

Name: Riga Black Vodka
Producer: Latvijas Balzams
Region/Country: Riga, Latvia
Type: Latvian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Copper stills, seven stage filtration with black charcoal and silver
EAN no.: 4750021201349
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass, or in a Bloody Mary where the rye pepper meets the spices.

Flavour profile

Creamy · Spiced · Aniseed and pepper · Clean close

Did you know?

The same house makes Riga Black Balsam, a herbal bitter with 24 ingredients and a recipe traced back to 1752. Its black ceramic bottle is still the most recognisable in Latvia, and the rest of the Riga Black family is named after it.

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PJ Rigney travelled through the Serengeti and found a tree with fruit that hangs down like sausages on strings. Back home in Leitrim, nettles grew that by the same logic ought to do something similar for the body. He put the two together in a still in Drumshanbo.

Expert description

Sausage Tree Pure Irish Vodka is an Irish Vodka from The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo, slow distilled with Irish grain, fruit from Kigelia africana and wild Irish nettle, bottled at 43%.

The Shed Distillery was founded in 2014 in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, and is probably best known for Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin. Behind the whole operation stands PJ Rigney, a man with a well documented urge to travel a long way after a raw material.

Kigelia africana is called the sausage tree because of the large, heavy fruit that hangs down from the branches on long stalks. The fruit has carried a reputation for purifying properties in African folk medicine for centuries, and it was exactly that property Rigney recognised in the wild Irish nettle growing in the woodland around the distillery.

The distillation runs slowly, so grain, fruit and nettle all get time to give up their share. The result lands somewhere between a classic vodka and something more botanical. There is fruit and herb in it, yet it never becomes a gin, and the 43% gives it a little more body than a standard 40% would have.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean with a green pull from the nettle. Behind it sits a mild, almost melon-like fruitiness.

Palate

Full and lightly sweet with clear herbal character across the middle. The grain holds the base, and the fruit arrives as a round sensation rather than as outright flavour.

Finish

Medium and dry with a green, faintly bitter trail from the nettle.

Specifications

Name: Sausage Tree Pure Irish Vodka
Distillery: The Shed Distillery
Region/Country: Drumshanbo, Ireland
Type: Irish Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Slow distilled with Irish grain, fruit from Kigelia africana and wild Irish nettle
Serving suggestion: 4 cl with ice cold soda water, a squeeze of lime and a thick wedge of orange, as the distillery recommends.

Flavour profile

Herbal · Full · Lightly fruity · Dry close

Did you know?

The distillery bar is called the Honey Badger Bar after the honey badger, an animal that eats carpenter bees burrowed inside the bark of the sausage tree and takes the stings as part of the deal. PJ Rigney uses it as an image for his own motto: nature has no place for the weak.

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On the seventeenth of May Norwegians decorate with birch, and through winter they burn birch logs. The tree is woven so deeply into the country that distilling it starts to look like the obvious move. Oslo Håndverksdestilleri does exactly that, by letting the leaves ride along in the copper still.

Expert description

Norwegian Wood Birch Vodka is a Norwegian Vodka from Oslo Håndverksdestilleri, distilled from potatoes with birch leaves, meadowsweet and elderflower, bottled at 41%.

The distillery was founded in Oslo in 2015 and makes gin, aquavit and bitters alongside the vodka. The house position is that spirits need not be as neutral as possible, and that is the whole explanation for this bottle. The brief for the recipe was that it should be good enough to drink neat, have character enough to give a Martini personality, and still be mild enough to be called a vodka.

The base is potato, which supplies the creamy texture. During the final distillation three plants join the copper still. Birch leaves lend fresh herbal character, meadowsweet contributes softness and sweet tones and is called the vanilla of the Nordics for good reason, and elderflower lays the bright top notes over the top.

Meadowsweet does more than sweeten. The plant also brings a light bitterness, and that is what keeps the sweetness in check so the vodka never tips over into liqueur. The balance between the three plants is why it works in a small glass and a tall one alike.

Tasting notes

Nose

Light and floral. Fresh herbs report first, then elderflower and a trace of pear.

Palate

Creamy and round with obvious plant character. The birch gives something green, and the meadowsweet lays honey and almond underneath it.

Finish

Long and sweetish with a clear thread of vanilla and a light bitterness right at the end.

Specifications

Name: Norwegian Wood Birch Vodka
Distillery: Oslo Håndverksdestilleri
Region/Country: Oslo, Norway
Type: Norwegian Vodka
ABV: 41%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Copper still with birch leaves, meadowsweet and elderflower
EAN no.: 50701550
Serving suggestion: Neat in a small glass at cool room temperature, or in a Vodka Tonic where the elderflower gets room to move.

Flavour profile

Creamy · Herbal · Floral · Sweetish finish

Did you know?

The same vodka is sold in Norway under the name Norwegian Mood. The distillery uses both names in its own communication, so you may come across the bottle in two guises with precisely the same liquid inside.

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Hokkaido sits at the northern end of Japan, where snow stays on the ground for months and winter runs long enough that you start thinking in terms of purity and cold all by yourself. Eiko is distilled up there, and the name means glory.

Expert description

Eiko Vodka is a Japanese Vodka from Hokkaido, triple distilled and filtered four times, bottled at 40%.

Japanese vodka is still a small category next to whisky and shochu, but the craft is the same one Japanese distilleries have built their reputation on: many stages, tight control and a willingness to spend longer than strictly necessary. Eiko goes through distillation three times and then through the filters four times, one stage more than most vodkas receive.

Combining several distillations with an extra filtration removes the heavier compounds from both ends of the process. What remains is a vodka that barely bites. In return you have to go looking for the aroma: it is delicate and closes up if the bottle comes straight out of the freezer.

It has also collected silverware at the major competitions, among them a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2019 and a category win at the World Vodka Awards in 2018. A reminder that Japan makes more than whisky.

Tasting notes

Nose

Delicate and lightly sweet with a trace of lemon peel. No alcohol prickle, but not much to grab hold of either if it is served too cold.

Palate

Soft and smooth with a clear liquorice note that slides into mild sweetness. Pepper arrives right at the end and stays very discreet.

Finish

Short and clean with a light peppery cross. The sweetness drops away quickly and leaves the mouth dry.

Specifications

Name: Eiko Vodka
Producer: Eiko
Region/Country: Hokkaido, Japan
Type: Japanese Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled, filtered four times
EAN no.: 50708550
Serving suggestion: Lightly chilled in a small glass so the delicate aroma has room, or in a Vodka Martini with a twist of lemon.

Flavour profile

Soft · Clean · Liquorice-tinged · Discreetly sweet

Did you know?

Eiko means glory or honour in Japanese, and the packaging takes the name literally by putting a samurai on the bottle. It is not decoration but a direct translation of the word into a picture.

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Nemyriv is a small town in Podillia, surrounded by some of the most fertile wheat fields in Europe. Spirit has been distilled here since 1872, and the town has lent its name to a vodka that now stands on shelves in more than 80 countries.

Expert description

Nemiroff Original is a Ukrainian Vodka from Nemiroff in Nemyriv, distilled from wheat, flavoured with caraway and honey and bottled at 40%.

Production began in 1872, when the largest distillery in the district opened in Nemyriv, and the house has stayed in the same town ever since. The water comes from artesian wells beneath the distillery and the wheat is grown in the surrounding countryside. Nemiroff is today the largest vodka exporter in Ukraine.

Original is the house black label, launched in 1999. Unlike the plain bottlings in the range it is not entirely neutral: a very small amount of caraway and honey is added, sitting as a tone rather than as a flavour. You have to know it is there to put words to it, but it is there.

After distillation the vodka passes nine stages of filtration before bottling. That is what gives the round, almost softly polished character which lets the litre bottle sit on a dinner table without anybody asking for ice. It works with food and in drinks alike.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and mild. A pale grain note with a fine touch of honey and a hint of caraway behind it.

Palate

Soft and round. The wheat gives a muted sweetness, while the caraway lays a warm, almost bread-like spice through the middle.

Finish

Short and clean. The spice hangs on for a moment and leaves a dry, faintly honeyed impression behind.

Specifications

Name: Nemiroff Original
Producer: Nemiroff
Region/Country: Nemyriv, Ukraine
Type: Ukrainian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 100 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from wheat and filtered in nine stages, flavoured with caraway and honey
EAN no.: 50706100
Serving suggestion: Ice cold from the freezer in small glasses alongside food, or in a Moscow Mule where the caraway meets the ginger.

Flavour profile

Caraway · Honey · Soft · Wheat

Did you know?

Original is also called Nemiroff Black after the colour of its label, and that name is still used in many markets. The town of Nemyriv sits in Podillia, one of the classic wheat districts of Europe, which is why the house chose wheat over potatoes in the first place.

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A griffin is assembled from the two animals the medieval world feared most: the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. It was placed on coats of arms and above vaults to guard whatever lay behind. Hence the name on this bottle.

Expert description

Griffin Vault Vodka is an English Vodka from Red Griffin, filtered through English oak charcoal and bottled at 40.6%.

The filtration is what the bottle rests on. Activated charcoal is used in vodka production everywhere, but the type of wood matters to the result, and here English oak has been used. Oak charcoal is denser and harder than birch, for example, and it polishes the distillate more thoroughly.

The result is a very clean vodka with a distinctly soft mouthfeel, where the edges are gone without anything having been added. The 40.6% sits a shade above the norm, and those extra tenths register as a little more body when it is drunk neat.

The style is the classic neutral one: no botanicals, no sweetening, no fruit aroma. That makes it a working bottle behind the bar, where the other ingredients need room and where you do not want the vodka setting the agenda.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and discreet. A lightly honeyed grain note with a suggestion of dried lemon peel.

Palate

Soft and rounded. The sweetness sits in the middle, and an earthy touch of cassia and white pepper comes through towards the end.

Finish

Short and tidy. The warmth lifts quickly and leaves a dry, almost chalky trace behind.

Specifications

Name: Griffin Vault Vodka
Producer: Red Griffin
Region/Country: England
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 40.6%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Filtered through English oak charcoal
EAN no.: 5021692118120
Serving suggestion: Ice cold from the freezer in a small glass, or as the base of a Moscow Mule or Vodka Tonic.

Flavour profile

Clean · Soft · Lightly honeyed · Neutral

Did you know?

The word vault in the name means both an arched ceiling and a strongroom, and both senses suit the griffin. Medieval imagery used the creature as a guardian of treasure and tombs, precisely because it combined the strongest of all land animals with the sharpest of all birds.

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A pea pulls nitrogen out of the air and leaves the soil better than it found it. That does not sound like something belonging in a vodka bottle. At Arbikie it is nonetheless the entire starting point.

Expert description

Arbikie Nadar Vodka is a Scottish Vodka distilled from peas grown at Arbikie Distillery and bottled at 43%.

Peas are legumes and fix their own nitrogen. They therefore need no synthetic fertiliser, and fertiliser is otherwise one of the heaviest entries in the ledger when grain becomes spirit. The sums end with each 70 cl bottle saving more than 1.53 kg CO2e beyond what it costs to produce.

Behind the bottle sits five years of doctoral research by distillery master distiller Kirsty Black in partnership with Abertay University. A gin came first, in 2020, and the vodka followed the year after as the first climate positive vodka in the world.

In flavour terms it is not neutral, and that is deliberate. The peas leave something green and floral that grain vodka never delivers, and 43% gives the spice room to open out.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and floral with crushed white pepper behind it. A green, almost vegetal breath sits underneath the whole thing.

Palate

Intense and lively. The spice arrives early and broadly, yet the mouth fills at the same time with a creamy sensation that softens the edges.

Finish

Long and distinct. The pepper draws out while the floral note returns right at the end.

Specifications

Name: Arbikie Nadar Vodka
Distillery: Arbikie Distillery
Region/Country: Angus, Scotland
Type: Scottish Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5060398440524
Serving suggestion: Neat and cool in a small glass, or in a Martini where the floral side has room.

Flavour profile

Floral · Spicy · Creamy · Green

Did you know?

The name comes from the Gaelic word for nature. Arbikie used it first on a gin in 2020, and that one is equally climate positive. The ledger for the gin bottle reads minus 1.54 kg CO2e.

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On some mornings you cannot see the North Sea from Arbikie, even though it sits right there. The cold coastal fog the Scots call haar rolls in across Lunan Bay and settles around the distillery like a sheet. This bottle is named after that fog.

Expert description

Arbikie Haar Wheat Vodka is a Scottish Vodka distilled from Zulu wheat grown on the Arbikie Distillery fields and bottled at 43%.

The wheat variety is called Zulu and grows in the fields known as Black Laws, a short walk from the distillery. That both the variety and the field can be named says something about the way the place works: the raw material is followed all the way through rather than bought in as finished neutral spirit.

Wheat gives a softer and sweeter distillate than barley, and Arbikie has chosen not to strip that character out. Vanilla and caramel sit in the glass as a result. Those are notes usually associated with cask maturation, but here they come from the grain and the distillation alone.

The distillery suggests it in an Espresso Martini, or with cloudy apple juice, soda and a squeeze of lime. Both play on the caramel sweetness sitting at the bottom of the bottle.

Tasting notes

Nose

Apple and caramel, clear and inviting. Behind them sit a thread of baked wheat and a faint floral note.

Palate

Creamy and round with vanilla up front. Caramel follows, and a light spice arrives last to keep the sweetness in check.

Finish

Medium and soft. Vanilla and caramel fade out while the spice stays behind.

Specifications

Name: Arbikie Haar Wheat Vodka
Distillery: Arbikie Distillery
Region/Country: Angus, Scotland
Type: Scottish Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5060398440104
Serving suggestion: In an Espresso Martini, or with cloudy apple juice, soda and a squeeze of lime.

Flavour profile

Creamy · Vanilla · Caramel · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Arbikie also makes whisky, but has decided to release it only at 14, 18 and 21 years old. Each bottling will carry both the vintage and the name of the field the barley grew in.

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In a field above Lunan Bay, chilli plants grow between the potato rows. They are picked, smoked and left to steep in vodka. Arbikie Chilli Vodka is the loudest bottle on the estate, and there is very little like it in Scotland.

Expert description

Arbikie Chilli Vodka is a Scottish Vodka from Arbikie Distillery, built on the house potato vodka and steeped with home-grown chipotle chillies, bottled at 43%.

Chipotle is smoke-dried jalapeño, and it is the smoke rather than the burn that carries this bottle. Arbikie grows the chillies on the farm in Angus and drops them in whole. No extracts, no colourings, no concentrates, which is why the liquid sits pale brown instead of clear.

The base is the same potato spirit the distillery began with. Potato distillate has a weight and a creaminess that grain does not deliver in the same way, and that texture is exactly why the chilli never turns sharp or dusty. The heat settles on top of the softness rather than cutting through it.

Flavoured vodka carries a mixed reputation, and syrup and flavouring compounds are usually to blame. Neither appears here. The chilli steeps until it has given up both smoke and heat, and the bottling strength of 43% gives the spice room to spread.

Tasting notes

Nose

Smoke first, like a bonfire on its way out. Behind it sits dried chilli, a touch of sweetness and something earthy close to baked potato skin.

Palate

Creamy and full at the start, almost soft. Then the chilli arrives: a deep, smoked warmth that builds rather than strikes. Clearly present without ever punishing.

Finish

Long and warm. The smoke hangs on longest while the spice slides slowly down the throat.

Specifications

Name: Arbikie Chilli Vodka
Distillery: Arbikie Distillery
Region/Country: Angus, Scotland
Type: Scottish Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: In a Bloody Mary where the chilli replaces the tabasco, or ice cold as a shot alongside barbecue.

Flavour profile

Smoky · Spicy · Creamy · Earthy

Did you know?

Chipotle is not a chilli variety but a condition. It is a jalapeño left to ripen until it turns red and then dried over smoke, and that is precisely the treatment these chillies get before they meet the vodka.

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Koskenkorva is not something a marketing agency invented. It is the name of a village in flat, windswept Ostrobothnia, where the barley fields run right up to the distillery gate and the grain often travels less than twenty kilometres to reach its final destination.

Expert description

Koskenkorva Organic is an Organic Finnish Vodka distilled from barley grown on the distillery's own and neighbouring fields, bottled at 37.5%.

The Koskenkorva distillery has been running since 1953 and is today one of the largest grain processing plants in the Nordics. The barley arrives as whole grain, is cooked, fermented and sent through a tall column, where the distillate passes more than 250 distillation stages on the way up. That kind of plant produces a very clean, nearly characterless spirit, and everything after that depends on what you do with it.

Here it is diluted with Finnish spring water and left alone. The organic barley is grown without artificial fertiliser or pesticides, and because it is not hidden behind added flavourings you can actually taste it: a dry, grainy tone under the clean surface. At 37.5% the mouthfeel is a shade lighter than a 40% vodka, which makes it easy to mix with.

Finns treat Koskenkorva as an everyday spirit in the best sense of the phrase. It is as common in the kitchen as behind the bar, and it gets drunk ice cold from small glasses at summer cabins right through July. The brand belongs to Anora, which also runs the bioenergy plant sitting next door to the distillery.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dry and cool with a clear grain character. No sweetness, no perfume, just clean barley and a hint of wet flour.

Palate

Light and mild rather than forceful. The barley shows up as a coarse, almost bready tone halfway through, and the alcohol stays in the background.

Finish

Short to medium and thoroughly dry. A small rasp of grain husk hangs on, and then it is gone.

Specifications

Name: Koskenkorva Organic Vodka
Distillery: Koskenkorva
Region/Country: Koskenkorva, Finland
Type: Organic Finnish Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Continuous column distillation from organic barley
EAN no.: 6412700558813
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass alongside food, or as the base of a Moscow Mule or Bloody Mary.

Flavour profile

Dry · Grainy · Light · Clean

Did you know?

The barley husks from production are not thrown away. They are burned in the distillery's own bioenergy plant and cover a large share of its heating needs, while starch and protein from the grain go on to food products and animal feed. Very little of a barley kernel goes unused at Koskenkorva.

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Ruby red vodka sounds like a colouring agent at work. Here the colour arrived the long way round: from a Danish rosé wine blended in after distillation. The bottle is the same champagne bottle as always. The contents are somewhere else entirely.

Expert description

Vodka Bornholm Rosé Edition is a Danish Vodka from Bornholm Spirits, blended with Danish rosé wine and bottled at 37.5%.

The wine is Barfod Cabernet Cantor 2021, and it accounts for both the colour and a large part of the aroma. Cherry, strawberry and raspberry sit up front, and beneath the fruit come black pepper and thyme. Those are notes you rarely meet in a vodka.

The base is the crystal clear Vodka Bornholm, which has rested with Bornholm granite and is therefore easy to handle. At 37.5% it sits below a standard vodka, and that pulls the bottle towards something you sip rather than knock back.

It is made in small batches only and released as a limited edition. Served properly cold with tonic or sparkling water, it is built for light evenings rather than for the freezer.

Tasting notes

Nose

Cherry and strawberry with raspberry behind them. A dry thread of thyme keeps the sweetness in place.

Palate

Soft and light. The red fruit fills the middle, then a twist of black pepper arrives and gives it an edge.

Finish

Medium. The fruit withdraws slowly while the pepper and a herbal streak stay behind.

Specifications

Name: Vodka Bornholm Rosé Edition
Distillery: Bornholm Spirits
Region/Country: Nexø, Bornholm, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Edition: Limited Edition
EAN no.: 5703397000800
Serving suggestion: Properly cold with tonic or sparkling water and a few fresh berries in the glass.

Flavour profile

Berry-driven · Soft · Lightly spiced · Summery

Did you know?

Den Bornholmske Spritfabrik opened in Nexø in 1994 and brought aquavit production back to the island after decades away. Bornholmerakvavit was originally made on Bornholm from 1855 to 1920.

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In Kaunas stands a red brick factory that has been making grain spirit since 1906. It has survived two world wars, a Soviet era and a rebirth as free Lithuanian craft. This bottle was the first organic vodka the house released — and the first from Lithuania at all.

Expert description

Stumbras Premium Organic Vodka is a Lithuanian Organic Vodka made from organic wheat and deep subsurface water, bottled at 40%.

The grain comes exclusively from EU certified organic fields, kept apart from the surrounding conventional land so that no mixing happens along the way. The water is drawn from deep down, where it has been shielded from surface contamination for thousands of years. Those two things are what an organic certification stands or falls on, and both are controllable.

The filtration is the technical signature. The spirit passes first through sand, then through activated charcoal, and finally through a linen filter — a method that was new to Lithuania when the bottle launched. The linen catches the last particles mechanically rather than binding aroma compounds chemically the way charcoal does, and that is why the grain character is still there afterwards.

You can taste it. The vodka is unusually mild, almost gentle, with a clear sweetness in the middle that is not added but comes from the wheat. There are no sharp edges and no spirit bite, and it belongs among the vodkas that best withstand being drunk neat at the table.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and gentle with a soft grain note. Behind it sits a suggestion of white bread and a stroke of fresh grass.

Palate

Very mild with a clear, natural sweetness in the middle. The texture is smooth and lightly syrupy, without any sharpness.

Finish

Short and clean with a soft trail of sweetness. No warmth arrives at the end.

Specifications

Name: Stumbras Premium Organic Vodka
Distillery: Stumbras
Region/Country: Kaunas, Lithuania
Type: Lithuanian Organic Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from organic wheat, filtered through sand, activated charcoal and linen
EAN no.: 4770033228585
Serving suggestion: Chilled to 5-10 degrees in a small glass with herring and rye bread.

Flavour profile

Mild · Soft · Lightly sweet · Clean

Did you know?

Stumbras means wisent in Lithuanian, that is the European bison. The animal is the largest land mammal in Europe, vanished from the Lithuanian forests and was reintroduced during the last century. The name was hardly picked at random for a spirit meant to signal strength and Lithuanian nature.

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Ven sits in the middle of the Öresund strait, a flat patch of land with slopes falling to the water and some of the best farmland in Sweden. A couple of hundred people live there. There is also a distillery that calls itself the smallest pot still distillery in the world, and which grows its grain within sight of the still.

Expert description

Spirit of Hven Swedish Organic Vodka is a Swedish Organic Vodka made from certified organic grain, rested in oak casks, redistilled and bottled at 40%.

The unusual part is in that sentence. The vodka is not bottled straight off the still but first spends between six and twenty-four months in oak casks. It is then distilled again, and it is that second pass which removes the colour while the texture and part of the cask character stay behind. The result is a vodka that is crystal clear in the glass but behaves fuller than its colour suggests.

The distillery was founded in 2008 by Henric and Anja Molin, and Henric Molin still runs the distillation. The house keeps both a laboratory and its own hotel, and the technical level is high: distillation is deliberately run below the 96.5% a column can reach, because those final percentage points are exactly where the aroma compounds live.

The grain is certified organic and sourced as locally as possible. The island soil shifts from mineral rich clay in the north to sand in the south, and the microclimate that comes from lying between two coasts is part of the explanation for how somewhere this small can ship spirits to more than 40 countries.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft and lightly sweet. Vanilla first, clearly from the cask, then a pale grain note and a suggestion of dried hay.

Palate

Full and round without being heavy. The vanilla continues, the grain gives a mild sweetness, and a lightly spiced warmth sits underneath.

Finish

Medium length and dry. The vanilla lingers longest and the close is soft rather than sharp.

Specifications

Name: Spirit of Hven Swedish Organic Vodka
Distillery: Spirit of Hven
Region/Country: Ven, Skåne, Sweden
Type: Swedish Organic Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Pot distilled, rested in oak casks and then redistilled
EAN no.: 7350044859021
Serving suggestion: Cool and neat in a small glass with shellfish, or in a Martini where the vanilla gets room.

Flavour profile

Vanilla · Soft · Full · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Ven is the island where Tycho Brahe built his observatory Uraniborg in the sixteenth century and mapped the night sky with the naked eye. The distillery has folded his legacy into its naming: the house Single Malt Whisky is called Tycho's Star, after the new star he observed and described.

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Once the wine has been pressed, a heap is left behind: skins, stems and seeds. It is called pomace, and it is usually sold on for animal feed or carted away. Here it is not waste but raw material. This entire vodka begins with what the wine trade normally throws out.

Expert description

Discarded Grape Skin Vodka is a Scottish Vodka made from discarded Chardonnay grape skins, blended with wine alcohol and bottled at 40%.

There are two reclaimed ingredients in the bottle. The first is the pomace — skins, stems and seeds from winemaking — which is distilled and becomes the base. The second is more surprising: when wine is dealcoholised to make alcohol free wine, the alcohol is left over as a by-product, and it still carries a great deal of the grape's aroma. That Chardonnay wine alcohol is blended in, and it gives the bottle both its name and its fruit.

Behind Discarded Spirits Co. stands William Grant & Sons, and the whole range works on the same principle. There is a rum made with banana peel and a vermouth built on cascara, the dried husk of the coffee cherry. The packaging is fully recyclable, and the philosophy is plain: use what would otherwise be burned or sent to landfill.

In the glass that means you are not getting a neutral vodka. There is a clear vinous character, a luscious mouthfeel and a fruit that points towards pear and the tropics rather than grain. This is a vodka for people who rather like the base spirit having a point of view.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and crisp with green apple first. Then a deeper almond croissant tone and a bright lift of lychee.

Palate

A luscious, fruit-driven mouthfeel. Williams pear fills the middle, with guava and starfruit around it, and there is no grain sweetness weighing it down.

Finish

Dry and spiced with pink peppercorn. The fruit drops away and the pepper stays put.

Specifications

Name: Discarded Grape Skin Vodka
Producer: Discarded Spirits Co.
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Scottish Vodka from Chardonnay grape skins
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from discarded pomace and blended with Chardonnay wine alcohol
EAN no.: 5010327414645
Serving suggestion: In a Grape Skin Spritz with sparkling wine and soda, or in a Martini with lemon peel.

Flavour profile

Vinous · Fruit-driven · Luscious · Pink pepper

Did you know?

Pomace has been turned into spirit for centuries in southern Europe. Italian grappa and French marc are made from exactly the same press residue, and they exist because farmers could not afford to let anything go to waste. Discarded is therefore not doing something new — it is doing something old again, this time as a vodka.

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Most vodkas borrow their name from a river, a family or a saint. This one carries neither a place nor a lineage, only a statement: I am. That is an unusual way to introduce a Polish vodka, and the bottle is every bit as bare as the name.

Expert description

I AM Premium Vodka is a Polish Vodka made from winter wheat and soft water, bottled at 40%.

Winter wheat is a detail that matters. It is sown in autumn, stands through the Polish winter and is harvested the following summer, and that long growing season gives a grain with a higher starch content and more structure than spring wheat. It is the same grain several of the well known Polish premium vodkas are built on, and it makes for a rounder, fuller vodka than its reputation suggests.

The water is soft, meaning low in calcium and magnesium, and it matters as much as the grain. Hard water leaves a mineral, almost metallic edge that cannot be filtered out afterwards. There is neither added sugar nor colouring here, and that carries weight: vodka is in fact allowed to be sweetened slightly without the label having to say so.

The result is a very clean vodka that stays at the neutral end of the scale. It is not built to be analysed in a tulip glass, but to be ice cold, bright and reliable — either as a shot or as a base, where it is asked to do nothing except carry the drink.

Tasting notes

Nose

Very clean and almost without aroma on the first pass. Give it a moment in the glass and a pale grain note and a hint of fresh greenery appear.

Palate

Soft and cool with a lightly creamy texture. The wheat gives a discreet sweetness in the middle and there is no sharp bite anywhere.

Finish

Short and dry. The sweetness disappears quickly and a clean, almost cool impression is left behind.

Specifications

Name: I AM Premium Vodka
Producer: I AM
Region/Country: Poland
Type: Polish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from winter wheat and brought down with soft water
EAN no.: 5900274007475
Serving suggestion: Ice cold from the freezer as a shot, or in a Bloody Mary where the cleanliness lets tomato and spice lead.

Flavour profile

Very clean · Soft · Neutral · Dry

Did you know?

EU rules do in fact permit vodka to be sweetened with up to 8 grams of sugar per litre without the label having to say so. It is used to round off the alcohol and give a smoother mouthfeel. That is precisely why it is worth knowing when a house, as here, states outright that no sugar has been added.

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The whole idea shrunk down to the palm of your hand. The same skull shape, the same lead free clear glass, the same vodka inside — only in a format that fits a coat pocket or sits at the top of a Christmas hamper.

Please note: The bottle is supplied with a red ribbon.

Expert description

Crystal Head Miniature is a Canadian Vodka distilled four times from corn and bottled at 40% in a 5 cl skull bottle.

The contents are exactly the same as in the full size bottle. The raw material is peaches and cream corn, distilled four times into neutral spirit and then blended with water from Newfoundland. The vodka is finally filtered seven times, three of those passes running over Herkimer diamonds. No glycerol, no citrus oils and no sugar are added.

This is the smallest format Crystal Head makes. The house moulds bottles in five sizes, from 5 cl all the way up to 3 litres, and the miniature is the one most people meet first. It holds just enough for two proper tastes and stays small enough to end up as an ornament on the shelf afterwards.

Tasting notes

Nose

Neutral grain aroma with a fine dusting of citrus. There are no sharp edges to watch out for.

Palate

Silky with a suggestion of sweetness and vanilla. The corn supplies body without turning heavy.

Finish

Short, sweet and creamy. It closes without bite, which is rather the point of a taster.

Specifications

Name: Crystal Head Miniature
Distillery: Crystal Head Vodka
Region/Country: Newfoundland, Canada
Type: Canadian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 5 CL
Distillation method: Four times distilled
EAN no.: 627040411452
Serving suggestion: Cold as a taster in a small glass, or poured over ice with a strip of lemon peel.

Flavour profile

Soft · Creamy · Lightly sweet · Neutral

Did you know?

Crystal Head deliberately makes no flavoured vodka at all. The house treats the spirit as a blank canvas for the drinker to build on, so there are no vanilla, berry or citrus expressions in the range — only different raw materials and different bottles.

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Before the potato fields above Lunan Bay turned into vodka, scarecrows stood in them. The Scots called them tattie bogles, and they kept watch over the rows for generations. The name has stayed with a bottle that still begins in the same place: down in the soil.

Expert description

Arbikie Tattie Bogle Potato Vodka is a Scottish Vodka distilled from three potato varieties grown on the Arbikie Distillery fields and bottled at 43%.

The varieties are Maris Piper, King Edward and Cultra, and they are lifted when the starch is at its best. Potatoes give a heavier, fatter distillate than grain, and that weight is what carries the whole flavour picture. This is vodka with a body, not one polished down to water.

Arbikie calls the method field to bottle. Growing, harvesting, fermenting, distilling, bottling and labelling all happen on the farm in Angus, so every bottle traces back to the field the crop stood in. That is rare in vodka, where most producers buy neutral spirit in from elsewhere.

The bottle was named UK Vodka of the Year at the World Drink Awards, and it shows itself best where texture matters. A Dry Martini with a dry vermouth is the place to start.

Tasting notes

Nose

Creamy and mild with black pepper at the edges. Behind it sits something faintly sweet and floury, like potatoes just off the boil.

Palate

Silky and full. Black pepper arrives halfway through, and underneath it lies a suggestion of pear and cooked grain. No sharp edges anywhere.

Finish

Soft and medium length. The pepper lingers while the weight slowly releases its grip.

Specifications

Name: Arbikie Tattie Bogle Potato Vodka
Distillery: Arbikie Distillery
Region/Country: Angus, Scotland
Type: Scottish Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5060398440005
Serving suggestion: In a Dry Martini with a dry vermouth, or cold in a small glass where the texture has room.

Flavour profile

Creamy · Silky · Peppery · Full-bodied

Did you know?

The very first spirit to run off the Arbikie stills was this potato vodka. The distillery is built into an old cattle shed on the farm, and the vodka reached the market before both the gin and the whisky followed.

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Very few bottles tell you what happened to the contents. This one has printed the process on the label: two filtrations, two materials and two entirely different ways of taking something away.

Expert description

Bols Charcoal & Copper Filtered is a Dutch Vodka from Lucas Bols, filtered through both copper and activated charcoal and bottled at 37.5%.

Copper is the oldest trick in the trade. The metal binds sulphur compounds that would otherwise give a spirit something close to struck match or boiled cabbage, which is why stills have been built in copper for centuries. Put copper to work after distillation as well, and the last of those compounds get one more chance to be caught.

Activated charcoal works differently. It removes nothing by chemical bonding but by trapping the larger molecules in the pores of the carbon, while ethanol and water pass through more or less unhindered. Fusel oils and heavy aroma compounds stay in the filter, and the spirit comes out lighter than it went in.

The balance is the whole craft. Filter too hard and the small grain character that makes a vodka worth tasting disappears too, leaving something clean with nothing at all to say. Here the level is set so the bottle turns dry and smooth rather than washed out, which makes it an efficient building block behind a bar.

Tasting notes

Nose

Almost silent. Cool and mineral, with only a faint suggestion of grain and a touch of fresh metal.

Palate

Dry and sharply cut. There is very little sweetness, the body is slim, and the profile runs straight without any bends from the first sip.

Finish

Very short. It lets go quickly and leaves a trace of pepper and no weight at all.

Specifications

Name: Bols Charcoal & Copper Filtered
Producer: Lucas Bols
Region/Country: Netherlands
Type: Dutch Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Filtered through copper and activated charcoal
EAN no.: 5900471026200
Serving suggestion: Use it in a Vodka Tonic or a Bloody Mary, where the dry profile leaves room for everything else.

Flavour profile

Dry · Clean · Slim · Mineral

Did you know?

Activated charcoal has an absurdly large internal surface area. A single gram can amount to several hundred square metres, because the carbon is riddled with microscopic pores — and that area is exactly what the filtration lives off.

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Some bottles get saved for occasions and some simply need to be there. A litre in the freezer belongs to the second group. It comes out for guests, for the fish on Saturday and for the glass nobody had planned on.

Expert description

Sobieski Estate Vodka Single Rye is a Polish Vodka made from pure Dankowskie rye, bottled at 40% in a 100 cl bottle.

The litre is the format that makes sense if the vodka is meant to be used. Sobieski is built to be poured rather than admired: the label is plain, the glass is simple, and the priority clearly sits with what is inside. That is the same line the house has held since it dropped the idea that more distillations automatically mean better vodka.

The grain is Dankowskie rye from Polish fields, and there is nothing else in it. Rye brings a bread and pepper signature that a wheat vodka never reaches, and because the spirit runs only once through the forty metre house column, that character stays put. The water comes from Oligocene springs.

At this size it also becomes a different sort of bottle behind a bar. There is enough for a round of shots, a jug of Bloody Mary and the everyday alternative to gin in the same week without a trip to restock. The rye survives being mixed with strong things and does not vanish behind tomato, ginger or horseradish.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dry grain and baker's dough, with a breath of aniseed over the top. The aroma is restrained and does not close up even when the glass is cold.

Palate

Firm and dry. The rye sits mid mouth as crust and flour, and a peppery warmth rises slowly from behind.

Finish

Clean and medium. The warmth falls away evenly and leaves a dry, faintly salted impression.

Specifications

Name: Sobieski Estate Vodka Single Rye
Distillery: Destylarnia Sobieski
Region/Country: Starogard Gdański, Poland
Type: Polish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 100 CL
Distillation method: Single distilled in the tallest column in Poland
EAN no.: 5900226006860
Serving suggestion: Straight from the freezer into frozen glasses at the table, or in a Vodka Gimlet where the rye spice meets the lime.

Flavour profile

Dry · Peppery · Grainy · Direct

Did you know?

The word vodka first appears in writing in 1405, in a document from Sandomierz in Poland. There it did not describe a drink but medicine and cosmetics — the glass came later.

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A small bottle takes up nothing in a bag and does not sit half empty at the back of a cupboard for two years. 35 cl is the size you take to the summer house, into the tent bag or into a gift box alongside two glasses and a bag of limes.

Expert description

Smirnoff RED Triple Distilled No. 21 Vodka 35 cl is a British Vodka made from grain, triple distilled and bottled at 37.5%.

The contents are exactly what sits in the larger bottles. No. 21 is the number of the recipe, and the spirit is cleaned through columns of activated charcoal until there is little left beyond alcohol, water and a dry peppery note. Nothing about the liquid changes, only how long it lasts.

The small format carries a practical advantage people rarely mention. An opened vodka bottle does not fade the way wine does, but the air in a half empty bottle still works away slowly. A 35 cl gets finished while it is fresh, and it is also the easiest way to try a vodka before committing to a litre.

Tasting notes

Nose

Tight and clean. A wisp of charcoal and something close to wet flint.

Palate

Dry from the first sip. The grain is there but brief, with a peppery warmth sitting right behind it.

Finish

Clean and quick with black pepper at the end. No sweetness, no tail.

Specifications

Name: Smirnoff RED Triple Distilled No. 21 Vodka 35 cl
Producer: Smirnoff
Region/Country: United Kingdom
Type: British Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 35 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled and charcoal filtered
EAN no.: 5410316671286
Serving suggestion: Ice cold as a shot with herring and rye bread, or in a Screwdriver with fresh orange.

Flavour profile

Dry · Clean · Peppery · Straightforward

Did you know?

Pyotr Smirnov supplied vodka to the Russian imperial court in the late nineteenth century, and that appointment became part of the brand identity. The double-headed eagle on the label comes straight from there, borrowed from the imperial coat of arms.

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Raspberry is the fruit that loses most when it gets turned into syrup. The aroma is floral and light, the flavour tart and brief, and all of it disappears once sugar takes charge. The Twist bottle tries to keep the berry alive at full strength.

Expert description

Smirnoff Raspberry Twist Triple Distilled Vodka is a British Vodka carrying raspberry flavour, triple distilled and bottled at 37.5%.

The base is the same neutral vodka found in the red bottle: triple distilled grain, cleaned through activated charcoal and then given raspberry flavour. Because the strength is held at 37.5%, the bottle may legally be called vodka in the EU. That is far from a given among flavoured bottles, plenty of which sit below the line.

The consequence shows up in the glass. Alcohol carries the fruit further, the sweetness turns less sticky, and the bottle can act as a proper cocktail base rather than only a long drink. A Raspberry Collins and a French Martini both work without any rebuilding.

Tasting notes

Nose

Raspberry straight away, more jam than fresh berry. Behind it runs a floral streak in the direction of rose.

Palate

Sweet at the start, with acidity right behind. The berry is concentrated and faintly seedy, and the alcohol keeps the sugar in check.

Finish

Dry and berry-driven with a small bite. The sweetness drops away and the fruit acidity is what remains.

Specifications

Name: Smirnoff Raspberry Twist Triple Distilled Vodka
Producer: Smirnoff
Region/Country: United Kingdom
Type: British Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled and charcoal filtered
EAN no.: 5410316982474
Serving suggestion: With soda, lime and plenty of ice, or in a French Martini with pineapple juice.

Flavour profile

Raspberry · Sweet · Tart · Fruit-driven

Did you know?

The 21 on the red bottle is neither an age nor a strength but the number of the recipe Vladimir Smirnov developed around 1917. The same recipe sits underneath the flavoured bottles, which is why the raspberry label still reads Triple Distilled.

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The red label is built to disappear into the drink. The black one is built to do the opposite. Same house, same Scottish distillery, but two entirely different ideas about what a vodka is supposed to do. The black one is the bottle that dares to have an opinion.

Expert description

Smirnoff Black Small Batch No. 55 Triple Distilled Premium Vodka is a British Vodka made from wheat and bottled at 40%.

Diageo launched Smirnoff Black in the United States in 1995 and in Britain two years later. The very first bottles were distilled and bottled in Moscow, but production moved to Scotland shortly afterwards and has stayed there since. The packaging was redrawn in 2006 and again in 2008.

The difference between black and red comes down to how much gets taken out along the way. The red is cleaned ten times through charcoal until there is barely anything left to grip. The black gets a single pass after a turn through copper, and the grain character is allowed to stay. That makes a heavier, creamier vodka you can drink neat without feeling short-changed.

Tasting notes

Nose

Round and nutty. Toasted bran, a touch of aniseed and something sweet in the direction of marzipan.

Palate

Full and soft. Creamy nut character and a dry grain sweetness that sits around longer than you would expect from a vodka.

Finish

Spiced and warm. Liquorice root and pepper in equal measure, with a dry grain note right at the end.

Specifications

Name: Smirnoff Black Small Batch No. 55 Triple Distilled Premium Vodka
Producer: Smirnoff
Region/Country: Scotland, United Kingdom
Type: British Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled and redistilled in a copper pot still
EAN no.: 5410316265164
Serving suggestion: Neat over a single large ice cube, or in a Vodka Martini without too much vermouth.

Flavour profile

Full-bodied · Creamy · Nutty · Grain-driven

Did you know?

The charcoal is not the same as in the red bottle. Smirnoff Black is filtered through Siberian silver birch charcoal, and only once. The choice was made to clean the spirit without stripping out the grain character the whole black label is built on.

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Copper does something to spirit that steel never gets close to. The metal binds sulphur compounds and leaves behind a distillate with a weight no column can manufacture. At Cameronbridge in Fife stands a copper pot still more than 150 years old, and this bottle takes its name from it.

Expert description

Smirnoff Copper Pot Still No. 55 Triple Distilled Vodka is a British Vodka made from wheat, redistilled in a copper pot still and bottled at 40%.

The number 55 points to a different recipe from the red No. 21. Where No. 21 travels through seven columns of activated charcoal for up to eight hours, No. 55 gets a single pass through birch charcoal. In exchange it goes past the copper, and that is where the whole difference sits.

Small batch here means the runs are kept small enough for the copper pot still to handle the entire volume. The result is a vodka with noticeably more body than the red one: oily in the mouth, nutty through the middle and carrying a spiced pull at the end. This is not one to bury in a Bloody Mary.

Tasting notes

Nose

Liquorice and wheat bran, dry and faintly floury. Behind it sit brazil nut and a soft aniseed tone.

Palate

Heavy in the mouth and close to oily. Chestnut and creamy nut sweetness fill the middle before fennel cuts through and clears it away.

Finish

Spiced and long by vodka standards. Liquorice and nut first, then cracked black pepper that stays put.

Specifications

Name: Smirnoff Copper Pot Still No. 55 Triple Distilled Vodka
Producer: Smirnoff
Region/Country: Scotland, United Kingdom
Type: British Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled and redistilled in a copper pot still
EAN no.: 5410316265164
Serving suggestion: Neat and cool in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini with a twist of lemon.

Flavour profile

Oily · Nutty · Spiced · Full-bodied

Did you know?

When the bottle was redesigned in January 2008, the large copper script reading Copper Pot Still was demoted to small print while the words Small Batch were added. The No. 55 ended up on the skirt of the capsule. That is part of why the same vodka now appears under several names on the shelf.

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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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There is no sugar in it, and it still tastes of orange. Wild Distillery runs the fruit through the still instead of pouring flavouring in afterwards, and the difference registers immediately: this is peel and juice, not soft drink.

Expert description

Wild Distillery REN Appelsin is a Danish Vodka from Bornholm, distilled five times from organic wheat together with organic oranges and bottled at 40%.

No sugar, sweeteners or flavouring compounds are added. The orange goes into the distillation itself, and that is why the citrus note reads dry and fresh rather than sugary. You get the brightness of the peel without the sticky aftertaste that marks a lot of orange spirits.

Wild Distillery is a micro distillery at Lobbæk outside Aakirkeby on Bornholm. The house makes organic gin, vodka and aquavit, and wherever possible the raw materials come from the island itself. The distillery states that the distillate is gluten free.

REN Appelsin took silver at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 2023. It is built first and foremost for drinks, but it also stands up to being served cold and neat.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh orange peel, obvious but never perfumed. Behind it sits a soft grain character and a trace of blossom.

Palate

Clean and light at first, then the orange opens out with both juice and a little bitterness from the peel. No sugary sweetness anywhere.

Finish

Short and dry. The citrus drops away and a cool trace of peel remains.

Specifications

Name: Wild Distillery REN Appelsin
Distillery: Wild Distillery
Region/Country: Bornholm, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled five times
EAN no.: 5714884000166
Serving suggestion: In a Screwdriver or a spritz, or cold and neat in a small glass.

Flavour profile

Fresh · Citrus · Dry · Lightly grain-sweet

Did you know?

Wild Distillery holds a special permit from the Danish Nature Agency allowing it to pick wild Bornholm juniper and sloe berries. They do not go into the vodka, but into the house WILD gin.

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Lift it with two hands. A 175 cl skull in heavy moulded glass is not something you pour from with a flick of the wrist, and that is exactly why it ends up in the middle of the table rather than at the back of the cupboard. The colours handle the rest.

Expert description

Crystal Head Rainbow is a Canadian Vodka made from Canadian corn, distilled four times and bottled at 40% in a rainbow coloured 175 cl skull bottle.

The large format is the same Pride edition as the 70 cl bottle, simply in the size you bring out when there are several glasses to fill. The vodka inside is the house original: corn from Canadian fields, four distillations, water from Newfoundland and seven filtrations, three of which run through Herkimer diamonds. Nothing added.

The glass itself is worth a moment. The shape was drawn by American artist John Alexander and is moulded at Bruni Glass in Milan, and in the large format the detail sharpens: cheekbones, teeth, eye sockets. The rainbow decoration is applied straight onto the glass so the colour follows the curved surfaces instead of lying flat like a label.

Tasting notes

Nose

Mild grain character with a bright touch of citrus peel. The aroma is restrained and entirely free of sharpness.

Palate

Round and soft with clear vanilla. Sweetness from the corn fills the middle without turning thick.

Finish

Creamy and short. It closes with a soft pull and leaves the glass ready for the next mouthful.

Specifications

Name: Crystal Head Rainbow
Distillery: Crystal Head Vodka
Region/Country: Newfoundland, Canada
Type: Canadian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 175 CL
Distillation method: Four times distilled
Edition: Pride, limited edition
Serving suggestion: Pour it cold into Moscow Mule mugs with ginger beer and lime for a larger gathering.

Flavour profile

Round · Vanilla sweet · Creamy · Light

Did you know?

The bottle took more than two years to develop. John Alexander drew the shape, Dan Aykroyd advised along the way, and production was placed with Bruni Glass in Milan. When the first prototype was finally finished, the glassworks itself called it the most complex bottle they had ever produced.

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Moldova is best known for its vineyards and for the cellars that run for kilometres into the limestone. But the country also carries a distilling tradition that survived two hundred years of Russian rule. Firestarter is built on a recipe from the 1800s.

Expert description

Firestarter Vodka is a Moldovan Vodka made from winter wheat, triple distilled and filtered five times through platinum, bottled at 40%.

Winter wheat is sown in autumn, stands through the frost and is not harvested until the following summer. The long growing season packs more starch into the grain, and that gives a spirit with more body and a clearer sweetness than summer wheat delivers. The raw material carries this whole vodka.

Two moves set it apart. During the final distillation the spirit is run through honey, without that showing up as sweetness — it registers instead as a richness in the mouthfeel. The vodka is then filtered five times through platinum, which strips the last sharp edges away without scrubbing out the grain.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and close to neutral. A pale grain note, a suggestion of meadow flower and something wet and stony in the background.

Palate

Smooth with a fine wheat weight. Pepper arrives halfway through, and a light acidity keeps the whole thing in balance.

Finish

Short and clean. The pepper hangs on for a moment before everything closes down quietly.

Specifications

Name: Firestarter Vodka
Producer: Firestarter
Region/Country: Moldova
Type: Moldovan Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled, five times platinum filtered
Serving suggestion: Ice cold as a shot with spiced food, or in a Vodka Tonic with a slice of lemon.

Flavour profile

Smooth · Wheat bodied · Lightly peppery · Fresh

Did you know?

Firestarter has previously been sold in a container shaped like a fire extinguisher. The name is not merely an attitude, then — it has been taken entirely literally on the shelf.

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The 42nd parallel south cuts straight through New Zealand. You cannot get much further from everything else in the inhabited world, and that is exactly the point the whole bottle rests on: clean water, clean air, no neighbours to worry about.

Expert description

42 Below Vodka is a New Zealand Vodka made from wheat and bottled at 40%.

The story starts in 1999 in a garage in Wellington. Geoff Ross had a thought that a country as clean as New Zealand ought to be able to make one of the purest vodkas in the world, and set about it on his own. First he sold to friends, then to bars, and eventually the whole country wanted the bottle. Today it sits on shelves across most of the globe.

The name points at the latitude, and the water is part of the argument: it is drawn from an aquifer beneath old volcanic rock. The wheat is New Zealand grown, and the spirit is cleaned so far that the grain is barely sensed. That makes it one of the most obliging bases behind a bar — it settles underneath the other ingredients instead of fighting them.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and cool with a faint citrus trace. The grain sits well back and makes no fuss.

Palate

Soft and almost oily in texture. A mild sweetness from the wheat, with no sharp alcoholic edge.

Finish

Fresh and full in the mouth, but short. A clean, lightly mineral impression is what stays.

Specifications

Name: 42 Below Vodka
Producer: 42 Below
Region/Country: New Zealand
Type: New Zealand Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: Neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail where the base should keep a low profile.

Flavour profile

Clean · Soft · Lightly grain sweet · Fresh

Did you know?

Less than ten years after the first bottle was filled in a Wellington garage, Bacardi bought the whole brand. Geoff Ross and Justine Troy later wrote a book about the trip from homemade to world market.

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There is one letter too many in the name, and it is entirely deliberate. The character is the same one that sits on the Danish organic mark, and it has been dropped into the middle of the word vodka so that the label becomes the name. Rarely has a spelling mistake been so carefully considered.

Expert description

Vødtka is an Organic Danish Vodka from Søbogaard, made from organic wheat and bottled at 40%.

Søbogaard is not a distillery in the classic sense. The house was built around organic juice and soft drinks, and the spirits arrived as a side branch of the same thinking: organic raw materials, short ingredient lists and no artificial additions. The alcohol is wheat based, and the flavouring is handled by Søbogaard themselves.

It is a simple vodka, and that is not meant as criticism. The wheat gives a clear, soft sweetness that is allowed to carry the whole thing, while a slender herbal note and a touch of pepper keep it from turning dull. Silky is the word used about it, and it fits.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and pale. Wheat sweetness first, then something green and grassy that recalls lemongrass.

Palate

Silky and light. The sweetness lands early on the tongue and a discreet dusting of pepper follows without stabbing.

Finish

Short and clean. Only a faint herbal note and a trace of warmth remain.

Specifications

Name: Vødtka
Producer: Søbogaard
Region/Country: Denmark
Type: Organic Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: As a shot with blinis and caviar, or in an Espresso Martini or Cosmopolitan.

Flavour profile

Silky · Wheat sweet · Lightly herbal · Clean

Did you know?

Søbogaard run production both in Herning and in Borup on Zealand. Two parts of the country stand behind the same bottle, which is unusual for a house of that size.

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San Francisco, 1992. An inventor with not a single day of drinks trade behind him decided a vodka ought to be distilled until there was almost nothing left to strip away. The cobalt blue bottle that came out of the experiment still sits on back bars all over the world.

Expert description

Skyy Vodka is an American Vodka from San Francisco, distilled four times from American grain and bottled at 40%.

The man behind it was Maurice Kanbar, an inventor and businessman long before he was a vodka producer. When he put Skyy Vodka on the market in 1992 it arrived as the first quadruple-distilled and triple-filtered vodka in the United States. The thinking was simple: every extra pass through the column leaves less of the heavier compounds that otherwise show up in the nose as harshness.

The grain is grown in the United States, the filtration happens three times, and the water comes from the west coast. The brand now belongs to Gruppo Campari, the Italian house behind Campari and Aperol, so a vodka born in San Francisco has ended up in an Italian portfolio.

The character is neutral in the best sense of the word. There are no edges, no bitterness, and only a faint grain note holds on once the vodka meets ice and citrus. That is exactly why it has survived three decades of shifting cocktail fashion: it lets the other ingredients do the talking.

Tasting notes

Nose

Cool and almost tight-lipped. A pale grain note sits there with a faint sweetness, and no alcohol prickle at all.

Palate

Smooth and lightly oily. The grain gives a discreet sweetness, and halfway across the mouth a saline, mineral pull appears before a mild pepper edge rounds things off.

Finish

Short and dry. It lets go quickly and leaves behind neither bitterness nor burn.

Specifications

Name: Skyy Vodka
Producer: Skyy Vodka
Region/Country: San Francisco, USA
Type: American Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Quadruple distilled, triple filtered
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass, or as the base of a Cosmopolitan or Moscow Mule where lime and ginger get room to work.

Flavour profile

Neutral · Smooth · Lightly mineral · Discreetly grain-sweet

Did you know?

In 2021 Skyy Vodka was relaunched with water enriched with Pacific Minerals, drawn from the coastal waters around San Francisco. That is an unusual move in a trade where most producers head the other way and take as much out of the water as they possibly can.

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