Five centilitres is just enough to settle an argument. Line up three Danish vodkas side by side, pour a little into each glass, and let the wheat, the gold and the freezer speak for themselves.

Expert description

ELG Vodka is a Danish Vodka from Stone Grange near Fredensborg, distilled from wheat and bottled at 40% in a 5 cl miniature.

The miniature is not a different recipe but the same vodka in a format that lets you take less. The content is wheat based, and as in the full bottle the alcohol vapour has passed through two filters of 24 carat gold during the final distillation.

For a tasting, the small format is the most useful thing there is. Five centilitres covers two small glasses, and with two or three bottles on the table you can weigh Danish wheat vodka against Polish rye and English potato vodka without opening anything you then have to finish.

Then there is everything else a small bottle can do. It takes up no room in hand luggage, it fits an advent calendar or a hamper, and it makes an easy gift for someone who likes Danish craft without necessarily collecting bottles.

Tasting notes

Nose

Discreet and pale, with a suggestion of bread crust and a cool, faintly sweet tone.

Palate

Silky and light. The sweetness is restrained and settles evenly across the tongue without burning anywhere.

Finish

Short and dry. It disappears tidily and leaves only a faint warmth in the throat.

Specifications

Name: ELG Vodka
Distillery: Stone Grange
Region/Country: Fredensborg, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 5 CL
EAN no.: 5712510600025
Serving suggestion: Chill the bottle and pour it into two small glasses, ideally for a comparison with another vodka.

Flavour profile

Silky · Light · Clean · Discreet

Did you know?

ELG Vodka is made in batches of 625 bottles. That is an unusually precise figure to publish, and it says something about the scale involved — the miniature in your hand comes out of a run like that too.

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Three litres of vodka has weight to it. You do not lift it with one hand, and you do not push it to the back of the cupboard. The elit magnum is built to stand in the middle of the table where everyone can see what is being poured.

Expert description

Elit Vodka is a Latvian Vodka from Stoli Group, distilled from wheat and bottled at 40% in a 300 cl magnum.

The large format changes nothing about the liquid but everything about the occasion. Three litres covers a full gathering, and because the bottle has to be handled with both hands, the pour itself becomes part of the evening. The shoulder is broad, the neck is long, and the glass is heavy enough that the bottle stands steady even when half empty.

Inside sits the top of the house range. The wheat is distilled three times to alpha grade at Latvijas Balzams in Riga, and the spirit is cut with artesian water from a borehole under the plant. It is then chilled to minus 18 degrees and drawn slowly through ion charged filters — the freeze filtration the whole elit expression is built around.

The cold is not decoration. At that temperature the heavier alcohols and oils behave differently and allow themselves to be caught in the filter, which is why the texture ends up as thick and round as it does. A magnum gives you ample opportunity to test the claim.

Tasting notes

Nose

Discreet and grainy. Dry baked goods run across the whole aroma, with a small lift of citrus peel on top.

Palate

Thick and round in the mouth. Sweetness from the wheat builds slowly and gives way to a dry, lightly peppered stripe.

Finish

Clean and coolly drying. It lingers briefly and leaves the tongue with no stickiness at all.

Specifications

Name: Elit Vodka Magnum
Producer: Stoli Group
Region/Country: Riga, Latvia
Type: Latvian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 300 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled and freeze filtered at minus 18 degrees
Serving suggestion: Pour it ice cold into shot glasses for the table, or build a jug of Vesper for the whole party.

Flavour profile

Round · Dry · Grain sweet · Clean

Did you know?

Latvijas Balzams in Riga was built in 1900 by order of the Tsar and has distilled without interruption ever since. The plant has outlived two world wars, a series of regimes and a declaration of independence — and still makes spirits on the same ground today.

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Turn the lights off and the bottle almost disappears. Matte black glass throws back no reflection, and the engraved circles cut across one another like rings around an eclipsed moon. Night Edition was drawn from the things you only see once the sky is dark enough.

Expert description

Elit Vodka Night Edition is a Latvian Vodka from Stoli Group, distilled from wheat and bottled at 40% in a matte black bottle.

Elit sits at the top of the Stolichnaya family and is made at Latvijas Balzams in Riga, one of the oldest and largest spirits plants in the Baltics. The wheat is distilled three times into an alpha grade spirit, the purest classification available to work with, and then cut with artesian water drawn from roughly 200 metres below ground.

The final step is the house signature. The spirit is chilled to minus 18 degrees and then drawn through ion charged filters so slowly that the process can run for hours. The cold holds the heavier compounds back, so they stay in the filter rather than in the glass. The vodka is then left to rest before bottling.

Night Edition is the same liquid in different clothing. The bottle is a matte black version of the usual elit shape, and the engraved circles borrow from eclipses and other rare night sky events. This is a bottle designed for evening light rather than daylight.

Tasting notes

Nose

Cool and reserved. The aroma is dry wheat with a touch of lemon peel and a breath of anise behind it.

Palate

Silky and almost free of burn. A discreet grain sweetness fills the middle before white pepper lays a thin stripe across the tongue.

Finish

Cool and clean. It fades quickly and leaves a sense of mineral and cold air behind.

Specifications

Name: Elit Vodka Night Edition
Producer: Stoli Group
Region/Country: Riga, Latvia
Type: Latvian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled and freeze filtered at minus 18 degrees
Edition: Night Edition
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small tulip glass, or in a dry Martini where the chill does the carrying.

Flavour profile

Cool · Silky · Dry · Mineral

Did you know?

Night Edition was the first elit bottle built with light inside it. A source in the base sends light up through the frosted neck so the engraved circles appear in the dark — a bottle that only shows its full decoration once the lamps are off.

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The neck is frosted, as though the bottle had just come out of the freezer. That is no accident. The whole elit design points back at the one step that separates it from the rest of the Stolichnaya family: the cold.

Expert description

Elit Vodka is a Latvian Vodka from Stoli Group, distilled from wheat and bottled at 40%.

The foundation is an alpha grade spirit. That is not a marketing word but an official classification with limits on aldehydes, fusel oils and methanol that sit far above what ordinary neutral alcohol has to meet. The wheat is distilled three times before the spirit is even allowed to claim the label.

It is then cut with artesian water from a borehole roughly 200 metres beneath Latvijas Balzams in Riga, and after that comes the step everything else is built around. The vodka is chilled to minus 18 degrees and drawn at a crawl through ion charged filters. The cold makes the heavier compounds sluggish enough to be caught, and the spirit then rests before bottling.

What you get out of it shows most clearly when the glass is cold. There is no sharp edge, no burn in the nose and a mouthfeel that verges on oily. In return, this is not a vodka with a great deal to say aromatically — the point is purity and texture rather than a long list of notes.

Tasting notes

Nose

Very restrained. A pale grain character, a little white bread and a hint of fresh almond if you give it time.

Palate

Soft and full with an oily sensation across the tongue. Sweetness is low, and a light mineral tone runs underneath it all.

Finish

Short, clean and cool. Nothing lingers, and that is exactly the intention.

Specifications

Name: Elit Vodka
Producer: Stoli Group
Region/Country: Riga, Latvia
Type: Latvian Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled and freeze filtered at minus 18 degrees
Serving suggestion: Straight from the freezer into a cool glass, or as the base of a Vodka Martini without too much vermouth.

Flavour profile

Clean · Oily · Neutral · Cool

Did you know?

The name is deliberately written with a lower case letter. The house calls it elit rather than Elit, and the small e runs across the label, the box and every piece of material — a detail that regularly makes people assume a typing error has crept in.

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Out at Mellerup north of Randers Fjord sits a farm where the fields run all the way down to the water. This is where the potatoes come from, and this is where they turn into vodka. Not in an industrial plant, but in a barn that also holds casks of whisky.

Expert description

Enghaven Danish Premium Vodka is a Danish Vodka distilled from Danish potatoes at Enghaven near Randers and bottled at 40%.

The Enghaven farm became a distillery in 2007, and the idea was simple from the start: whatever can be grown on the place should be refined on the place. The vodka is a distillery bottling in the literal sense, distilled, cut and filled in the same yard, with no middleman and no bought in neutral spirit.

The potato is an awkward choice. It yields less alcohol per kilo than grain, it has to be cooked and broken down before fermentation can even begin, and it is heavier to handle. In return it leaves a mark. Potato spirit generally lands fuller and more oily in the mouth than grain spirit, and that rounded texture is exactly what you meet here.

The distillate has not been scrubbed beyond recognition. A clear trace of the raw material survives into the finish, an earthy sweetness you will not find in a hard filtered wheat vodka. The producer recommends freezing the bottle and drinking it neat, and that is difficult to argue with.

Tasting notes

Nose

Mild and almost sweet. There is something creamy about it, with a faint earthy note underneath.

Palate

Round and full with a soft, almost oily texture. The gentle sweetness of the potato fills the middle without sharp edges.

Finish

Short and clean, but with a clear greeting from the raw material. The earthy note lingers after the sweetness drops away.

Specifications

Name: Enghaven Danish Premium Vodka
Distillery: Enghaven
Region/Country: Mellerup near Randers, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from Danish potatoes
Serving suggestion: Straight from the freezer and neat in a small glass, ideally with herring or smoked fish.

Flavour profile

Round · Mild · Potato soft · Earthy

Did you know?

Enghaven also makes Single Malt Whisky on the farm, released in numbered bottlings. It is still a small distillery, but the range runs from snaps and akvavit through gin and rum to whisky, and all of it comes out of the same barn.

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In 1806 a Georgian prince sat in the Caucasus refining a recipe for grain spirit. The Eristoff family had land, titles and a wolf's head on the coat of arms, and the name travelled onwards with the recipe across two centuries. The wolf still stands on the bottle today, but the spirit is made in France.

Expert description

Eristoff is a French Vodka made from 100% grain, triple distilled and charcoal filtered, bottled at 37.5%.

The story begins in Georgia, where Prince Nikolai Eristoff put the recipe in place. Production itself now sits in France, from where the vodka is distributed across the European market, and the brand belongs to Bacardi. It is one of those vodkas that grew large without ever making a fuss about itself.

Production runs strictly by the book. The grain has to carry the right moisture content before fermentation, distillation happens in three stages with demineralised water for dilution, and the spirit finally passes through charcoal. That filtration removes the last traces of harshness and heavier alcohols, and it is what gives Eristoff the smooth feel it is known for.

The result is neutral in the literal sense. There is no prominent grain character, no sweetness and no sharp edge, which is exactly the intention. A vodka like this is not meant to take up room in a drink but to make room. Alongside the original sits a range of flavoured versions, all built on the same clean base.

Tasting notes

Nose

Nearly silent. A distant grain note and something close to wet stone, but no perfume and no sweetness.

Palate

Light and smooth with a hint of sweetness on the attack. The grain sits well back, and the alcohol feels milder than 37.5% usually does.

Finish

Short and clean with a small streak of pepper at the end. Nothing lingers, and that is the whole point.

Specifications

Name: Eristoff
Producer: Eristoff
Region/Country: France
Type: French Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled from 100% grain, charcoal filtered
Serving suggestion: On the rocks with a wedge of lime, in a Vodka Tonic or as the base of a Moscow Mule.

Flavour profile

Neutral · Smooth · Light · Dry

Did you know?

Charcoal filtration of spirits became widespread in Russia in the 1700s, long before anyone could explain the chemistry behind it. All that was known was that charcoal made the spirit milder. The principle is the same as pouring water through a filter jug in your kitchen today.

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The water in this bottle waited in the dark for thousands of years while the world above changed seasons over and over. Beneath the seabed by Hestur in the Faroe Islands, deep inside the rock where the Sandoy tunnel was blasted through, the construction crew hit a pocket of crystal clear fresh water, filtered through stone and shut away from sun and salt. Faer Isles Distillery in Vestmanna heard the story and decided to distil it.

Expert description

North Atlantic Subsea Vodka is a Faroese Vodka from Faer Isles Distillery, distilled using water drawn 140 metres below the surface of the North Atlantic and bottled at 41.7%.

The water was found by accident when the contractor NCC drilled the Sandoy tunnel between two of the Faroese islands. A member of the project team had the idea of passing the water on to the distillery, and tests quickly showed it was a thing apart: mineral rich, clean and with a character clearly different from ordinary Faroese rainwater. After its journey through the rock layers the water has picked up minerals that now leave their mark on the taste.

To the finished vodka the distillery adds a small amount of distilled seaweed from the surrounding waters. That brings a nutty trace and a floral streak playing against the lightly saline base note from the water. It is a deliberate choice from a distillery unafraid to let the raw material speak.

Faer Isles Distillery was founded by whisky enthusiasts in Vestmanna and funded through crowdfunding with backers in more than 20 countries. Alongside the whisky still maturing in cask they make gin, akvavit and this vodka. Since launch Subsea Vodka has taken gold at the Vodka Masters in the Super Premium category and gold at the IWSC.

Tasting notes

Nose

Quiet and cautious rather than sharp. A trace of spice sits beneath a clean mineral core, and a faint salty breath reminds you where the water comes from.

Palate

Round and full without turning heavy. A light sweetness at the start gives way quickly to a pointed peppery warmth, and the seaweed reads as a discreet nutty layer under the minerality.

Finish

Long and warm with a persistent spiciness that builds rather than fades. This is the kind of close you come back to.

Specifications

Name: North Atlantic Subsea Vodka
Distillery: Faer Isles Distillery
Region/Country: Vestmanna, Faroe Islands
Type: Faroese Vodka
ABV: 41.7%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Distilled using water from a reservoir below the seabed, with distilled seaweed added
EAN no.: 5744002540076
Serving suggestion: Ice cold from the freezer in a small glass, or in a Moscow Mule where the salinity plays against the ginger.

Flavour profile

Mineral · Floral · Spiced · Full bodied

Did you know?

Faer Isles Distillery calls itself the most remote distillery in the world, and it sells casks to private buyers. Those buyers come from more than 20 countries, and plenty of them have never set foot on the Faroe Islands yet still own a cask drawing in salt air at Vestmanna.

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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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Mad Med Promiller – a Cookbook by Jan Ohrt – HARDBACK
ISBN: 139788785263063 – Release Date: 29-10-2024
196 pages

Mad Med Promiller is the perfect cookbook for those who love bold flavors, hearty cuts, and the warmth of the stove. This book is created for those who know that the best moments often arise around a delicious meal and a fine glass of spirits. The cookbook is filled with recipes that combine culinary craftsmanship with the finest ingredients and exquisite spirits, elevating the taste experience to new heights.

Whether you prefer whisky, rum, or gin, you will find inspiration to create dishes where the spirit is not just an accompaniment but a central part of the flavor experience. From powerful, spirit-infused sauces to slow-roasted dishes, these recipes will take you on a journey through the liquor cabinet and open up new worlds of taste.

The book is aimed at both passionate amateur cooks and seasoned enthusiasts who enjoy exploring the combination of cooking and spirits on a nerdy and flavorful level. Put on your apron, pour yourself a glass, and get ready to take your cooking to new heights. Cheers, and enjoy your time in the kitchen!

Language: Danish
Pages: 196
Release Date: 29-10-2024
ISBN: 139788785263063
Publisher: Hoi Forlag
Format: Hardback
Edition: 1
Original Language: Danish

There is a forest on the border between Poland and Belarus that was never cleared. The oaks stand close, the last wild bison in Europe graze the glades, and between them grows one very particular grass. That is what lies as a single blade inside this bottle.

Expert description

Grasovka Bisongras is a Polish Vodka distilled from Polish rye, flavoured with bison grass and bottled at 40%.

The grass is called Hierochloe odorata and grows in the glades of Bialowieza, the last great primeval forest of its kind in Europe. It is harvested by hand in summer while it still stands full of sap and smells at its strongest, and then dried. The vodka is passed through the dried grass several times so the aroma is drawn into the spirit.

After distillation, demineralised water and an extract of bison grass are added, and finally someone lays a single blade into each bottle by hand. The blade is not decoration alone. It is a reminder that the flavour comes from a plant rather than from a bottle of aroma.

The story of the grass is wrapped in secrecy. It is said that only 21 families know where the good bison grass stands, and that an outsider could not tell it from any other grass anyway. The bison can, and the plant carries their name for that reason.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh cut hay and vanilla, clear and soft. Almond and a trace of dried herbs sit behind them.

Palate

The grass lies as a mild sweetness across the light spice of the rye. There is a creamy vanilla note in the middle and almost no sharpness.

Finish

Medium and dry. The hay hangs on, and a hint of pepper from the rye turns up at the very end.

Specifications

Name: Grasovka Bisongras
Producer: Grasovka
Region/Country: Poland
Type: Polish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from Polish rye, flavoured with dried bison grass
EAN no.: 4034100221771
Serving suggestion: Ice cold with clear apple juice over ice, or neat in a small frosted glass.

Flavour profile

Bison grass · Vanilla · Fresh cut hay · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

The name Grasovka is not originally Polish. It was invented in 1976 by Emil Underberg, two years after his family firm had begun importing Polish bison grass vodka for the German market.

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A litre and a half changes the shape of an evening. Nobody counts glasses, and nobody has to go digging in a cupboard for a fresh bottle halfway through. The geese also get room to spread across a surface where you can actually see them.

Expert description

Grey Goose is a French Vodka made from soft winter wheat, bottled at 40% in a 150 cl bottle.

The water is the half of the recipe that rarely gets told properly. It comes from a well in Gensac-la-Pallue, a small town in the Cognac region, where it rises from an aquifer beneath the building itself. On the way up through the limestone it is filtered naturally, and it is collected fresh at the source without further treatment.

That water is precisely why blending and bottling happen in Cognac rather than in Picardie, where the wheat grows. The spirit is brought to Gensac and taken down to strength with the spring water, and only then does it go into glass. The whole chain stays inside French borders.

At this size it becomes a different sort of bottle to handle. Full, it wants two hands, and in return it stretches across a whole evening of drinks built for the table rather than for single glasses. The soft wheat character takes citrus, bubbles and elderflower without disappearing.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft grain and pale marzipan, with a floral note and a breath of freshly peeled lemon over the top.

Palate

Round and full. The wheat settles as mild sweetness mid tongue, followed by a discreet nutty note and a stroke of pepper.

Finish

Soft and medium. It dries out slowly and leaves a cool, mineral impression behind.

Specifications

Name: Grey Goose
Producer: Grey Goose
Region/Country: Picardie and Cognac, France
Type: French Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 150 CL
Distillation method: Single distilled in a continuous column
Serving suggestion: In a Le Grand Fizz with elderflower liqueur, lime and sparkling water, served in large wine glasses for the whole table.

Flavour profile

Round · Soft · Nutty · Cool

Did you know?

The man who put the recipe together was François Thibault, a maître de chai from Cognac. He had worked with brandy all his life and had never made vodka, and he approached the job like a cellar master: choose the raw material, touch it as little as possible and let the water decide the rest.

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Three litres is no longer a bottle you pass across a table. It stays where it is set down, and the rest of the evening moves around it. At that size the geese on the side are drawn at close to full scale.

Please note: The image is a model photo.

Expert description

Grey Goose is a French Vodka made from soft winter wheat from Picardie, bottled at 40% in a 300 cl bottle.

The chain behind the bottle is shorter than you might assume. The wheat is harvested in Picardie and milled and distilled there before the spirit travels south to Cognac. There it is blended with spring water and bottled. From crop to cork none of it leaves France, and that is the founding story of the house: control over every link rather than bought-in neutral spirit.

The winter wheat is chosen for starch and softness. It is sown in autumn, sits in the northern French soil all winter and is only cut the following summer, which gives a grain with more to work with. The single pass through a continuous column is set high enough to clean the spirit without shaving the wheat off it.

At three litres the bottle is as much furniture as it is spirit. The glass is thick and frosted, and because it scatters light rather than mirroring it, you can set a light source behind it and make the landscape draw itself through. Behind a bar it is hard to miss, which is rather the point.

Tasting notes

Nose

Baked wheat bread and almond, with a fine floral edge and a hint of green lemon.

Palate

Rich and smooth in the mouth. The grain gives mild sweetness, the nuttiness sits underneath, and the pepper only arrives right at the end.

Finish

Long and soft. The sweetness ebbs away slowly and leaves a dry, mineral coolness standing.

Specifications

Name: Grey Goose
Producer: Grey Goose
Region/Country: Picardie and Cognac, France
Type: French Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 300 CL
Distillation method: Single distilled in a continuous column
Serving suggestion: Pour over crushed ice with tonic and a cucumber spear when serving many people at once.

Flavour profile

Soft · Full · Nutty · Long

Did you know?

Bacardi bought Grey Goose in 2004, only seven years after the brand launched. The deal was at the time the largest ever done for a single spirits brand, and François Thibault stayed on in charge of production.

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Picardie in winter is flat, wet and wind-scoured. The wheat is sown in autumn and stands in the ground through the whole cold season before it is cut the following summer. That long, slow ripening is what an entire idea about vodka rests on.

Expert description

Grey Goose is a French Vodka distilled from soft winter wheat from Picardie and bottled at 40%.

There are two ingredients in the bottle and no more: the wheat and the water. The wheat is grown in Picardie in northern France, where soil and climate produce a soft variety high in starch, and the water comes from the house well in the Cognac region. None of it leaves France along the way.

The unusual part is the distillation. Where most so-called premium vodkas market themselves on five, seven or ten passes, Grey Goose runs only once through a continuous column. The thinking is the opposite of the norm: each extra distillation cleans the spirit while taking away some of the grain, and here the grain is the point of the bottle.

You can taste it. A soft, almost marzipan sweetness sits through the middle, the kind that sharply distilled vodkas have polished out. The bottle itself carries flying geese over a French landscape, and the glass is frosted so the image reads more clearly.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh wheat and a touch of marzipan. Behind it sits something floral and a suggestion of lemon peel.

Palate

Silky, with obvious grain sweetness through the middle. A light almond note spreads out before white pepper gives it an edge.

Finish

Clean and medium. The sweetness falls away calmly and leaves a dry, faintly peppery impression.

Specifications

Name: Grey Goose
Producer: Grey Goose
Region/Country: Picardie and Cognac, France
Type: French Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Single distilled in a continuous column
EAN no.: 5010677850100
Serving suggestion: In a dry Martini with a lemon twist, or neat in a cool glass without ice.

Flavour profile

Soft · Grain sweet · Almond · Clean

Did you know?

The man behind Grey Goose, Sidney Frank, was an importer who had already turned a German herbal liqueur into an American cult phenomenon before he decided in 1997 to build a French luxury vodka. He had no background in spirits production — he had an idea and a salesman's ear for what people wanted to believe.

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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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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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Rhubarb belongs in the English kitchen garden, somewhere between the gooseberries and the hollyhocks. The stalks push up before anything else, tart and pink, and are gone again before summer has properly started. JJ Whitley has poured that short window into a bottle.

Expert description

JJ Whitley Handcrafted Rhubarb Vodka is an English Vodka carrying natural rhubarb flavour, bottled at 38.6%.

The range was launched in March 2016 by British drinks producer Halewood and started life as exactly four bottles: two gins and two vodkas, one of which was this. All four went out at the same strength. The inspiration was English countryside and kitchen garden rather than Eastern European tradition, and that runs right through the line-up.

The rhubarb arrives as natural flavour after distillation, not as raw material in the still. The balance sits closer to compote than to raw stalk, so sugar carries further than acidity. That makes the bottle easy to drink over ice, and it holds its own against tonic or lemonade. If you want the edge back, add lemon.

Tasting notes

Nose

Stewed rhubarb with sugar, direct and unmistakable. Underneath sits something green and stalky, close to fresh celery.

Palate

Sweetness lands first and takes up plenty of room. A dry stalk pulls through behind it, and right at the end a creamy note appears, like rhubarb fool.

Finish

Short and sweet with a slightly sticky feel. Acidity returns at the very end and tidies up.

Specifications

Name: JJ Whitley Handcrafted Rhubarb Vodka
Producer: JJ Whitley
Region/Country: England, United Kingdom
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 38.6%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: Over ice with a wedge of lemon, or topped with tonic and a mint leaf.

Flavour profile

Sweet · Rhubarb · Soft · Lightly tart

Did you know?

The name comes from the Whitley family, who began making spirits in Daresbury, Cheshire in 1762. The same line gave its name to Whitley Neill Gin, which belongs to the same house.

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Schiedam sits wedged in just west of Rotterdam and has been burning grain since the seventeenth century. At the town's peak, several hundred distilleries and malt mills stood side by side. A handful are left today, and one of them has had the same family in charge since 1691.

Expert description

Ketel One Vodka is a Dutch Vodka from the Nolet Distillery in Schiedam, distilled from 100% wheat and bottled at 40%.

The Nolet family has run the distillery for eleven generations, but the vodka is young by house standards. Carolus Nolet put it into production in 1983, and the name comes from Distilleerketel #1, a coal-fired copper pot still from 1864 that still stands on the floor in Schiedam. Part of the spirit comes off that still, the rest from modern columns, and the two are blended at the end.

After distillation the spirit runs over loose charcoal and then rests in tile-lined tanks until bottling. Every single batch is tasted by a member of the family before it is approved. It sounds like marketing, but it is how the house has worked from the start.

The combination of pot still and column is the whole difference. The column cleans, the copper pot still adds weight, and the result is a vodka that is neither empty nor heavy. That middle position is why it has ended up among the most called-for vodkas behind the bar in the world's best bars, as measured by trade titles such as Drinks International.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and clean with a clear stroke of lemon peel. Underneath sits a pale wheat note and a suggestion of honey.

Palate

Crisp and light in the mouth. The wheat gives a fine sweetness, citrus lifts the middle, and a short dry warmth arrives towards the end.

Finish

Long by vodka standards and distinctly dry. The citrus note lingers without any sharp edges appearing.

Specifications

Name: Ketel One Vodka
Distillery: Nolet Distillery
Region/Country: Schiedam, the Netherlands
Type: Dutch Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Distilled from 100% wheat in copper pot still and column, filtered over charcoal
EAN no.: 8711566013701
Serving suggestion: Cool and neat in a small glass, or in a Dirty Martini where the citrus note carries the olive.

Flavour profile

Crisp · Citrus · Honey · Dry

Did you know?

The Nolet family has raised a windmill beside the distillery in Schiedam. It is called De Nolet, ranks among the tallest windmills in the world and supplies power to the production. Sails turning above a distillery are an unusual sight in a town otherwise known for its chimneys.

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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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The name says Copenhagen. The contents are distilled in Sweden. That is not a mistake but a reminder that the Øresund strait is narrower than most labels let on, and that Nordic spirits rarely stay inside one border.

Expert description

København Klassisk Vodka is a Swedish Vodka from Nordic Gin House, made from winter-harvested barley and bottled at 40%.

Nordic Gin House stand behind the whole København range, which holds gin in several styles, a single malt whisky and this vodka. The name is a greeting to the Danish capital, while the distilling happens at Bergslagens Destilleri in Sweden. The series built its reputation on the gin side, where the classic bottling in particular has taken prizes home.

Barley is a less common choice for vodka than wheat or rye. The grain brings a rounder and slightly fuller character with clearer cereal sweetness, and the winter harvest reinforces it: the long growing season gathers more starch in the kernel. This is a vodka that is soft rather than sharp, which is why it holds up neat.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pale and mild. Dry grain and a touch of white bread, with a very faint citrus note behind.

Palate

Round and soft with a cereal sweetness filling the middle. The alcohol reads as warmth more than bite.

Finish

Short and dry. The sweetness falls away quickly and leaves a clean, lightly floury impression.

Specifications

Name: København Klassisk Vodka
Producer: Nordic Gin House
Region/Country: Sweden
Type: Swedish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: As a Screwdriver with a slice of orange, or cold and neat in a small glass.

Flavour profile

Soft · Round · Cereal sweet · Mild

Did you know?

The København range also holds a Navy Strength Gin and a Single Malt Whisky. It is rare for a gin house to take the step across into whisky, and rarer still to do it under the same city name.

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Dill belongs to a Finnish summer the way a swimming jetty and boiled new potatoes do. It goes in the crayfish pot, it goes over the grilled salmon, and at Lignell & Piispanen in Kuopio it has gone into the still.

Expert description

Gustav Dill Vodka is a Finnish Vodka from Lignell & Piispanen in Kuopio, aroma distilled from Finnish dill and bottled at 40%.

The house goes back to 1852, when Gustav Ranin founded the business in Kuopio, and the Gustav range carries his first name. The company is still officially called Oy Gust. Ranin and sits to this day in the same town beside Lake Kallavesi in Northern Savonia.

The dill is not added as an essence afterwards. It is aroma distilled in small batches, so the herbal character is drawn out through distillation itself rather than through blending. It is a handmade way of working, and it gives a noticeably cleaner dill character than a flavoured vodka usually carries.

The result is dry rather than sweet. The dill lies as a green, faintly aniseed tone across a smooth vodka base, with a mild spiced warmth through the middle. It stands up to being drunk neat from a cold glass, but it truly shows itself with tonic, where the quinine and the dill pull in the same direction.

Tasting notes

Nose

Freshly cut dill, clear and clean. A touch of fennel seed and green apple sits behind it.

Palate

Dry and smooth. The dill fills the middle with a light aniseed sweetness, and a mild peppery spice comes through towards the end.

Finish

Medium and herbal. The green note hangs on while the alcohol leaves almost without heat.

Specifications

Name: Gustav Dill Vodka
Distillery: Lignell & Piispanen
Region/Country: Kuopio, Finland
Type: Finnish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Aroma distilled from Finnish dill, handmade in small batches
EAN no.: 6435302618617
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a Vodka Tonic with a sprig of dill, or neat in a small glass alongside cured salmon.

Flavour profile

Dill · Dry · Herbal · Smooth

Did you know?

The distillery runs both a factory outlet and an Arctic Bar in Kuopio, where you can taste your way through the range on site. The Gustav name covers more than vodka too: there is a gin and a lingonberry and cloudberry liqueur under the same first name.

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Some bottles are built for the other side of the bar. Merchant's Choice was put together for bartenders who need an English vodka that does its job and otherwise keeps out of the way of everything else in the shaker.

Expert description

Merchant's Choice Classic Vodka is an English Vodka distilled from British grain and bottled at 40%.

The brand comes from Symposium, an independent British spirits merchant that assembled a range of craft spirits with bar use in mind. Alongside the vodka there is a London Dry Gin in the same range, and the two are meant to stand side by side behind a bar rather than on a collector's shelf.

The vodka itself is distilled from grain in Great Britain and aims at a clean, crisp mouthfeel. There is neither botanical nor added flavouring in it; the whole ambition is that it should carry a cocktail without drawing attention to itself.

It is not empty for all that. A clear citrus note sits at the front, and beneath it a soft vanilla that means it can also be drunk neat if it is cold enough. Pepper arrives only right at the very end and reads more as a sensation than an actual flavour.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pale and clean with obvious citrus peel. A hint of vanilla sits underneath it.

Palate

Crisp and smooth with sharp citrus notes up front. The vanilla comes in halfway and rounds the edges off.

Finish

Short and dry with a discreet press of pepper. No bitterness is left behind.

Specifications

Name: Merchant's Choice Classic Vodka
Producer: Merchant's Choice
Region/Country: England, Great Britain
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from British grain
EAN no.: 5021692001149
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass, or as the base of a Vodka Collins or a Cosmopolitan.

Flavour profile

Clean · Crisp · Citrus-led · Soft vanilla

Did you know?

Vodka is one of the most tightly defined spirit types in law: the distillate has to be purified to at least 96% alcohol before it is diluted back down. That is why the difference between two vodkas so often lies in the water and the filtration rather than in the raw material.

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Strawberry and white chocolate is a pairing pastry chefs have lived off for generations. Mozart has poured it into a bottle in Salzburg, and the result is pink, creamy and considerably lighter than the description promises.

Expert description

Mozart Strawberry Chocolate is an Austrian White Chocolate Liqueur with strawberry from Mozart Distillerie in Salzburg, made with cocoa butter, cream and natural strawberry aroma and bottled at 15%.

The house has made chocolate liqueur and almost nothing else since 1954, and the strawberry edition is the most fruit-driven bottle in the range. The colour is a light strawberry pink and the texture is creamy without being heavy, which the producer describes as a light body.

The strawberry has been added to the white chocolate liqueur rather than the other way round. Cocoa butter and cream still form the floor, while the vanilla ties fruit and chocolate together. That combination is why it carries a dessert cocktail without needing either syrup or fruit puree.

The liqueur contains milk products. It has taken gold at the DLG International Award 2022, silver at the World Spirits Award 2022 and bronze at the IWSC 2022.

Tasting notes

Nose

Strawberry first, ripe fruit rather than tart. Behind it sit cocoa butter and a soft breath of vanilla.

Palate

Creamy without being thick. White chocolate lays the floor, the strawberry rests on top, and the vanilla holds the two together. The sweetness is obvious but never turns artificial.

Finish

Medium and milky. The fruit lets go first, and the cocoa butter is left standing alone with a little vanilla.

Specifications

Name: Mozart Strawberry Chocolate
Producer: Mozart Distillerie
Region/Country: Salzburg, Austria
Type: Austrian White Chocolate Liqueur with strawberry
ABV: 15%
Size: 50 CL
EAN no.: 9013100003490
Serving suggestion: Over vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries, or stirred into warm milk as a pink hot chocolate.

Flavour profile

Strawberry · White chocolate · Vanilla · Creamy

Did you know?

Mozart calls its own cocktails choctails and has sorted the recipes into categories such as freakshakes and hot choctails. The strawberry bottle turns up in a rose-coloured hot chocolate and in a chocolate muffin.

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White chocolate is not really chocolate at all. There is no cocoa mass in it, only cocoa butter, milk and sugar. Mozart White Chocolate is that argument poured into a bottle: milky white, soft, and with vanilla calling the shots.

Expert description

Mozart White Chocolate is an Austrian White Chocolate Liqueur from Mozart Distillerie in Salzburg, made with cocoa butter, cream and Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar, and bottled at 15%.

It is the lightest bottle in the house, in colour and in weight. The liquid is milky white and semi-fluid, so lighter than a classic cream liqueur, and the strength sits a couple of degrees below the coffee and dark editions. That makes it easier to drink in quantity where the others turn filling.

Vanilla leads, caramel follows right behind, and the cocoa butter supplies the richness that holds everything together. The producer describes the taste as liquid white chocolate with a hint of spirit, which is fair enough: you notice the alcohol, but it never cuts.

The liqueur is gluten-free and contains dairy. It is made entirely from natural ingredients and has taken gold at the World Spirits Award 2022, the London Spirits Competition 2022 and the DLG International Award the same year.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla straight away, sweet and reminiscent of baking. Underneath sit warm milk and a fatty, almost buttery impression from the cocoa butter.

Palate

Light and milky in the mouth rather than thick. Vanilla and caramel share the middle, and there is a soft sweetness closer to dessert than to spirit. The alcohol only shows up at the end.

Finish

Short to medium and buttery. The sweetness fades slowly, leaving a thin film of cocoa butter across the tongue.

Specifications

Name: Mozart White Chocolate
Producer: Mozart Distillerie
Region/Country: Salzburg, Austria
Type: Austrian White Chocolate Liqueur
ABV: 15%
Size: 50 CL
EAN no.: 9013100053303
Serving suggestion: Stirred into hot chocolate on a winter evening, or poured over fresh raspberries with vanilla ice cream.

Flavour profile

Vanilla · Cocoa butter · Milky · Caramel

Did you know?

Mozart bottles are low, round and wrapped in foil, and the shape is not only decoration. It was chosen because the bottles can be stacked two deep on a shop shelf, doubling what the customer sees without taking up any more space.

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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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In a valley outside Sendai, between two rivers and a wood of broadleaf trees, stands a column still from 1963. It was bought second-hand in Scotland, shipped to Japan and has been running there ever since. Nikka uses it for whisky, for gin and for this vodka.

Expert description

Nikka Coffey Japanese Vodka is a Japanese Vodka from Nikka Whisky, distilled from corn and malted barley in a Coffey still at the Miyagikyo distillery and bottled at 40%.

A Coffey still is an old-fashioned column, named after the Irishman Aeneas Coffey who patented it in 1830. It is less efficient than a modern column, and that is the entire point. Because it does not strip the distillate all the way down, body and texture come across with it, the very things a modern column would have shaved away.

Nikka brought its Coffey still to Japan in 1963 and still runs it. The grain is a mixture of corn and malted barley, where the corn brings round sweetness and the malt lays a soft layer underneath. It is the same thinking about raw material that sits behind the house Coffey Grain Whisky, only without the cask.

Finally the vodka is filtered through white birch charcoal. White birch is soft, porous wood, and its charcoal works gently: it takes the edges without dragging the sweetness along. The result is a vodka where texture is the first thing you notice and purity arrives second.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft and clean. Cooked corn and a touch of lemon peel, with a distant floral note behind.

Palate

Creamy and lightly sweet. Corn sweetness fills the middle, the malt lays a soft layer beneath, and there is a suggestion of white pepper at the edge.

Finish

Short and velvety. The sweetness slips quietly away and leaves a clean, almost powdered impression.

Specifications

Name: Nikka Coffey Vodka
Distillery: Nikka Whisky
Region/Country: Miyagikyo, Sendai, Japan
Type: Japanese Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from corn and malted barley in a Coffey still, filtered through white birch charcoal
EAN no.: 3700597303276
Serving suggestion: Neat and cool in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini where the texture gets room without too much vermouth.

Flavour profile

Creamy · Lightly corn-sweet · Clean · Soft texture

Did you know?

The same Coffey still is used for the house Coffey Grain Whisky and Coffey Malt Whisky. So Coffey never refers to coffee at Nikka, even though the name makes plenty of people assume it does. It is a surname.

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For 125 years freight wagons were repaired in the workshop halls beside the railway station in Nyborg. The tracks are still there. Inside the buildings there is copper now, and the smell has shifted from oil and iron to fermenting wheat malt.

Expert description

Fionia Vodka is an Organic Danish Vodka from Nyborg Destilleri on the island of Funen, triple distilled from organic wheat malt and bottled at 38%.

Nicolai and Niels Rømer fitted the distillery into the old railway halls in 2017 and put a restaurant beside it. The house is today one of the largest producers of organic spirits in the country, and organic is not an option box here — it covers the whole range, from whisky through gin to rum.

Fionia is built on malt rather than unmalted wheat, and it shows. Malting releases sugar and leaves a bready character that three distillations do not scrub away entirely. Bottling at 38% instead of the usual 40% does the rest: a little less alcoholic bite, a little more room for the grain.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft and pale. Fresh bread dough and a hint of lemon peel, with no sharp alcohol edge.

Palate

Light and gliding. Malt sweetness sits mid-tongue, followed by something herbal and a slender peppery warmth.

Finish

Clean and brief. A dry malt trace lingers while everything else lets go quickly.

Specifications

Name: Fionia Vodka
Distillery: Nyborg Destilleri
Region/Country: Nyborg, Funen, Denmark
Type: Organic Danish Vodka
ABV: 38%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled from wheat malt
EAN no.: 5708636500530
Serving suggestion: Cold in a small glass with fish and shellfish, or in a Vodka Tonic with a strip of lemon peel.

Flavour profile

Soft · Malty · Light citrus · Clean

Did you know?

Fionia is the Latin name for Funen. The range is called Fionia Spirits and also covers gin, white rum and dark rum, each carrying the same nod to the island on the label.

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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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Most vodkas try to strip everything out. This one adds a single thing at the end: a distillate of Indonesian long pepper, dosed so carefully that you have to go looking for it. That decision makes an otherwise quiet bottle step forward.

Expert description

Organic Spirits Vodka is an Organic Nordic Vodka, column distilled from winter wheat and bottled at 40%.

The method is short. The winter wheat is column distilled, after which the spirit is blended with water from Kløvermarken to reach the right strength. Right at the end the vodka is seasoned with a distillate of long pepper from Indonesia — and seasoned should be taken literally, because the quantity is small enough that it never becomes a spiced vodka.

The effect is clear enough once you know what to look for. The wheat sweetness gains a warm edge and a lightly floral note that would not be there otherwise. The rest is as vodka is allowed to be: simple, elegant and with nothing to prove.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pale and light. Wheat and a suggestion of lemongrass, with a warm spiced undertone a long way back.

Palate

Silky with a clear wheat sweetness. The pepper arrives late as warmth rather than as sharpness.

Finish

Clean and medium. The spice holds on longest and leaves a pleasant warmth in the throat.

Specifications

Name: Organic Spirits Vodka
Producer: Organic Spirits
Region/Country: The Nordics
Type: Organic Nordic Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Column distilled from winter wheat
Serving suggestion: As a shot with blinis and caviar, or in an Espresso Martini or Cosmopolitan.

Flavour profile

Silky · Wheat sweet · Warm spiced · Elegant

Did you know?

Long pepper is not black pepper. It is a different plant, where the whole elongated spike is dried and used as a single piece of spice rather than as separate corns. The flavour is sweeter and more floral than black pepper, and the heat builds more slowly.

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Treptow is the kind of Berlin district where old industrial buildings stand shoulder to shoulder with workshops and galleries. In 2013 the first distillery in a family that has since spread across several continents opened here. Everything began in Berlin.

Expert description

Our Vodka By Berlin is a German Vodka from Our/Berlin in Treptow, bottled at 37.5%.

Our/Berlin was the prototype. When the idea of a global brand with local distilleries had to be tried out in the real world, Berlin was picked as the first city, and the whole model — micro distillery in the city centre, local partners, local ingredients and the same recipe everywhere — was tested here before London, Detroit and the rest followed.

The vodka is made from German wheat and water drawn from the ground in Treptow. The spirit is blended and hand bottled on site, and the labels go onto the bottles in the same room the production stands in. It is as much craft as manufacturing.

The site is run by Jon and Pauline, who came to the project from PR and fashion, and that has shaped where the brand ended up. Our/Berlin has become a regular in the city's fashion, music and lifestyle circles and ranks among the best selling vodkas in Berlin's airports.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft wheat with a touch of white bread and a suggestion of anise. The aroma is low and straightforward.

Palate

Round and mild with clear grain sweetness. There is little bite, but a lightly saline note turns up towards the end.

Finish

Short and soft. The sweetness dries out slowly and only a faint warmth remains.

Specifications

Name: Our Vodka By Berlin
Distillery: Our/Berlin
Region/Country: Treptow, Berlin, Germany
Type: German Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 35 CL
Serving suggestion: Ice cold as a shot beside a beer, or in a Moscow Mule where the grain sweetness meets the ginger.

Flavour profile

Soft · Grain sweet · Mild · Lightly saline

Did you know?

Our/Vodka began as a secret project. The idea was developed in Stockholm by Åsa Caap together with colleagues from the agency Great Works, and they worked on it after hours and from their own homes for two years before Pernod Ricard approved a pilot in Berlin.

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Bagley Street sits in the part of Detroit where the brick facades carry murals and half the shopfronts have stood empty for years. Number 2545 became a distillery. Not as an investment, but as an argument that the neighbourhood was worth staying in.

Expert description

Our Vodka By Detroit is an American Vodka from Our/Detroit on Bagley Street, bottled at 40%.

Detroit came second in the line. After Berlin had shown that a micro distillery could work in the middle of a large city, Our/Detroit opened in August 2014 as the first outside Europe. The model came with it: the same recipe as the rest of the family, ingredients sourced as close by as possible, and a team of local partners with a free hand to run the brand the way they felt the city deserved.

The team behind it was local and women led, with Kate Bordine among the partners, and they chose to use the distillery as more than a production site. Mural competitions and neighbourhood events were held there, and sales were tied to the work of bringing life back to the surrounding streets.

The vodka itself is slightly stronger than its sister bottles from London and Berlin. The 40 percent gives more body and a clearer warmth, which makes it sturdier in a drink and more direct when it is served ice cold.

Tasting notes

Nose

Neutral with a pale grain character and a hint of green peel. The alcohol reads as a cool breath rather than a sting.

Palate

Firm and clean with moderate sweetness. The middle is dry, and a peppered warmth settles across the tongue.

Finish

Medium and dry. The warmth holds for a moment before everything withdraws.

Specifications

Name: Our Vodka By Detroit
Distillery: Our/Detroit
Region/Country: Detroit, Michigan, USA
Type: American Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 37.5 CL
EAN no.: 835229008816
Serving suggestion: In a Bloody Mary with plenty of horseradish, or ice cold in a shot glass alongside a burger.

Flavour profile

Dry · Firm · Peppered · Clean

Did you know?

Our/Detroit was run by a women led team — a rarity in American distilling, where women have long been heavily underrepresented among owners and production managers.

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