Whitley Neill Blood Orange Premium Vodka 70 cl 43%

Blood oranges grow in only a few places on earth, and the best of them are the slopes around Etna in Sicily. Volcanic soil, cold nights and burning days give the fruit its dark red colour and the bittersweet edge an ordinary orange never develops. That edge is what this bottle is built around.

Expert description

Whitley Neill Blood Orange is an English Vodka flavoured with extract of Sicilian blood oranges and bottled at 43%.

Whitley Neill is an English house with a family distilling history reaching back to 1762, and the current distiller Johnny Neill is the eighth generation. The brand grew large on gin, travelling the world for botanicals, and the same approach sits behind the vodkas: find a raw material with character in one particular place and build the bottle around it.

The base is a clean grain vodka, and blood orange extract sits on top of it. The interesting part is the strength. Where most flavoured vodkas drop to 37.5% or lower once sugar and flavouring are in, this one holds 43%. That means the citrus does not drown in sweetness, and the bottle genuinely works as a cocktail base rather than only as a shot.

In the glass it comes straight at you. There is orange peel, juice and a trace of the bitter pith you know from a fresh blood orange, and beneath it the vodka itself lies as a clean, dry floor. It is not subtle, but it was never built to be.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh blood orange and grated orange zest, clear and direct. Behind it sits a faint spiced note, close to cloves.

Palate

Juicy and tart with orange peel and a light bitterness from the white pith. The grain base keeps it dry, and the 43% delivers a warm push halfway through.

Finish

Medium with peel and bitter orange. The sweetness drops away quickly, leaving a dry citrus edge.

Specifications

Name: Whitley Neill Blood Orange
Producer: Whitley Neill
Region/Country: England
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Grain vodka flavoured with blood orange extract
EAN no.: 5011166054788
Serving suggestion: With tonic and a slice of orange, or in a Blood Orange Mule with ginger beer and lime.

Flavour profile

Blood orange · Tart · Bittersweet · Dry

Did you know?

43% is unusually high for a flavoured vodka. The great majority sit at 37.5%, because added sugar and flavouring dilute the alcohol and because lower strength costs less in duty. Whitley Neill has kept the strength up, and that is why the citrus stands so sharply in a drink over ice.

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Frequently asked questions about Whitley Neill Blood Orange

What separates a blood orange from an ordinary one?

Blood oranges contain anthocyanins, the same pigments found in blueberries, and they only form when the nights are cold enough. That is why the fruit does best in Sicily. The flavour is more tart and carries a streak of raspberry and bitterness that a standard orange lacks.

Is it sweet?

Less than you expect. The aroma promises a sweeter drink than actually arrives, because the base is dry and the 43% cuts through. Compared with most flavoured vodkas on the market it sits firmly at the dry end.

How is it best drunk?

Over plenty of ice with a good tonic water and a thick slice of orange. The carbonation lifts the citrus notes and the ice keeps the sweetness down. For something simpler, try it with soda water and a squeeze of lime.

Can it be used in a Cosmopolitan?

Yes, and it is something of a shortcut. The blood orange takes over the role of the liqueur in the recipe, so you can cut back on the orange liqueur and let the cranberry and lime stand out more. The result is less sweet and more fruit driven.

Should it go in the fridge after opening?

Not essential, but it helps. Flavoured vodkas slowly lose freshness in the citrus notes when the bottle stands in light and warmth, and the fridge slows that down. The flavour holds well for a year or more if the bottle is closed properly.

Who is Whitley Neill?

An English spirits house with a family distilling history going back to 1762. Johnny Neill is the eighth generation and is behind a long line of gins and vodkas, each bottle built around one clear raw material. The house now sits under Halewood.

Is it good for anything besides drinks?

Yes, it works well in cooking and desserts. A splash over fresh fruit salad or in a sorbet delivers both citrus and a little bitterness, and it can be used to deglaze a pan after duck or pork. To see other houses, browse our Vodka brands.