Review: Ashuelot Vodka
Ashuelot Vodka is triple distilled from locally grown apples and potatoes and blended to proof with mountain spring water. It is crafted at New England Sweetwater Farm and Distillery located on the banks of the Ashuelot river in Winchester New Hampshire. Ashuelot is pronounced ash-will-it. After his mother passed away in 2010 and left her 50 acre farm to him, Robert Patton-Spruill decided to invigorate the town instead of selling the farm. Robert had great memories of spending his childhood summers learning the craft of distilling from his grandfather, so he purchased a 100 year old former hardware store for $135,000 and spent another $250,000 renovating the property. Since 2015 this family owned distillery has been producing vodka, gin, whiskey, rum and moonshine. In 2020 sisters Alisa Lawrence and Nilaja Young along with their spouses purchased NESW from their cousin Robert Patton-Spruill. Read more 
Review: District Made Vodka
District Made Vodka is crafted from 66% Abruzzi rye, 28% corn, and 6% malted rye. College roommates Sandy Wood and Alex Laufer founded One Eight Distilling in 2013 in the Ivy City Neighborhood of Washington DC. Sandy had a successful career as an attorney and Alex worked in Biotech. They later changed the distilleries name to District Made Spirits. In prepping for their own distillery both interned at Smooth Ambler Spirits and worked at Koval Distilling. Sandy also interned with Springbank Distillers while Alex studied distilling at the Siebel Institute under Dave Pickrell, of WhistlePig fame. District Made Vodka is made from 66% Abruzzi Rye, 28% Corn, and 6% Malted Rye. It is crafted in column and pot stills, then charcoal and chill filtered before bottling. The rye is sourced exclusively from Culpepper Virginia. Not far from the farms once owned by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Read more
Review: Nantucket Vodka
Nantucket Vodka is crafted at Triple Eight Distillery from organic wheat and pure water sourced from their well. The well, numbered 888 was the inspiration for the distilleries name. Triple Eight distillery was founded in 1998 and while they are probably best known for their award winning Notch Single Malt Whiskey they have been producing vodka since they launched the original Triple Eight Vodka in 2001. That vodka was made from organic corn sourced from Holland. Triple Eight currently produces The Notch Single Malt Whiskey, bourbon, rum, gin, 5 flavored vodka’s and most recently they launched a line of canned cocktails. Read more
Review: Vinn Vodka
Vinn Vodka was the first vodka distilled from rice produced, distilled, and bottled in the US. The Vinn Distillery in Wilsonville Oregon is a family owned distillery that opened in 2009. The Vinn name comes from the middle name the five LY siblings share. The family also produces Baijiu, the National drink of China. Vinn is crafted from Non-GMO Calrose white rice grown in Northern California. They use a seventh generation family recipe coupled with modern technology. Vinn Vodka is made in small batches on a column still. Once distilled the spirit enters a circulation carbon filtration system for 10-12 hours prior to bottling. Read more
Review: Bellewood Farms Honeycrisp Vodka
Bellewood Farms Honeycrisp Vodka is crafted at Bellewood Distilling the first farm to bottle distillery in the state of Washington. Bellewood Farms is the largest apple grower in Western Washington with over 62 acres and 25,000 trees. They harvest 1.7 million pounds of 100% chemical free apples each year. While the farm currently grows 22 varieties of apples, Bellewood Farms Honeycrisp Vodka is made from 100% Honeycrisp apples. Over 30 pounds of apples are needed to craft 1 bottle of Bellewood Farms Honeycrisp Vodka. The apples are pressed into a cider and fermented with a proprietary yeast. The leftover mash from the distillery is put back into the orchard as fertilizer. The spirit is triple distilled in a 24 foot tall 250 gallon column Vendome still custom built in Kentucky and bottled at 93 proof. Read more
Review: Smugglers Notch Vodka
Smugglers Notch Vodka is crafted with winter wheat, corn and pure spring water from Mount Mansfield. Instead of a traditional carbon filtration, the spirit is run through a particulate filter to retain the flavor. It is produced at Smugglers Notch Distillery in Jefferson Vermont. Father and Son, Ron Elliott a retired business executive, and Jeremy Elliott a research chemist in the pharmaceutical industry founded the distillery in 2006 at the foot of the famed Smugglers Notch. They also produce an organic vodka made from organic corn, a Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit flavored vodka, 3 gins, 2 bourbons, rum, rye, 2 cream liqueurs and a few Limited Release spirits. Read more
Review: Kristone Vodka
Kristone Vodka is crafted at Crystal Rain Distillery by Kristian Hristov. The Crystal Rain Distillery opened in Lake Forest Illinois in 2019 but they recently opened their new distillery in Wheeling Illinois. While they currently just produce vodka, their Facebook page shows images of oak barrels, hinting more is on the horizon. Kristone is made from Organic Winter Wheat and water purified by both carbon and reverse osmosis. It is slow distilled 6 times through a copper pot still with 24 plates and is filtered through silver and platinum. Read more
Review: Elevate Vodka
Elevate Vodka is one of several spirits crafted at Mile High Spirits in the Denver Ballpark Neighborhood. It was originally distilled on a glass still, but it is currently distilled on a custom German built Arnold Holstein copper still. Following the same formula as Tito’s, Elevate is distilled 6 times from 100% corn. Mile High Spirits sources locally grown Colorado corn. Once distilled the vodka is proofed with pure filtered Rocky Mountain water. When the last drop is gone, bring the bottle to their downtown Denver tasting room for a drink on the house. Read more
Review: Drumshanbo Sausage Tree Irish Vodka
If the red bottle doesn’t get your attention sitting on the liquor store shelf next to the other brands clear vodka bottles, the name, Drumshanbo Sausage Tree Irish Vodka will. First of all the bottle is red. The vodka is colorless. The vodka is also unflavored. Irish vodka and gin have grown in popularity as more Irish Whiskey distilleries open and they need a source of income while their whiskey is barrel aged. The Shed Distillery was founded in 2014 by P.J. Rigney in Drumshanbo Co. Leitrim. In April 2015, Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin was their first product released, but it was not their first product produced. The first was Drumshanbo Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, but the whiskey needed to be barrel aged. They currently also craft Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin with Sardinian Citrus. From the curious mind of PJ Rigney Sausage Tree Vodka starts with Irish grain. The grain is distilled on a German built two column copper still handcrafted by Arnold Holstein. Sausage tree fruit, and Irish nettle are added before distilling again. Few production details are provided but it is bottled at 86 proof. Sausage Tree’s grow in Africa and are named such because of the sausage shaped fruit that grows on the tree. These fruit are poisonous to humans if consumed raw, but they are edible raw for some animals. Sausage fruit is a popular ingredient in African beer. Drumshanbo Sausage Tree Vodka was introduced March 2018 in Dusseldorf Germany. Where else would a vodka distilled in Ireland with African grown sausage tree fruit be launched. Read more
Review: General John Stark Vodka
General John Stark Vodka is distilled from apples, primarily Macintosh grown on Apple Hill Farm in Concord New Hampshire. The fresh apple juice arrives in 2200 gallon quantities. The juice is fermented for 7-10 days using two separate strains of yeast. The spirit is triple distilled on a 15 tray custom Christian Carl column still over the coarse of 24 hours. It then rests for a few weeks before it is cut to proof and bottled. General John Stark Vodka is named for the Revolutionary War soldier who during a speech uttered the phrase “Live Free or Die.” This phrase is still the New Hampshire state motto. The distillery sits on a former dairy farm that was switched to a vineyard in 1987 with the planting of the first grapes. By 1990 they were bottling wine. In 2004 the Flag Hill Distillery opened. Today they also produce whiskey, gin, rum, liqueurs, and brandy. Read more