Review: American Anthem Vodka
American Anthem Vodka was released by Diageo May 2018. Diageo already produces the Smirnoff, Ketel One, and Ciroc brands. For every bottle of American Anthem Vodka sold, Diageo will donate $1 to charities supporting military personnel and their families. American Anthem is 5 times distilled from corn grown in Iowa and Indiana. With a retail list price of $14.99 for a 750ml bottle, I purchased my bottle for $9.99, American Anthem appears to be positioned at a price point at or below market leader Smirnoff. This has been a fast growing segment, as the comparably priced New Amsterdam and Platinum 7X have been two of the fastest growing vodka brands in recent years. Read more 
Review: New Amsterdam Grapefruit Vodka
New Amsterdam Grapefruit Vodka was just released. This is their tenth flavored vodka. At one time they also made a Citron Flavored Vodka. Grapefruit is a very popular flavored vodka in fact this is the 24th Grapefruit Flavored vodka I’ve reviewed. Only Raspberry 25, Peach 25, and Orange 30 have been reviewed more. Launched in 2011 the New Amsterdam Vodka brand has seen meteoric growth with last years sales surpassing 5.36 million cases. New Amsterdam is now the third best selling brand of vodka sold in the US. Only Tito’s and Smirnoff sell more. New Amsterdam Grapefruit Vodka is 5-times distilled from the finest grains , then filtered three times. Natural ruby red grapefruit and other natural flavors are infused before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Absolut Grapefruit Vodka
Absolut Grapefruit Vodka was just released. If you thought Absolut already had a grapefruit flavored vodka, you would be correct. Absolut Ruby Red was one of the first grapefruit flavored vodka’s when in was launched in 2006. Absolut Ruby Red is still shown as available on the Absolut Vodka website. Absolut Grapefruit is crafted from a vodka base made from Swedish winter wheat sourced from 450 local farms. One Kilo of wheat is needed to create one liter of vodka. The wheat is milled onsite and blended with water and a proprietary yeast, and fermented for 2 days. A continuous distillation process is used with steel column stills and copper plates. The vodka is filtered once through a mesh filter. Pure deep well water that comes from naturally filtered aquifers is softened through reverse osmosis and then blended with the vodka to reduce to proof. All natural flavors are infused with the vodka. No sugar is added before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Cold River Blueberry Vodka
Cold River Blueberry Vodka is crafted at Maine Distilleries in Freeport Maine. They start with their whole potato vodka base. Many distilleries use potato starch to create their potato vodka. The Yukon Gold, Russet, and White Potatoes used are grown at Green Thumb Farms which is owned by Donnie Thibodeau a Founder/Partner of Maine Distilleries. The potatoes are steamed and cooked in filtered water and fermented with yeast. A triple distillation in a 1000 liter copper pot still follows. Wyman Maine blueberries are steeped for days in alcohol. The alcohol is filtered out before pure filtered water from the Cold River aquifer and 1% sugar are blended with the blueberry and vodka base. Some flavored vodkas add 12%-14% sugar. Each bottle is hand filled at 80 proof and numbered. This is a true ground to glass experience. Read more
Review: Till American Wheat Vodka
Till
American Wheat Vodka was released for sale April 2016 in Kansas and Missouri. Since then several states have been added. As each month passes, they expand their footprint, with the goal someday soon of National distribution. Till American Wheat Vodka is produced by MGP, a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits who first opened their doors in 1941 as a small distillery in Atchison Kansas. In 2011 they acquired a second distillery in Lawrenceburg Indiana once owned by Seagram’s. Many of today’s best known spirits start as a grain neutral spirit distilled by MGP. Their Indiana distillery produces whiskey for about 130 brands. Till is made from red wheat grown in Kansas and distilled using a 75 year old proprietary process. Till American Wheat Vodka was MGP’s first attempt at creating their own brand. Since launching Till, MGP has introduced the Master Crafted line of whiskey. Read more
Review: Stoli Crushed Mango Vodka
Stoli Crushed Mango Vodka was recently released. It joins Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Pineapple in the Stoli Crushed family of real fruit juice infused vodka. Stolie Crushed Mango starts with a vodka base made from a blend of 88% corn and 12% buckwheat. The vodka is triple distilled and quadruple filtered. Pure artesian spring water is blended to reduce to proof. Real fruit juice, natural flavor, and certified color are infused before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit and Rose
Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit and Rose is one of three new flavor infused vodka’s launched under the Ketel One Botanical label. With over 327 years of distilling expertise passed down from 11 generations brothers Carl Jr. and Bob Nolet live by their family motto, quality before everything. Each variety starts with the original Ketel One vodka made from 100% GMO Free European wheat. The base is redistilled with the Nolet family’s botanical recipe in small batches through traditional copper pot stills. After distillation the liquid is infused with the natural fruit essence specific to each variety. Bottled at 60 proof with only 73 calories per 1.5 oz. serving with no artificial flavors, sugars, or carbs, Ketel One Botanic Grapefruit Rose is crafted with 40% fewer calories than a glass of white wine. Read more
Review: Ketel One Botanical Peach and Orange Blossom
Ketel One Botanical Peach and Orange Blossom is one of three new Botanical vodka’s just released by Ketel One. The other varieties include Cucumber and Mint, and Grapefruit and Rose. Each variety starts with the Original Ketel One vodka which is made from 100% GMO Free European Wheat. The Ketel One base is redistilled with the Nolet Family’s botanical recipe in small batches through traditional copper pot stills. After distillation, the liquid is infused with the natural fruit essence specific to each variety. In this case Peach and Orange Blossoms. No artificial flavors, sugars or carbs are added before bottling at 60 proof. Each 1.5 oz. serving has 73 calories. This is 40% less than a 5 oz. glass of white wine. Read more
Review: Heeet Hot Cinnamon Vodka
Heeet Hot Cinnamon Vodka was the first product made by MerryGo Spirits which was founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Marc Goldberg. It is distilled and bottled by Citrus Distillers in Riviera Beach Florida. The vodka base is small batch distilled six times in 250 gallon batches and carbon filtered. Natural flavors are infused before bottling at 68 proof. Read more
Review: Belvedere Ginger Zest Vodka
Belvedere Ginger Zest Vodka is set for release in April. I was luck enough to pick up a bottle a little early. Belvedere Ginger Zest starts with a vodka base made from Dankowski rye and pure water. The water is sourced from their own wells and undergoes an 11 step purification process that includes reverse osmosis. The spirit is distilled four times and is filtered twice. Once through carbon followed by a finer mechanical filtration process. The flavors and aromas of fresh ginger, lemon, and grapefruit are extracted in a proprietary maceration process. These extracted oils are blended with the vodka. No sugar is added before bottling at 80 proof. Read more