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Posts from the ‘Vodka’ Category

9
Jan

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 »

1
Jan

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 »

30
Dec

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 »

24
Dec

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 »

20
Dec

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 »

18
Dec

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 »

14
Dec

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 »

10
Dec

Review: OYO Stone Fruit Vodka

OYO Stone Fruit Vodka is crafted at Middle West Spirits in Columbus Ohio.  Middle West was founded by Brady Konya and Ryan Long in 2008.  They released their first spirit, OYO Vodka in 2010.  They currently produce Rye, Whiskey, Gin, Bourbon, and several Vodka’s.  OYO Stone Fruit Vodka starts with the original OYO Vodka base made from Non GMO soft winter wheat grown in Ohio.  It is small batch distilled once on a custom Kothe Still and it is unfiltered.  Ripe Montmorency Cherries, Sweet Yellow Peaches, Apricots, Almond Extract, Hibiscus, and Wildflower Honey is infused before bottling at 70 proof. Read more »

7
Dec

Review: Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka

Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka is one of over 20 spirits crafted in Nashville Indiana in a state of the art 18,000 square foot distillery surrounded by 325 acres of native forest, they opened in 2017.  Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka.  It is sourced from the inner bark of several tree species.  There are four main types of cinnamon.  Hard Truth does not publish details as to which cinnamon type they use in crafting their cinnamon vodka.  The vodka base is made from 100% wheat and is distilled on a Vendome Copper & Brass distilling system.  It is infused with two natural sources of cinnamon and lightly sweetened with pure cane sugar.  Caramel color is added before bottling at 60 proof. Read more »

3
Dec

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 »