Review: Elk Rider Vodka
Elk Rider Vodka is one of five unflavored vodka’s crafted at the Heritage Distillery in Gig Harbor Washington. The other unflavored vodka’s include Elk Rider Wheat Vodka, Triple Distilled, Batch 12, and Char Barrel Finished Vodka. They also produce 23 flavored vodka’s. Elk Rider is named for their early family members who broke wild elk, and actually rode them. Elk Rider Vodka is made with corn grown in Eastern Washington and distilled in their 2000 liter Italian made still. The Heritage Distillery has a field to flask approach. Their dozens of spirits are crafted with grains or grapes, product specific, locally sourced, and bottled at the distillery. Read more 
Review: Rain Cucumber Vodka
Rain Cucumber Vodka is made from corn at the Buffalo Trace Distiller in Frankfort Kentucky. After seven distinct distillations and a polishing stage that adds limestone water, natural flavors are infused before bottling at 60 proof. Rain Vodka was one of the first organic vodkas, and at one time they offered an Organics line of flavored vodkas, which included Cucumber-Lime, Red Grape Hibiscus, Lavender Lemonade, and Honey Mango flavors. These have been replaced by a lineup that includes only two flavors, Cucumber and Mango. Gone from the bottles label is the word Organic. This leads me to believe these vodkas are no longer produced with organic corn. Read more
Review: IngeniOz Vodka
IngeniOz Vodka was launched August 2014. It is distilled and bottled at the Dehner Distillery in Clive Iowa. Johannes Van Leeuwen developed a process at Iowa State University for creating a vodka with 0 impurities. The process uses ozone to oxidize unwanted substances in the vodka that are then removed with activated carbon and nano noble metal filtration. As a comparison Smirnoff was measured to have 8 impurities, Absolut 16, and Grey Goose 14. IngeniOz vodka is made with Iowa grown corn and it is small batch distilled. Read more
Review: Heritage Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka
Heritage Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka was released October 31 2014. Ruby Red was one of 22 naturally flavored vodka’s they launched that day to celebrate the companies second anniversary, and the grand opening of HDC Waterfront, in downtown Gig Harbor Washington. Heritage Ruby Red Grapefruit starts with their award winning Triple Distilled Vodka as a base. This vodka is small batch triple distilled from wine grapes in an Italian made still named Nonna. Natural flavors are then blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Valentine Vodka
Valentine Vodka was launched March 2009. It is crafted by founder and distiller Rifino Valentine who after graduating from Cornell, spent 11 years on Wall Street as an independent trader. He than returned home to Michigan to open the first micro distillery in Detroit since prohibition. Valentine Vodka is crafted with a blend of 50% corn, 25% Red Michigan wheat, and 25% barley, all locally sourced. This is the same 3 grain mix Van Gogh selected to craft their original unflavored vodka, and continues to use as a base for their flavored vodka. Dragon Bleu Vodka is made with barley, wheat, and rye. Ultimat Vodka is made with potato, wheat, and rye. Valentine Vodka is small batch distilled in a 225 gallon Christian Carl still with two 35 foot columns, housing 42 trays. It is then slow filtered for 24 hours in a double false bottom 50 gallon drum through a proprietary activated carbon system made from coconut shells. A one week aeration to oxidate, esterficate and create long-chain-molecule flavor compounds follows. Water filtered through reverse osmosis is blended to reduce to proof before the vodka is hand bottled. Read more
Review: Western Son Hill Country Peach Vodka
Western Son Hill Country Peach Vodka is one of six flavored vodkas they craft in Pilot Point Texas. The other flavors include Ruby Red Grapefruit, Piney Woods Blueberry, South Texas Prickly Pear, South Plains Cucumber, and Apricot. 40% of the peaches grown in the state of Texas are grown in the Hill Country. This 25 county region of central and southern Texas stretches from the Northern suburbs of San Antonio ending southwest of Austin. The vodka base is made from American corn and water filtered through reverse osmosis. After 10 distillations through a 20 foot column still, the vodka is quadruple filtered. Natural peach essence are blended with the original vodka base before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Heritage Mango Vodka
Heritage Mango Vodka is one of 23 flavored vodkas crafted at the Heritage Distilling Company in Gig Harbor Washington. They also produce several unflavored vodka’s, along with several gins, and whiskeys. This is a distillery I have tracked for some time, but their distribution is limited to the West Coast, so I have not been able to pick up a bottle to review. I was very happy to see their full spirit line is now available for purchase direct from Heritage Distilling. Heritage Mango Vodka is small batch distilled with a vodka base made from wine grapes, and then blended with natural flavors and bottled at 60 proof at their distillery in Gig Harbor Washington. Read more
Review: Vox Vodka
Vox Vodka was launched by Jim Beam Brands in selective markets in 1999, and rolled out nationally in 2000. Vox may be best known for the award winning Austrian made glass bottle the vodka rests in, but Vox has also scored high with several reviewers. The Beverage Testing Institute for one, named Vox the top vodka in 2008 and awarded a score of 97 in their review. Vox is made from wheat and distilled five times at a distillery in the Netherlands with a 400 year history of distilling vodka. Once distilled a neutral micron cellulose filtration follows, filtering the impurities without affecting the aroma or flavor. Read more
Review: Crater Lake Vodka
Crater Lake Vodka was released in 1996. It is crafted at the Bendistillery in Tumalo Oregon. They also produce gin, several flavored vodka’s, and whiskey and the Bendistillery is a strong Private Label producer of spirits with over 40 brands created there. Crater Lake Vodka is made from corn and distilled five times and then filtered ten times through charcoal and lava rock, then briefly rested in oak. Pure Cascade Mountain water is blended to reduce to 80 proof. Founder and distiller Jim Bendis launched Crater Lake Vodka before it was cool to open a distillery, and he crafted his vodka with corn, long before Deep Eddy, and 1 year before Tito Beverage launched Tito’s Vodka. Read more
Review: Breckenridge Pear Vodka
Breckenridge Pear Vodka is crafted in Breckenridge Colorado at 9600 feet above sea level. No other spirit is distilled at a higher altitude. They also create Breckenridge Chili Chile a vodka infused with Colorado Chile and Turkish Chili, and Breckenridge Espresso Flavored Vodka. Each of these vodkas start with their unflavored original Breckenridge Vodka, made from 100% sweet corn as a base. After fermenting in a traditional Scotch-style open top fermenter the vodka is distilled five times in a 700 gallon Vendome custom copper combination pot still. A coconut shell charcoal filtration follows, before pure ice cold Rocky Mountain snowmelt water is blended to reduce to proof. In crafting Breckenridge Pear Vodka, a pear brandy is made from Palisade Colorado Pears grown on Colorado’s Western slopes. This brandy is infused with the vodka before bottling at 80 proof. Read more