Review: Delta Dirt Sweet Blend Vodka
Sweet Blend Vodka is a well awarded craft spirit made at Delta Dirt Distillery in Helena Arkansas. This farm to bottle family craft distillery was founded by Donna and Harvey Williams. Their son Thomas is the distiller. They also produce Tall Cotton Gin, and Delta Blue Bourbon. They grow their own produce and grains for their spirits. The Williams family have deep roots in Arkansas and have farmed the land in Phillips County for 4 generations. Papa Joe Williams was the patriarch who sharecropped the original 86 acres in the late 1800’s. In 1949 his son purchased the farm out of sharecropping with money earned from cotton and Moonshine. His son inherited the farm and diversified the farm to mainly sweet potatoes. In 2017 Donna and Harvey founded the distillery. Unable to get a bank loan they invested $900,000 to buy the building, build the still, and create their spirits. They visited over a dozen distilleries and their son Thomas attended distilling school. After trial and error they produced their first case of vodka in December 2020. Sweet Blend is crafted from a blend of sweet potatoes and corn grown on the family farm. The vodka is triple distilled on a custom copper pot and column still made by Specific Mechanical Systems in BC Canada, and bottled at 86 proof to honor the original 86 acres of their farmland. The aroma leads with earthy, herbal, and peppery notes. Additional time brings out warm unpeeled sweet potato, milk chocolate, and grilled corn. The sweet viscous floral, citrus, and fluffy bright orange sweet potato entry builds to a vanilla, potato peel, and citrus peak. It fades with caramel and black licorice and finishes with butterscotch, vanilla cake batter, and black pepper. Weighing in with 7.5% more octane than a traditional 80 proof vodka, I feel a little extra heft, experience a bump it flavor intensity, and a few sips in understand why my reviews include more than a sip and spit. This is not an entry level vodka. With a little more sweet potato flesh and a little less bittersweet earthy sweet potato skin taste, Delta Dirt Sweet Blend Vodka would have scored even higher with me.
Made in Helena Arkansas
43% Alcohol
Score: 90
Award: Silver Medal