Review: Venture Vodka
Venture Vodka was one of two spirits crafted when Marlin & Barrel Distillery first opened their doors in a 4500 square foot former warehouse, March 2015 in Fernanda Beach on Amelia Island Florida. The other was Marlin & Barrel Light Rum. The distillery was founded and is owned by Roger and Heather Morenc. They have since moved to a 13,000 square foot location where they continue to expand their spirit list that now includes bourbon, whiskey, several rums, vodka’s, gin’s, and liqueurs. Venture Vodka is made from Florida molasses. The bottle we are tasting comes from batch 75. Read more 
Review: Shady Vodka Recount 2020
Shady Vodka Recount 2020 is a limited edition spirit designed to pay tribute to Florida’s history of close elections. It is made from 100% corn and is small batch distilled six times prior to a seventh distillation in a 1000 liter, 264 gallon Dragon double copper pot still with a pot head, 4 plate column and 11 plate side column. A 10 time proprietary filtration process follows prior to bottling. Recount 2020 was released 2 weeks after the launch of Shady Vodka and the opening of Shady Distillery. Each vodka is prepared the same, Recount 2020 is bottled at 81 proof instead of 80. The Shady Distillery is located in the Historic Sistrunk District of Fort Lauderdale, and the 20,000 square foot distillery is located in the Sistrunk Marketplace. Both are named in honor of pioneering black Physician Dr. James Franklin Sistrunk the founder of Provident Hospital, Broward Counties first black hospital. Master Distiller Jonny VerPlanck has also crafted 12 Mile White Rum. The 12 Mile name pays tribute to the edge of International waters during prohibition where rum runners met to transfer booze made in the Bahamas for delivery to Florida’s Southern coast. 12 Mile Dark rum is currently barrel aging and several more 12 Mile branded rums will follow. Read more
Review: Timber Creek Vodka
Timber Creek Vodka is crafted at Timber Creek Distillery in Crestview Florida. The Distillery was built on a 1400 acres farm near Destin Florida owned by Aaron Barnes family. Aaron partnered with neighbor Camden Ford in building the distillery, and creating the spirits. They currently also produce gin, rum, flavored rum, and several whiskey’s. Timber Creek Vodka is four times distilled in a custom pot still from 100% Florida grown red soft wheat and Florida limestone spring water pumped directly from the Florida aquifer. The wheat is cracked open and gently cooked to release the sugars. The grain is removed from the lauter tun and only the liquid is fermented. Timber Creek has developed a proprietary distilling and blending technique they call PureBlend. The spirit is filtered with natural charcoal. The vodka then rests for 6 months prior to bottling. Read more
Review: Monkey in Paradise Vodka
Monkey in Paradise Vodka was launched in early 2016 by Alex Kowtun, Frank Gomez, and Seth Goldberg. The MIP name and bottle graphic design peaked my interest. After reading about their production methods, and seeing the many awards they have already won, including a Double Gold Medal from The San Francisco World Spirits Competition, I was psyched to try it. MIP is made from the highest grade American corn and is distilled seven times in copper stills, and seven times carbon filtered. The water is demineralized with a proprietary five ppm reverse osmosis system. This extreme level of purification takes 11 gallons of water to produce 1 “Paradise Pure” gallon for the distillation process. The charcoal filtration takes place at four different proof levels allowing the alcohol and water to rest together between proof levels. Read more
Review: Manifest Citrus Vodka
Manifest Citrus Vodka is the result of a mistake. While experimenting with the production of their gin they created individual botanical distillations, some of which were different types of citrus peels. During a fractional blending, different citrus distillates were mixed. The tasty result was the light bulb moment for Manifest Citrus Vodka. Manifest Citrus starts with a high proof potato neutral spirit made from non GMO Russet potatoes sourced from a craft distillery in Idaho. Valencia and Parson Brown oranges, Meyer Lemon and Pink Grapefruit sourced from C&S Groves in San Mateo Florida are washed, cut and pressed to remove the juice. The fruit is then macerated for two days and redistilled with the high proof distillate in a pot still. Deionized water is blended to reduce to proof. I am reviewing bottle 1204 from batch 2 Read more
Review: St Augustine Florida Cane Vodka
St Augustine Florida Cane Vodka is made at the St Augustine Distillery located in the historic FP&L Ice Plant, built as part of St Augustine Florida’s first Power and Ice complex in 1907. This plant was the first to make commercial block ice in Florida. This distillery also crafts Bourbon, Gin, and Rum. Their Florida Cane Vodka was introduced in 2014 and is made from 100% Florida farmed sugar cane. The cane neutral spirit is re-distilled in a copper pot still. The distiller makes cuts by hand ensuring only the best quality spirit goes into each bottle. Read more