Review: Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka
Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka was released in 2010. It is crafted at Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery in Gardiner New York. For 220 years Tuthilltown Gristmill used water power to render local grains to flour. In 2001 Ralph Erenzo purchased the 36 acre parcel of land that was its home. He planed to open Bunks in the Gunks an affordable minimalistic housing opportunity for visiting climbers. After years of legal battles with neighbors who weren’t fond of the idea, Ralph and Brian Lee founded Tuthilltown Spirits LLC. in 2003. They converted one of the mill granaries to a micro-distillery. Their first product was a vodka make from scraps of apple they collected at a local apple slicing plant. Today the distillery produces 6 whiskies, 2 vodkas, 3 liqueurs, gin, and Basement Bitters. Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka is made from winter white wheat sourced from local farmers throughout the Hudson Valley. It is triple distilled in a 22 plate hybrid copper pot/column still and bottled unfiltered. Read more
Review: Spirit Works Vodka
Spirit Works Vodka is made from organic Northern California grown hard winter wheat. The Spirit Works Distillery located in Sonoma County was founded by the husband and wife team of Timo and Ashby Marshall. Their distillery crafts a full line of spirit including Gin, Sloe Gin, Barrel Aged Gin, Barrel Aged Sloe Gin, Straight Wheat Whiskey, Straight Rye Whiskey, and Four Grain Straight Bourbon. Spirit Works Vodka actually started as the base for their Gin. This explains the 86 proof SWV is bottled at. People liked their gin so much they decided to bottle the gin base on it’s own. In crafting their vodka they start with a whole grain. By doing so they are able to preserve the distinct wheat characteristics throughout the distillation process. The whole hard winter wheat grain is milled, mashed, fermented, distilled and bottled at the distillery for a true grain to glass experience. The distillation takes place on a 800 liter custom Carl still. This hybrid pot still comes with a 21 plate rectification column. Read more
Review: Ravo Vodka
Ravo Vodka was introduced in the US February 2017. Ravo is a combination of the Swedish words raw and vodka. It is made from winter wheat and is continuously distilled five times in a stainless steel column still lined with ceramic filters. The spirit is then blended with locally sourced natural spring water further filtered through reverse osmosis to reduce to 80 proof. Ravo is made in Lidkoping Sweden at Reppe Branneri, the second largest distillery in Sweden. Read more
Review: Chicago Vodka
Chicago Vodka was first released July 2016. It is handcrafted in the heart of Chicago on Goose Island by the Chicago Vodka Company. They also produce Chicago Fire, a vodka infused with Bhut Jolokia Ghost peppers. They previously also produced Cool, a mint infused vodka. Chicago Vodka is made from wheat and is distilled five times and filtered nine times through a patent-pending filtration system that allows only 30 liters per hour of filtration flow. It takes five full days to filter one batch of 600 bottles. The vodka is then hand bottled and hand corked at 80 proof in a cylindrical shaped bottle that brings memories of Skyy 90. Read more