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Posts Tagged ‘Vodka’

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Review: Lerskaa Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 18, 2011

Lerskaa Vodka is produced in Belize, the northernmost mainland country of Central America. A former British Colony, Belize lies just south of Mexico with the Caribbean Sea to the east and Guatemala to the west and south. The Vodka is a product of  Traveller’s Liquors Limited who have been involved in the production of 1 Barrel Rum in Belize since the early 1960s.

Lerskaa Vodka is distilled to over 190 proof, and interestingly, it is a sugar cane based spirit rather than a grain vodka. In my tasting sessions my guests and I each noticed a light caramel aroma and flavour associated with the spirit.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…This was the very first cane Vodka my group had ever tasted, and in order to keep everything unbiased, I conducted the session in a blind format … As the first sip sat on my tongue, I could taste that the vodka had a very lightly sweet caramel/syrup taste. There was also some noticeable spiciness of  lime citrus…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Lerskaa Vodka

As well I have included a popular Vodka Cocktail called Blue Hawaii.

Please enjoy the cocktail and the review!

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Review: Patriot Excellence Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 4, 2011

The Patriot Excellence is a French Vodka which was brought into my local by Paul Charabin of PB Beverages, an Alberta based company which imports and distributes a wide selection of spirits from around the world. The Vodka is filtered six times, and is made from a blend of 100% natural grain spirits and pure spring water.  It is advertised as an exceptional vodka with an elegant, ideal, and smooth taste.

My friends and I approached this spirit blind against four other vodka spirits at one of my recent taste events. Much to our surprise, the Patriot Excellence Vodka (unlike other hyped spirits we have tried) lived up to its advertising being by far the best Vodka at the event.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…When I poured out the samples of Patriot Vodka into each shot glass for my guests it was obvious right from the beginning that the Vodka was going to be a hit with everyone. It was creamy, and displayed a clean aroma and mouth-feel that my tasting group has only experienced in the very best of Vodkas…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Patriot Excellence Vodka

As well I created a nice cocktail featuring raspberry syrup and Patriot Excellence Vodka called, Rustic Breeze.

Please enjoy the Review and the Cocktail!

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Review: Zubrowka (Bison Grass) Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 13, 2011

Zubrowka or ‘Bison Grass’ Vodka is an original Polish Vodka distilled at the Polmos Bialystok Distillery located 200 km northeast of Warsaw. In this region of the world, Vodka(or at least a spirit similar to Vodka) has been flavoured with Bison Grass for over 600 years. The Bison grass (Hierochloe odorata or Herchloe Australis) grows in the Białowieża Forest (which lies in Northern Poland and Belarus), although distinct varieties of this herbal grass grow in other locations as well including North America where the plant has been known as ‘Sweetgrass’ or ‘Holy Grass’.

I should mention that received a bottle of Zubrowka Vodka from Ashley Calapatia, who is with the PR agency representing Zubrowka Vodka in Canada. I was requested to provide a review of the spirit here on my website, and here is an excerpt from that review:

“… The vodka carries a light herbal aroma in the glass but identification of any particular scent was remarkably difficult. Descriptors like vanilla, sage, thyme, rosemary and cinnamon were tossed back and forth amongst us, but I think it is somewhat safer to say we discerned a lightly pungent herbal quality on both the nose and the palate that was quite different from what any of us had encountered before….”

My full review may be read here:

Review: Zubrowka (Bison Grass) Vodka

Cheers!!

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Review: O2 945 (Super Premium) Sparkling Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 30, 2011

O2 945 Super Premium Sparkling Vodka bills itself as the world’s first Super Premium Sparkling Vodka. When I sampled this spirit at the Wine and Food Festival last fall I was actually quite smitten by what I encountered, hints of citrus, and some awesome tiny bubbles filling my mouth. (Anyone who has read some of my reviews, and the cocktails which I like to construct for the various spirits I have sampled, realizes that I am a soda loving  person. A spirit that combines my love of soda bubbles with a light crisp taste really has my attention from the get go.)

I contacted the importer of O2 Vodka, Premium Imports, to see about getting a sample to review on my blog. After a few months they came through in spades with samples of each the O2 Premium Sparkling Vodka and the 945 Super Premium Sparkling Vodka. Both versions carry nice light citrus notes and those wonderful champagne-like bubbles to the palate. These bubbles are supposed to stimulate the taste buds accentuating the flavours of food the vodka is served with, and the flavours of the cocktails the vodka is served in.

I invited several of my good friends over for a Vodka Tasting where we put the O2 (945 Super Premium) Sparkling Vodka through the rigors of my review methodolgy.  Here is an excerpt from what we discovered:

“…The first sip brought forward a stronger citrus presence which one of my friends at the tasting likened to a spear’s thrust of citrus zest. The carbonated bubbles seem to be bringing forward much more of the citrus flavours of the vodka…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: O2 945 (Super Premium) Sparkling Vodka

As well I have included a nice cocktail with the review, Rustic Soul.

Please enjoy the review and the cocktail!

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Review: Black Stallion Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 2, 2011

Black Stallion Vodka is a product of Black Stallion Spirits, a Calgary, Alberta based company which has been importing Russian Vodka since 2002.  This is an authentic Russian Vodka distilled at the Kratos Distillery, one of the oldest producers of liquor products in Russia. The distillery was fully reconstructed and modernized in 1997, and a new main building was constructed with modern equipment installed.

There is a lot of information on the back of the bottle; but, unfortunately for me it is all written in Russian.  I would have liked this information to be translated as I like to read about the heritage of the spirit I am sampling, but I can glean from the bottle that it is a 750 ml size, and the spirit is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“… As we all took our first full swallow of the Black Stallion, I noticed the spirit imparted some real warmth to my palate and the back of my throat. The vodka was carrying some hotter rye-like spices from the grain distillate forward….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Black Stallion Vodka

As well I hope you enjoy the recipe at the end of the review, The Vodka Darby Cocktail.

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