Review: Cap Diamant Vodka    (87/100)
Review by Chip Dykstra
Published September 14, 2023

Cap Diamant (Cape Diamond) is a headland at the edge of the Promontory of Quebec where the St. Lawrence River narrows between its two shores upon which Quebec City is located. French explorer, Jacques Cartier  found what he thought were diamonds in the high cliffs and so he named the cape, Cap Dianmont. In a story that every Canadian is taught in Elementary School, James Wolfe and his troops (in 1759) scaled Cap Diamant toward the Plains of Abraham and conquered Quebec making it part of the British Empire.

Cap Diamont Vodka pays homage to this historic Canadian site.  This is a small batch spirit, distilled from 100% Canadian corn grain with water from one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, the Laurentians. The vodka is filtered with coconut charcoal, and is meant to be enjoyed neat or on ice (or with your favourite cocktail).

My Bottle of Cap Diamont Vodka is from Batch 11, and was bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

The First Impression 8.5/10

Cap Diamont Vodka arrives in an attractive bottle with a long neck and semi conical shape. It is sealed with a cork stopper and the glass bottle has a heavy base for stability.

The label is a bit of a drab affair especially as I do not understand the significance of the graphics on the label. Instead of whatever that is, I would like to see a map or illustration of some sort showing us the Cap Diamont and the Plains of Abraham which would give us some context to the historical homage captured by the name of the spirit. However I understand that a new distillery doesn’t necessarily have the budget for a graphic designer so I am going to be a little forgiving at this point in my review.

The First Sip  17.5/20

I tasted Cap Diamont Vodka twice before putting hand to the keyboard to write this review. First I chilled the spirit in my freezer until it was almost to the freezing point of water and then poured a small sample into a shot glass.  At this chilled temperature the vodka is thick and creamy. Very little aroma was present, perhaps a wisp of lime and grain, but that was all. When sipped the vodka was smooth and slightly spicy with again perhaps a very light taste of lime.  And this is exactly what I expect from a good vodka! Only wisps of flavour with no burn or metallic tastes.

The second time I tasted the vodka, I served it at room temperature. Now the spirit had lost some of its creaminess and the aroma as well as the flavour had a more pronounced lime note with firmer indications of grain spice. A sort of vague vegetal lemon flavour was apparent as well.  I was pleased that the flavours had not increased to the point where I felt a serious breakdown had occurred. And I am also pleased that no metallic flavours were present.  This is a very good vodka!

Taking A Shot  18/20

The next phase of my inspection was to see how the vodka behaved ‘shot style’. During the first tasting I shot the rest of my sample down while it was still chilled. I discovered that this was very pleasant indeed. The light lemon flavour was complimented by a mild menthol cooling after the swallow and everything felt nice going down with no burn or undue harshness.

When I shot the sample down that was served at room temperature, the results were very similar. That nice lime-like flavour was more pronounced and the vodka warmed my throat a little. But it was a gentle, pleasing warmth and not uncomfortable at all.  As a shooting vodka, Cap Diamont is excellent!

Out For Dinner  17/20

I like to pair vodka with a variety of spicy, salty and savory snacks. A good vodka will cleanse the palate between bites allowing you to enjoy your food more thoroughly. Sometimes a vodka will bring unwanted flavours forward when paired (especially with savory foods), and sometimes the foods will bring unwanted flavours into the vodka. What I look for is a vodka which improves the gastronomic experience and remain clean and smooth when sipped between bites.

Cap Diamont delivers in all respects. My first bunch of snacks (in this case rye bread, cheddar cheese and chicken wings) seemed fresher and more flavourful after a swallow of the vodka. The salty and spicy pepperoni pizza slice I had next become spicier and more tasty. As I sipped and snacked the vodka remained clean and did not pick up any subtle aftertastes from the snacks until it had warmed considerably. (I began the gastronomic exercise with a chilled sample.)

Cocktails 26/30

I mixed a Vodka Daiquiri and enjoyed the lightly tart cocktail that resulted. Because I like that vodka daiquiri so much, I mixed another serving but this time with a dollop of triple sec and a touch of mint from my garden included. The libation was especially good, and I have made it my featured cocktail for the Cap Diamont Vodka (see below).

I suspect I could have mixed a Martini with equal success but alas, I lacked a good bottle of Vermouth for that experiment. Generally speaking, a vodka which makes a fine vodka daiquiri will be suitable for Martinis especially when it is a clean vodka free of metallic aftertastes as is Cap Diamont.

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Final Score 87/100

A very good vodka suitable for all serving styles!

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Vodka Reviews.

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Suggested Cocktail

The Cape Diamond Cocktail

1 1/2 oz  Cap Diamont Vodka
1/2 oz Bols Triple Sec
1/2 oz  Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 oz Sugar Syrup (1:1 ratio)
2 Sprigs of Mint
Ice

Add the first four ingredients and one sprig of mint into a metal shaker with ice
Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Double Strain (with a fine strainer) into a cocktail glass to remove small bits of crushed mint
Garnish with the second sprig of mint
Enjoy!

If  you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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You may (loosely) interpret my score as follows.

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing Vodka.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again for cocktails only.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this Vodka in shots, although cocktails are preferable.
85-89    Excellent!  Shots or cocktails!
90-94    You may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 80    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
81 – 89     Silver Medal (Recommended  for shots and mixing cocktails)
90 – 95     Gold Medal (Highly Recommended for Vodka Shots and Sublime Cocktails)
95.5+       Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)