You Who?

Vodka Tasting

Vodkas tasted Saturday night:

• Hangar One -- California, distilled from ?
• Blavod -- UK, black vodka distilled from ?
• Triple Eight -- Nantucket, distilled from clam shells (or corn)
• Ciroc -- France, distilled from grapes
• Ketel One -- Netherlands, distilled from wheat
• Vox -- Netherlands, distilled from grain
• Chopin -- Poland, distilled form potatoes
• General John Stark -- New Hampshire, distilled from apples
• Grey Goose -- France, distilled from wheat
• The Tall Blond - Queen of Vodkas -- Estonia, distilled from "blond grains"

I think everyone agreed the smoothest, purest vodka was The Tall Blond. As one guest pointed out, the most amazing thing about this vodka is that it has no bite on the finish like most vodkas -- just a little twinge up front and then all smoothness after that. This is a vodka my father-in-law first found in Maryland, and until recently could not be bought in New Hampshire. Now you can get it at the State Liquor store -- but they only keep it out back. You need to know the secret handshake to get any.

Second place was split, and I'll let my guests leave their own comments on their top picks. Some liked the Hangar One, but I found it to have a slightly off-putting flavor. Someone described it as almost like olives. Personally my runners-up were Triple 8 (suprisingly good from Nantucket) and Ciroc which I found nearly as smooth as The Tall Blond. I also was surprised at how good Blavod black vodka was. I picked this up as a novelty vodka, but it was really pretty smooth. Some people though could just not get over the black color (a blind tasting would have been interestin).

Everyone found General John Stark vodka from our very own Flag Hill Winery in Lee, NH to be surprisingly good. It is distilled from apples and has a pronounced apple scent, although not a real apple flavor. It was pretty smooth and would make a nice sipping vodka when you're looking for something a little different. I bet it would make a great mixer for a Green Apple martini too.

Update: For more vodkas, read about our Second Semi-Annual Vodka Tasting