Wine Guys / By Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr
Taking a turn testing vodka
Updated: 07/06/08 7:58 AM
As popular as vodka is today, it is hard to believe that until the 1950s it was somewhat a rarity in the United States. Today vodka is the best-selling type of liquor sold in America, with more brands available, by far, than any other spirit.
Most vodka is made from grains, including wheat, corn, rye, barley and oats. Less than 3 percent of all vodka produced worldwide is produced from potatoes, which requires 9z poun 2/3 1/3 per 750ml bottle. Vodka, which is usually 80 proof or 40 percent alcohol, is made up of 60 percent water, which is added after distillation to lower the proof and make a smoother, more agreeable beverage.
We recently tasted two vodkas and wanted to pass along our impressions. Blue Ice American Vodka is one of those rare creatures in vodka circles — a 100 percent vodka made from Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes, distilled in Rigby, Idaho, at the only potato spirits distillery in America. It is distilled only once, using a four-column still and filtered five times.
The water in Blue Ice Vodka comes from the Snake River Aquifer. The aquifer is named after the famed Snake River in Idaho, made popular by the late Evel Knievel. The water is filtered through hundreds of feet of volcanic rock, where it is pumped from a 200-foot well.
Our overall impression of the Blue Ice product was its smoothness, and a very clean nimble impression in the mouth. At $20 per 750ml we thought it fairly priced.
On the other hand, Imperia Vodka ($30-750ml) is a Russian product through and through. Distilled from 100 percent Russian winter wheat and using a recipe developed by chemist Demitri Mendeleev, the creator of the Periodic Table of Elements, this spirit is distilled eight times, filtered twice through charcoal, then twice through quartz crystals from the Ural Mountains, and ultimately brought to its final 80 proof by adding glacial waters from Lake Lagoda. Whew!
We found the Imperia to be very clean and pleasing in the mouth, and to have a little more body than the Blue Ice. However, we would be hard pressed to play favorites, between these two vodkas.
We sampled the Imperia Vodka at the new Morton’s in Annapolis and came away with a drink recipe that impressed even our jaded palates. It’s called a lemon thyme martini:
Ingredients: 2oz. Imperia Vodka, 1oz. Lemoncello, 1oz. simple syrup, 1oz. lemon juice and 1 sprig fresh thyme. Muddle thyme in the bottom of a cocktail shaker with some of the simple syrup. Add other ingredients, along with some ice, shake well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Wine picks
• MacRostie Wildcat Mountain Vineyards Syrah 2004 ($34). This Sonoma Coast syrah has gobs of
blueberry and mocha flavors with hints of classic black pepper and a fainting trace of licorice.
• Wild Horse Paso Robles Merlot 2005 ($20). We have always like the pinot noir from this producer, but the merlot was a pleasant surprise. Strawberry and vanilla aromas followed by black cherry, raspberry flavors with a hint of nutmeg and allspice.
• Girard Napa Valley Artistry 2005 ($40). We have always like this meritage year to year. It is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (54 percent), cabernet franc, petite verdot, malbec and merlot. Layered fruit flavors, floral in the nose, rich in texture and packed with dense cherry, plum, and allspice flavors.
• Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2005 ($35). Penfolds makes some of the most consistent, generously fruit blends in Australia. The Bin 389 is a reliable blend that delivers oodles of bright fruit that aim to please the palate. Broad berry flavor with ripe figs and plum notes, soft tannins and good length.
• Penfolds Coonawarra Bin 128 Shiraz 2005 ($25). This great value in shiraz offers good dimension and depth for the price. Rich blackberry and plum flavors with black olive and licorice notes.
The Wine Guys represent Relish Magazine, available in The Buffalo News the first Thursday of the month. Go to www.relishmag.com for more info.
