The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defines vodka as an odorless, colorless, tasteless alcoholic beverage.
That makes it the only item in the world of alcoholic beverages where the lack of flavor is a positive feature. Bring up the flavor of bourbon or scotch whisky and you can cause a war.
If vodka is tasteless, colorless and odorless, what differentiates one brand from another except for the snob value (name or price) or a cute looking bottle? The difference lies in the characteristics of the starting material, usually grain or potatoes, that are not removed during distillation and/or the water used for cutting the beverage down to a drinkable product in the area of 80 proof, which indicates 40 percent alcohol. Vodkas made in the usual manner are distilled three or four times, which removes most of the impurities, but it still can be a bit rough if taken straight. However, sampling the beverage straight is the way we evaluate a vodka. As the number of distillations increases, the beverage smoothes out and becomes more neutral in flavor.
Unfortunately, cocktails using vodka as the main alcoholic ingredient made in restaurants or clubs are often made with the least expensive vodka available to the establishment, and there are plenty of those lesser vodkas in the marketplace. There can be a marked difference between vodkas, a difference that usually shows up as a noticeable alcoholic flavor and aroma or as a chemical aftertaste in the background. We recommend you order your drink be made with a vodka you are familiar with, as that will certainly add to your enjoyment.
We were recently introduced to three vodkas from California’s Menage e Trois, a company renowned for their wines. The Menage a Trois vodkas have been distilled six times and then passed through a specially designed filtering system resulting in a crystal clear, smooth product. This raw vodka is then mixed with natural spring water to produce a silky beverage of great depth that can be enjoyed straight or used in a mixed drink without adding any strange flavors to it.
Menage a Trois Original Vodka ($25) This vodka is a clear, smooth and pure beverage that adds nothing to a mixed drink except for the base alcohol. This may not seem like much, but it assures that only the desired flavors of the mixed drink will shine through.
Menage a Trois Berry Vodka, Menage a Trois Citrus Vodka ($25) There are many flavored vodkas on the market, most made with artificial flavorings and color, but they can never achieve the depth of flavor derived from the joining of fresh premium California fruits and six-times distilled vodka as is used for making these flavored vodkas.
You do not need to be a fruit gourmet or a berry aficionado to detect the differences. This vodka is fresh, bright and resplendent with rich, full-fruit flavors that shine like a diamond with absolutely no rough or burning sensation if enjoyed neat.
These vodkas are excellent as a mixer or as a standalone aperitif and really come to the forefront when poured over ice cream, custard or plain cake.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and helps manage ArticlesOnWine.com with his wife, Sheila. He can be reached at frojhe@suddenlink.net.
