As the craft distilling movement continues to grow, it's important to decipher the real deal from the big brands in sheep's clothing. Hangar 1® Vodka is the real deal, based in Alameda, CA and housed in an old World War II aircraft hangar where they distill their spirits, one batch at a time using hand-operated pot stills. Their Straight vodka is a unique blend of grapes and grains, giving it just the right balance of flavors.
Presented by Hangar 1 Vodka.
Middle West Spirits in Columbus, Ohio is known for their excellent vodkas and whiskeys, but rarely do the two spirits mingle with each other — until now. Bourbon Barrel Honey Vanilla Vodka is a unique creation distilled from red winter wheat and local wildflower honey with hints of fresh vanilla bean. The honey vanilla vodka then rests in OYO bourbon barrels for between 9 and 12 months. The result is a sweet, creamy liqueur that not only tastes good neat, but is a fantastic cocktail ingredient.
If you aren't a regular vodka drinker, it can be tough to distinguish between quality stuff and bottom shelf vodka that is prepared with the sole intent of self obliteration. Our / Vodka is one that certainly falls into the quality category, produced by local experts in Berlin, Germany in a specially built urban micro-distillery and sold exclusively in local bars. The good news for us is, it's done so well on the local market that the market is expanding, as the brand is opening up in eleven cities across the US, Europe and Australia, starting in Detroit, Michigan. Each batch will be made with the same recipe, but every distillery will use locally sourced ingredients, giving each run some hometown character.
After a long night of drinking, it's hard to top a great Bloody Mary the next day to help balance things out. UV Sriracha Vodka might be the most unique Bloody Mary ingredient on the market, combining all the things you love about Sriracha with a classic cocktail. It's peppery, savory and of course spicy. But don't worry, it won't set your mouth ablaze — but instead provides a remarkable balance for Bloody Marys or any cocktail in need of a little kick.
Catchy names will only get you so far. So it's a good thing that Oddka Vodka ($TBA) is more than just a clever moniker and cheeky line drawing label. This unusual brand is known for its equally unique flavors, including electricity, caramel popcorn, fresh cut grass, wasabi, and apple pie. While they're certainly fine by themselves, the majority of them all but beg for a clever mixologist to use them in drinks, giving you the ability to add a dash of Wasabi heat to your Bloody Mary, a fresh, summery bite to your Moscow Mule, or, well, we're not sure what you're supposed to do with electricity-flavored vodka — but we're positive someone will figure it out.
There's nothing quite like a classic — and few shoe silhouettes say classic the way the 574 does, with a legacy that dates all the way back to 1988. Though plenty of new colorways have been introduced since the original gray, black, and white, none stand out like the New Balance Neon Lights 574. Available in several bold color combinations accentuated by bright neon highlights, these shoes feature glow-in-the-dark technology that illuminates them at night. Combining luminous accent colors with the cushioning of an ENCAP midsole, they're the ideal blend of time-tested wearability and unique, exciting style.
And so the trend of insanely sweet vodka flavors marches on with Glazed Donut Vodka ($16). Created by a company that knows a thing or two about sweet-flavored vodkas — other 360 flavors include double chocolate, bing cherry, and cola — it beats out the real thing by over 150 calories — assuming you're watching your weight — and is bound to mix well with an array of ingredients that you wouldn't let anywhere near a glass of Belvedere. Bacon donut martinis, anyone? [Scouted by Drew]
Don't confuse hot vodka for warm vodka — that's just gross. Instead, Stoli Hot Vodka ($TBA) is designed to trump normal pepper vodka by bringing some actual mouth-heat, thanks to the spicy jalapeño flavor that arrives on the tails of a hint of smoke. Now when you order your bloody mary "spicy as hell", the barkeep will actually have something worthwhile to mix with the tall glass of Sriracha he's making for you.
Add another NYC-based distillery to the ever-growing list. Industry City Distillery No.2 Vodka ($21) is the first spirit from Industry City Distillery, a new City Foundry venture located in Brooklyn's old Bush Terminal. Fermented using beet sugar yeasts, this unique drink is run through a steam powered stripping still before entering a high separation fractional distillation column that offers an unheard of level of control over the final composition, which should have you scrambling to create new recipes to take advantage of the unusual flavor. [Scouted by Rich]
You could buy yourself a reusable, stainless steel bottle for your water-holding needs. Or you could just buy a bottle of KRU 82 Vodka ($TBA). Imported from Holland and bottled in a handsome, reusable, recyclable, and shatterproof stainless steel container, it offers up a clean taste with an unusually smooth finish, which is fitting for a vodka that comes with its own strap and carabiner.
And you thought your watch was blingin'. Medea Vodka ($40) is the world's first spirit to arrive in a programmable bottle that lets you display messages up to 255 characters in length across the "label", and thanks to a distillation process that pairs pure artesian water with centuries-old techniques, the vodka inside will be just as smooth as that "drink me" message you put on the outside.
It's one thing to drink wine that's been aged for decades, and quite another to drink a spirit born from water that dates back millennia. Isfjord Vodka + Gin ($TBA) are hand-distilled five times with the world's purest natural water — sourced from the fjord of Ilulissat in Greenland — and mixed with juniper berries, bergamot, orange, angelica root, and cardemom in the case of the gin, and fine blonde wheat in the case of the vodka. Enjoy every drink like it's your last, since there's only so many icecaps left to melt. [via]
Leave it to those wacky Alaskans to integrate fish into their booze. Smoked Salmon Vodka ($TBA) is what it says: premium vodka, made using glacier ice from Prince William Sound, infused with the flavor of savory smoked salmon. Useful in everything from bloody marys and martinis to luscious cream sauces, it's the latest testament to our ability to imbibe damn near anything in the name of getting sauced.
No, that's not a typo. Bakon Vodka ($30) is a new premium-quality potato vodka infused with a savory bacon flavor. Distilled from Idaho potatoes and possessing a perfect hint of peppery bacon flavor. Great in a bloody mary, good when paired with scotch, not so hot in a white russian — unless you like the way they taste on the way back up — but what we really, really want is a recipe for a bacon cheeseburger. [Thanks, Everyone]
We'd like to think that if Doc Holliday were a modern martini-drinking gambler, he'd prefer 44 Degrees North Mountain Huckleberry Vodka ($30). Distilled from Idaho potatoes, blended with water from the Rocky Mountains, and steeped in locally-sourced wild huckleberries for ten days, 44 Degrees North's Huckleberry Vodka features a rich, natural berry flavor with a 35% alcohol kick.
What's better on a hot summer day than a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea? This stuff, that's what. Jeremiah Weed Southern Style Sweet Tea Vodka ($20) is a 70-proof sweet tea flavored vodka brewed lovingly in southern Kentucky. Joining Jeremiah Weed's legendary bourbon liqueur, a favorite drink of the American fighter pilot, this is one tea that'll have you flying high.
Certified organic and kosher, Prairie Vodka ($25-$45) is thoughtfully distilled from organic yellow corn and crafted in partnership with a co-op of over 900 Minnesota farmers. Besides getting a deliciously smooth drink, you also get the pleasure of knowing it's probably the most eco-friendly item in your home. The fifth-generation owned Phillips Distilling Company take care all the way from the field to the bottle with Prairie. It's packaged in a recyclable glass bottle, packed in a kraft cardboard box made from sustainable forest wood pulp, and uses organic inks on the labels. Even corncobs and other leftovers are converted on-site to biogas energy for powering the stills. It's just about enough to make you drink more.
As the only vodka ever to win the Gold Medal for both taste and design at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Double Cross Vodka ($51) is as tasty as its bottle is amazing. Double Cross is made in the Slovak Republic using a seven-step distillation process, and is filtered seven times using diamond-dust micro filters, active charcoal, and limestone for an extra clean taste. Perfect for your next celebration. [via]
Tired of tastelessness? Then try Three Olives Vodka ($55). Imported from England, the quadruple-distilled and quadruple-filtered vodka comes in 16 flavors: passionfruit, mango, pomegranate, cherry, berry, grape, watermelon, chocolate, orange, vanilla, green apple, raspberry, and citrus, as well as three new flavors that hit shelves this month — triple shot espresso, root beer, and tomato. The bold varieties definitely offer more than a hint of flavor, pretty much tasting and smelling just like the real thing. Bloody Martini, anyone?
This premium organic vodka comes from a company you wouldn't expect — Anheuser-Busch. But it isn't targeted at Bud drinkers. Cultivated without pesticides or commercial fertilizers, Purus Vodka ($35) uses crystalline water from the Alps and is made with locally harvested 100% organic Italian wheat. Its 100% recyclable bottle is even Earth-friendly with a tree-free paper label, safe soy-based inks, water-based adhesives, and an environmentally sustainable cork closure. The 80 proof vodka is distilled five times and refined through a charcoal filtration process of more than 1.7 million square meters for a "distinctively clean, smooth, velvety sweetness." Purus will be initially available in Northeastern cities of the U.S.
