Full Review

Valentine

Valentine
Small Batch Vodka

Category: Unflavored Vodka

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 40%
90 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$29

Valentine
Small Batch Vodka

Category: Unflavored Vodka

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 40%
Clear color. Aromas and flavors of vanilla nougat, French baguette, whey, and green pepper with a round, crisp, dry light-to-medium body and a warming, agreeable finish with notes of vanilla, black pepper water cracker, and marzipan. A beautifully light and neutral Vodka that will easily mix with almost anything and go down smooth as a shooter.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Juicy & Smooth
Aroma Aroma: vanilla nougat, French baguette, whey, and green pepper
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with notes of vanilla, black pepper water cracker, and marzipan
Smoothness Smoothness: Warming
Enjoy Enjoy: in cocktails, neat and shots
Cocktail Cocktails: Bloody Mary, Moscow Mule, Vodka Martini
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A beautifully light and neutral Vodka that will easily mix with almost anything and go down smooth as a shooter.

The Producer

Valentine Distilling Co.

The Producer
965 Wanda St.
Ferndale, MI 48220
USA
1 248-629-9951

Unflavored Vodka

Spirits Glass Shot Clear.jpg
Serve in a Shot Glass
Unflavored vodka is defined in the US as a "neutral" spirit devoid of color, aroma, and taste, however, the finest unflavored vodkas are served neat and do have a subtle taste, sometimes of the base grain or ingredient, citrus or even anise. But most vodkas are used for cocktails, often mixed with fruit juice (cranberry juice for Cosmopolitans or orange juice for Screwdrivers.), tonic, or soda for the ubiquitous bar-hopper favorite Vodka & Soda. To which craft bartenders these days like to say, "vodka pays the bills."

Unflavored vodka is made by fermenting and then distilling the simple sugars from a mash of pale grain or vegetal matter. Vodka is produced from grain, potatoes, molasses, beets, and a variety of other plants. Rye and wheat are the classic grains for Vodka, with most of the best Russian Vodkas being made from wheat while in Poland they are mostly made from a rye mash. Swedish and Baltic distillers are partial to wheat mashes. Potatoes are looked down on by Russian distillers, but are held in high esteem by some of their Polish counterparts. Molasses, a sticky, sweet residue from sugar production, is widely used for inexpensive, mass-produced brands of Vodka. American distillers use the full range of base ingredients, but most are made from the abundant supply of corn from the US heartland.