Full Review

Western Reserve Distillers

Western Reserve Distillers
Vodka Batch 005

Category: Unflavored Vodka

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 40%
Certified Organic
90 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$28

Western Reserve Distillers
Vodka Batch 005

Category: Unflavored Vodka

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 40%
Clear color. Toasty aromas and flavors of roasted grain, nuts and coconut, pumpernickel toast, and hint of citrus and fig marmalade with a silky, bright, dry-yet-fruity medium-full body and a tingling, captivating, medium-long finish revealing notes of sunflower and spelt bread toasts and peppered radishes. A fun grain-forward, character-rich vodka for robust cocktails; should appeal to whisky drinkers.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Complex & Rich
Aroma Aroma: roasted grain, nuts and coconut, pumpernickel toast, and hint of citrus and fig marmalade
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with notes of sunflower and spelt bread toasts and peppered radishes
Smoothness Smoothness: Tingling
Enjoy Enjoy: in cocktails, neat and on the rocks
Cocktail Cocktails: Buck, Vesper, Vodka Martini
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A fun grain-forward, character-rich vodka for robust cocktails; should appeal to whisky drinkers.

The Producer

Western Reserve Distillers

The Producer
14221 Madison Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
USA
1 -330-780-9599

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.