A strip mall in Tampa, a grocery store in Iowa and a rooftop in Boston seem like unlikely settings to glimpse actor Jason Momoa, but people will go to some crazy places to sell vodka. No matter where Momoa and his new vodka, Meili, show up, one thing is certain: there will be no mixers or cocktail shakers in sight.
At pop-ups and press events, he hands out pours of unadorned vodka to swooning fans with one instruction: “Sip it.” Meili is part of the next wave of vodkas that aren’t the bottles of tasteless booze stirred into fruity cocktails, nor the artificially flavored stuff used for shots. They don’t even need a bit of vermouth and a garnish. If distillers have anything to say about it, vodkas made to be sipped and savored on their own are ready for their time in the spotlight.
Melli is far from alone in the sipping vodka category — and it’s not even the only celebrity-touted sipping vodka. Woody Creek Distillers Vodka, made from Rio Grande potatoes grown exclusively in Colorado, gets the thumbs up from William H. Macy. Then there are non-celeb newcomers to store shelves including Harridan Vodka distilled from organic New York state corn, Bare Sipping Vodka made with water from the glacial lakes of the Warmia Mazury region in Poland, and Altius, the sipping option from vodka behemoth Grey Goose that was released just this month.
“I’ve definitely noticed a lot more brands of vodka,” says Andi Burrows, general manager of Kabin bar in New York City. “But I also have noticed that people, especially younger people, are drinking more vodka.” She says at first she would turn her head in surprise whenever she heard a customer order vodka neat or on the rocks, but not as much anymore.
So what is driving a new crowd to turn toward vodka on its own?
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There is a method used to make a spirit that maintains some natural flavor. The mixing vodkas of yesterday were “five times distilled” (or more) and “charcoal filtered” to make a spirit that tasted as close to alcoholic water as possible. Not anymore. These new sipping vodkas have the character of their base wheat, rye or potatoes. Rather than four or more distillations, some are distilled only once (including Meili and Altius) or twice (Woody Creek) to maintain as much inherent flavor as possible.
Admittedly, that inherent flavor changes depending on the source of the base ingredients. “Terroir” was once a term reserved for wine; now it has spread to every corner of the liquor store with gin, whiskey and now vodka claiming that special flavor characteristics come from the land to the bottle.
Tad Dorda founded Chopin Vodka with a mission to respect the flavor of the exceptional potatoes growing in his region of Poland. “We distill in such a way that the vintage of the potato will shine through and you will actually preserve as much of that taste and the character of that potato as possible,” he says, noting there is a wide variety in the nuances of flavor between different potato vodkas. “Even the exact same potato crop, in different years, will taste differently. We are not surprised when we say that story in the wine business, but people are surprised with the vodka because they haven’t developed an appreciation for it in that way.”
Leading with an appreciation for unique regional ingredients makes these vodkas stand out from the mass-produced “neutral” spirit of the past. Momoa’s Meili uses water from an ancient aquifer in Montana, the same state where all the grain for the vodka is grown. You end up with rustic cereal aromas and a minerality at the finish that can only be made in Montana. Across the world, Emile Chaillot, from Grey Goose says Picardie soft winter wheat found solely in one region of France gives the Altius sipping vodka its “soft green apple notes and a unique earthy undertone.”
Sipping vodka makers tend toward ingredients that are high quality enough to cook and eat. That Picardie wheat used in Grey Goose Altius is a favorite of French pastry chefs. Dorda says the first step in making potato vodka is cooking and eating the potatoes themselves. In Italy, Altamura sipping vodka is distilled from a special wheat used to make the world’s only officially DOP-protected bread: Pane di Altamura. A vodka made with this rare wheat is tasty enough to drink ungarnished to let the umami and fresh grainy qualities shine.
How to Drink Sipping Vodka
There are many ways to enjoy these vodkas with their discernible character. When Burrows serves them at Kabin she’ll pour right into a rocks glass, “just like whiskey.” Dorda sips his vodkas from a cognac snifter to make the moment feel elegant.
For an even more luxe experience, Chaillot suggests pairing vodkas with caviar. “The salinity of the caviar complements the minerality of the vodka,” he says. Oysters are another natural briney match for the mineral and grain notes in vodka.
And even though these artisanal spirits are good enough to drink solo, they’re also great when you add a few more ingredients to the mix.
“You know it makes one of the best Martinis,” says Lorenzo Di Cola, head of brand for Altamura Vodka, because the vodka itself has a wine-like quality which is further highlighted by a little dry vermouth. Depending on the tasting notes of the specific sipping vodka, you can choose an olive or a lemon twist to garnish the Martini. Vodkas with a natural apple note are elevated by a hint of citrus, while the brine of an olive creates depth in vodkas with a grainy or cereal quality.
Di Cola’s favorite way to serve the vodka is somewhere between a rocks pour and a cocktail. “A splash of soda helps to open up the flavors,” he says. “Add an olive garnish and it’s perfect.”
In the end, each brand has its take on what the clear spirit should taste like, whether it’s “rustic wheat,” “clean sweet potato” or “creamy cereal,” to name a few. But there’s one word that every single maker mentions that should seem familiar to any vodka drinker: smooth. No matter what flavor notes the maker is trying to produce, there is one thing they avoid at all costs.
“Vodka shouldn’t burn,” says Dorda.
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