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CATEGORY REPORT Swan's Neck Vodka Swan's Neck Vodka reaffirms that the French are unsurpassed when it comes to all things beverage. After your first sip you'll realize the vodka could only have been made in the wine country of France—it's a classy grape distillate brimming with character. In fact, it should immediately be administered to anyone claiming vodkas are austere and lifeless. Part of the intrigue behind this limited release vodka is knowing how involved it is to make. First, a proprietary blend of grapes is made into wine before being distilled five times in a column still. The resulting distillate is then double-distilled in a traditional, copper alembic still and bottled at 40% alcohol. You owe it to yourself to taste Swan's Neck (SRP $30) neat and at room temperature. "The spirit does not have the mouth-burn nor alcohol vapor nose of regular vodkas, " observes David Laverne, President of L&P Spirits Imports. "Swan's Neck is soft, fat, viscous on the palate with a lightly sweet, grape, winey finish. The elegant packaging and evocative name, referring to the curved copper piping on the alembic still, perfectly showcase the remarkable spirit inside. " www.swansneckvodka.com L&P Spirits Imports, LLC Punzoné Organic Vodka "Quality is luxury, states Frank Guerrera, CEO and founder of " Punzoné, Inc. "Our vodka is made from the finest and freshest organic ingredients, all of which are sourced straight from the nearby farms of northern Italy and blended and produced at a world-class winery and distillery. Punzoné's authenticity and craftsmanship is what makes us luxurious. " Punzoné Vodka (SRP $39) is made at the family-operated winery, Cantine Sgarzi Luigi, in Piemonte, Italy from wheat grown and spring water drawn from the Italian Alps. The vodka is then distilled using a continuous, fractional five-column still, an involved process that removes all of the undesirable compounds from the finished, certified organic vodka. Punzoné is indeed an elegant spirit with a viscous-textured body and a light, semisweet bouquet. It raises nary a trace of heat as it gradually subsides into a soft, lingering finish. It's hard to tell the vodka is actually 80 proof. The brand's portfolio also includes Punzoné Originale, a "cocktail punch" made with organic Sangiovese-based sangria and natural blood orange essence, and Punzoné Lemoncino, a delicate sangria crafted with Punzoné Vodka, organic Chardonnay grapes grown in Abruzzo and a natural lemon essence from Sicilian. www.punzone.com Punzoné Inc. Easily the most attention-grabbing entry is Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka, a Canadian import marketed by Infinium Spirits. Quadruple-distilled in a column still from a blend of select Canadian grains and pristine glacial water drawn from a deep underground aquifer, the vodka is subjected to rigorous, two-stage filtration—three passes through activated charcoal and then triple-filtered through polished crystals. Crystal Head (SRP $50) a rarity in that the product is every bit worthy of its striking, attention-getting bottle. The limited-edition Crystal Head Vodka Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary Pack has just been released, which includes a bottle of Crystal Head Vodka, bottle tattoo and a double CD with an exclusive collection of the Rolling Stones' greatest hits. The 18 songs are exclusive to this Rolling Stones anniversary pack—14 of which are never-before-released live Stones tracks personally selected by Mick Jagger. It retails around $100. 142 / the tasting panel / june 2013 TP0613_120-156.indd 142 5/23/13 4:56 PM