Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/142283
Elevated Elegance While all of the bartenders we spoke to agree that Purity Vodka is versatile, they also explained that this brand works best in simple, spirit-forward cocktails. "It's like any fine spirit," says Pamela Wiznitzer, bartender at New York's Dead Rabbit and President of that city's USBG chapter. "You don't want to disrupt it with too many other flavors. It has a creamy, thick, really round texture, and it should be the focal point of any cocktail." Kuuttanen has long supported water cocktails, which he feels is the perfect expression of a Purity Vodka cocktail. "I am a puritan when it comes to Purity. It should be served as neat as possible, with a splash of water to enjoy the character," he explains, noting that Purity is very similar to whiskies in its ability to be enhanced by water. "A lot of people don't realize why you can add water to whiskey, but not calvados, Armagnac, or brandy. It's chemistry, simple science, that makes water enhance flavors due to the starch content." New York bartender Enzo Lim, owner of Maharlika and Jeepney, agrees that Purity Vodka has got more in common with whiskies than vodkas: "Purity has a characteristic viscosity and density that makes for unique mixing in cocktails that typically call for whiskey." Phil Casaceli, owner of DADDY-O in New York City, tells us that if he could only drink one cocktail for the rest of his life, it would be "a Purity Vodka Martini with a twist, of course. Make one for yourself and you'll see why!" At Café Noir, Pure Bespoke cocktails are featured daily, and made with fresh ingredients from the chef's daily picks. Here, a lemon-ginger Purity cocktail is featured. Purity Preferred "Purity is not vodka for the sake of vodka," says Stilo, who says that too often, bartenders turn to vodka to add alcohol content to their cocktails, not flavor. "It's not just 'Hey, here's some alcohol.' There's something really robust about it that says, 'Hey, I'm still here.' You can taste it. You can feel it. You can put anything you want in the cocktail, and Purity still says 'I'm here.' This one is something special. This one," he says with a smile, "I love." With the industry firmly on its side, the future for Purity Vodka is bright, and will be led by more than the bartenders and mixologists within these pages. But at the end of the day, a great bottle and a great product is nothing without a great story, and that's where Purity Vodka truly shines. "It can't just be a great spirit," explains Russell Davis. "There are a lot of great spirits. Where Purity Vodka stands apart, is the people involved. Thomas and John are putting their hearts into elevating vodka, bringing it back to what it should be. They're educating and proliferating techniques to help us all in the long run, and that makes me feel great about this brand." july 2013 / the tasting panel / 71 TP0713_066-99.indd 71 6/24/13 5:48 PM