Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/39104
FLOW CHART Transparent V odkas comprise nearly 30% of all distilled spirits sold in the United States. To say that we’ve developed a taste for vodka would be an obvious understatement, yet it underscores an important point about the spirit. Most of the bestselling vodkas do indeed have easily perceptible fl avors and aromas. The top- shelf brands are lushly textured and imminently drinkable, far from being without character and personality. The largest gene pool is comprised of neutral vodkas—those without color, odor or taste. At fi rst glance their transparency and apparent lack of character may be misleading. The allure is primarily cerebral, for drinking something essentially pure is like sipping on cool mountain Ahead of the Curve These vodkas are on the leading edge of the cocktail-shaker scene. If you haven’t seen them yet, get on-board before your bar-back calls you out. Guaranteed to perk interest on the retail shelf, too. THE BRAND THE BASICS AMERICAN HARVEST Made in Rigby, Idaho, the USDA Certifi ed Organic spirit (a vodka in all but name) is continuous-distilled from winter wheat and spring water. The grain is obtained from a family-owned American farm. The creamy textured spirit is the quintessence of neutrality. BLUE ANGEL VODKA Serial entrepreneur Maurice Kanbar (creator of Skyy) has introduced a heavenly new vodka with Blue Angel. Congeners are removed via a multi-fi ltration process that Kanbar himself invented in his San Francisco laboratory, leaving this one with angelic purity. THE STATS ORIGIN: Idaho, USA DISTLLED FROM: winter wheat SRP: $23.99 SUPPLIER: Sidney Frank Importing Co. ORIGIN: USA DISTLLED FROM: grain SRP: $20 SUPPLIER: Blue Angel Vodka THINK WHILE YOU DRINK Amber waves of grain. ROBERT PLOTKIN CHARTS A COURSE THROUGH THE VERY BEST IN VODKA Gems mist. Achieving that effect is extraordinarily challenging. Aging spirits in wood can mask fl aws and blemishes. Not so with vodka. No other spirit so exposes any of its shortcomings as vodka. Alone in the glass, stripped of its packaging, marketing and hype, neutral vodkas are an open book. Like a statuesque nude, essential purity is a thing of beauty. Vodka will remain America’s spirit of choice for the foreseeable future. Its steadily increasing popularity means that a stream of interesting new brands will continue entering the market. In an attempt to shallow out the learning curve, here’s a scouting report on the best new vodkas you may not have heard of . . . yet. Renaissance man Maurice Kanbar is an inventor, fi lm producer, entrepreneur and master distiller. 76 / the tasting panel / august 201 1