As soon as I found out we had an actual microdistillery here in Cincinnati -- the only one in Ohio! -- making boutique liquors, of course I had to track down their product. It turned out to be easier than I anticipated: after reading Woodstone Creek's website, I discovered their very first batch of vodka had been released. I called my local wine-shop-cum-liquor-store this morning to inquire and by gosh, they were already carrying it! Snow day be damned, I ran out and bought a bottle and stuck it in my freezer.
I am not really a vodka fan. When I drink liquor, I drink gin (straight up and very very cold) or single-malt whiskey (neat). I'm not a mixers person, and as a sipping liquor vodka is not many folks' first choice. The flavor doesn't generally support lingering. It's often referred to as tasteless, but it isn't really -- it's often just blah, with more liquor burn than actual flavor when drunk straight. There's a reason college kids pour it into tubs of Kool-Aid and Dixie Cups of Jello: the taste is easily hidden. There's a reason few people bother to order top-shelf vodka in a mixed drink: when added to even mildly-flavored mixers, the taste of one vodka is difficult to distinguish from any other. And there's a reason some vodka producers offer it in ten different flavors: the flavor of the vodka doesn't interfere.
However. I am sitting here sipping a glass of very very cold Woodstone Creek vodka, and I have to say it's the best vodka I can ever remember sipping. It's just clean tasting. I can imagine myself doing this again. This is definitely my new brand of vodka.
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7 comments:
Holy cow! How much was it a bottle? I only ever use vodka in making liqueurs, but that might well be worth it! Can you imagine 100% local liqueur? Oooooh, that perks me up this cold morning... :-)
Baklava Queen, I believe it was $18 for the 750ml bottle. Which isn't cheap, but for me it's worth spending more to encourage folks to enter the industry.
No, not cheap, but if you say the quality is good, and it supports a local producer, I'm all for it. I'll have to see if I can find someplace here in NE Ohio to carry it... or make a "field trip." I might have to pick up a couple bottles as I haven't made liqueur in a year and a half and probably need to do a couple of large batches this year.
Thanks for sharing the information. That's VERY exciting!
Thanks for mentioning this - I had no idea it existed, but now that I do I believe I must dash out and pick up a bottle.
Cheers!
Baklava Queen, I make a trip up to NE Ohio (Canfield, Cleveland & Conneaut) a couple of times a year. If it turns out you can't source it by July, let me know and I might be able to bring you a few bottles.
Veggie Option, I know they carry it at the Party Source, too.
A very generous offer! Thanks! I will keep looking and let you know.
Thank all of you for your interest and enthusiasm! I wanted to chime in about availability of our vodka. It is available to licensed resellers, anywhere in Ohio, from the state warehouse on Highland Av. Any liquor store can get it for you - provided they so choose. That goes for restaurants or bars, too. All liquor stores are hooked up to the state computers, even if they tell you they've never heard of it. The order number is 9672B. There have been some issues with resellers refusing to carry an "unknown", even tho we're local. It's more to do with their business needs. The liquor stores don't make that much in Ohio's system, so they're pretty intent to maximize their shelf space with better advertised brands. Woodstone Creek doesn't have an advertising budget, so we're fine with growing with word-of-mouth recommendations. Those mean the most anyway. Right?
Drop by the website: http://www.woodstonecreek.com
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