Micro-distilleries have become the micro-breweries of the 2000s, and that means the stores are suddenly flooded with all manner of bizarre flavored vodkas, both from established market standards liek Stoli and Absolut as well as the young upstarts that are willing to experiment and be creative. Charbay is one such upstart micro-distillery, and they've recently released a line of vodkas boasting some unique and imaginative flavors, including key lime and blood orange.
I picked up a bottle of Charbay Blood Orange a few weeks ago, and I'll definitely be picking up another bottle once this one is finished. Made with whole fresh fruit, and given the potato-based nature of vodka, it's practically a health meal! It's a superb, orange/red color vodka that goes down well, with a crisp and refreshing taste of blood orange that lacks any of the syrupy artificiality of some flavored drinks. The taste of a blood orange falls somewhere between a regular orange and a pink grapefruit, with just a hint of bitterness to take the cloying out of the sweetness. Charbay is an easy vodka to drink straight up and on the rocks with no mixer, but it works just as well with Sprite, club soda, or any other soda that will give it some carbonated sting. I've also mixed it with raspberry-passion fruit juice, but the flavor of the juices were too sweet and overpowering. Charbay tastes good enough so that you don't want to lose its flavor to sugary juices. Mixed with a quarter-ounce each of Grand Marnier and cranberry juice, it makes an excellent Cosmo.
Yes, vodka has become trendy. Weird flavored vodkas from micro-distilleries doubly so. Frankly, however, it's one trend I'm more than happy to embrace and drink down. I'm really looking forward to scaring up a bottle of Charbay Key Lime now.
Labels: Drink
Hmmm...Charbay Key Lime with a vanilla vodka....it'll be like having liquid pie...or completely gross.