Every so often something a little curious wanders into my inbox and email from the Drinks Enthusiast is just that, his alcoholic knowledge is encyclopedic and he always knows what’s in the alcoholic pipeline. Add to that it being held in Manchester 235′s Fusion Bar and I was very excited.
Luckily for a few of us, he’d sent an invitation to try some new spirits coming to Mancland. These pretties are well worth keeping an eye out for, just for vodka fans.
Snow Queen Vodka is an unusual one -hailing from Kazakhstan it has a romantic bottle to go with its romantic origins. As an organic vodka you get a sense of it’s purity; made from wheat grown in the soil of the Steppes and the artesian water from the foothills of the Himalayas, you should be dreaming of North Asia. Mentally I’m seated on a horse, at the edge of a forest, looking across the planes of Kazakhstan in a pair of knee boots and a fur hat.
So to the vodka – it’s nose is slightly spicy, with a hint of the vanilla it holds on the palate. It’s not just vanilla you get though, it’s creamy, so think fudge, aniseed. It’s rich for a vodka, quite robust and lingers on the tastebuds.
Currently available: Harvey Nichols / Selfridges or online Look for it in: Epernay, The Lowry, Apotheca, Socio Rehab, Rosso, The Blue Pig, 24 Bar & Grill Snow Queen GodfatherGlass – Highball
Ingredients – 50ml Snow Queen 25ml Amaretto 15ml Grenadine Dash of soda water 2 wedges of limeMethod – Shake all ingredients togehter and pour into a highball glass over ice. Add a dash of soda and garnish with limes.
If perhaps you’d prefer something a little lighter, then look no further than Roberto Cavalli Vodka. As soon as you see the bottle, you know how much influence the man himself has had on the product. It’s elegance hints at the process behind it’s creation – the soft wheat from the valleys of the South Western Alps, natural mineral water from the slopes of Monte Rosa – Italian grace at it’s heart.
This is really evident in it’s taste. Thinner in the mouth, it’s drier and crisper, hitting the tip of the tongue, rather than the back. It doesn’t linger like the Snow Queen does, it’s grassy and apricot flavours would mean you could comfortably sip this over a tiny amount of ice.
Currently available: Harvey Nichols / Selfridges or online
Look for it in: It’s not yet been spotted in a bar in Manchester Cavalli TigerGlass – Martini
Ingredients – 50ml Roberto Cavalli 30ml passion fruit pulp 20ml pineapple juice 5ml Grenadine 5ml CointreauMethod – Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into chilled Martini glass. Garnish with half passion fruit
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