A little vodka alchemy from U'Luvka

Apparently this is what a balance of male and female looks like

My sister is a Human Resources type. Nowadays she is freelance, but she used to work for a “wealth management” company. Clearly anyone above a certain level in the business was assumed to have wealth of their own that needed management, and they would regularly receive presentations from people with investment opportunities to offer. One such was a new vodka brand called U’Luvka. You’ve probably heard of it now but at the time it was a bold new concept. I’m not sure why there was a feverish belief that it was a surefire money-spinner but, several years down the road, I spotted a bottle in my local Sainsbury’s, marked down from £35 to £30 (I think it was nearer £42 originally). Needless to say, curiosity got the better of me and I bought one of these oddly-shaped bottles to find out what the fuss is all about.

The bottle was, I believe, one of the selling points; the brand owners clearly believe no one could resist its charms. Personally I find it really annoying—at 14½ inches too tall to fit on a normal shelf, poorly balanced for pouring, etc. And I don’t know what it is saying about the vodka—it’s like a giant crystal sperm.

I tend to be suspicious of any “ultrapremium” vodka, as clearly there is a lot of marketing bollocks going on to make up for the fact that vodka doesn’t taste of that much. (And I assume that vodka rather lends itself to this kind of marketing, as the sort of person who is won over by it probably doesn’t like booze that much and might be upset by something really flavourful.) I actually dislike Grey Goose, as it tastes unpleasantly sweetened to me.

High-end vodka usually ends up trading either on provenance or on notions of “purity”. (In fact producing 96% pure alcohol and diluting it with distilled water is relatively easy, but most punters probably wouldn’t like the taste of it; I gather that most of the fancy filtration techniques used on vodka are more about nudging the flavour one way or another.) U’Luvka is made in Poland and the back story concerns a 16th-century chemist and alchemist named Sendivogius (Michał Sędziwój) who distilled a vodka for the court of King Sigismund III. Apparently the court’s habit of constantly offering toasts of vodka meant that they were plagued with permanent hangovers from the rough spirit: Sendivogius was commissioned to distil something purer, thus freeing the court to carry on quaffing while still being in a condition to carry on affairs of state. Of course, while darker spirits, red wine, port, etc., do contain congeners that might make you feel rougher, if you drink enough of any booze you will get a hangover, however “pure” it might be. And I can’t imagine that a court that is permanently drunk is going to be any more competent to govern than one that is permanently hung over! Anyway, U’Luvka claims—in a vague sort of way—to be a rediscovery of this recipe.

Sendivogius: no longer involved in the production of U'Luvka

It is made at a distillery outside Wroclaw from a blend of 50% rye, 25% wheat and 25% barley grown in the north of Poland. Despite the blarney about purity, the vodka is deliberately filtered only twice to retain a certain amount of character. The packaging is apparently all about alchemy, embodying the balance of opposites: the bottle is meant to combine female (the rounded body) and male (the tall—if inexplicably crooked—neck). The symbol on the front merges the alchemical glyphs for spirit, soul, man and woman, thus presumably celebrating alcohol’s ancient transformative power to get men and women together (something they possibly regret the next morning once the spirit has worn off). Even the suggested cocktails on the website all have names relating to alchemy.

For all this guff, I can report that fortunately U’Luvka isn’t bad at all. For me the nose has a striking aniseed/caraway character, presumably from the rye, essentially fresh and vibrant, with an orange zestiness and a cereal note. On the tongue it is very smooth, creamily approachable and with an impression of icing-sugar sweetness, yet without actually being cloying at all. It is subtle and poised, but with some balanced complexities, whispers of wood, rubber and pineapple. It retains these qualities in a vodka Gimlet or vodka Martini, and does indeed make good examples of these cocktails.

I grab a few other vodkas for comparative purposes—Ketel One, Chase and Russian Standard. Ketel One has the most similar character, though with a slightly richer mouthfeel and darker notes of chocolate and a hint of strawberry. Chase has a woodier nose and is very plump in the mouth and has a darker balance than the bright U’Luvka. Russian Standard is admittedly outclassed here, coming across as a rougher spirit.

I like U’Luvka, but would I buy it again? Probably not. For me Ketel One offers a pretty similar experience for about £10 a bottle less (and a more practical bottle design at that), while for the same money as U’Luvka Chase offers a more sumptuous presence if you are planning to sip it neat.

One mystery is the name. Unless I’ve missed it, nowhere on the website do they explain it, though elsewhere online I’ve found an explanation that it means “legless” in Polish, referring to the vodka toasting glasses used in Sigismund’s day that had no bases and so could not be put down until empty. Legless indeed…

A Pash-ion for Vodka #3 - Chase Marmalade Vodka

For the first Pash-ion for vodka, I looked at Chase Smoked Vodka, and today we'll look at Chase Marmalade Vodka. This was first released around the same time as the Smoked, but due to its great popularity it is to be re-released in some funky new packaging.

The vodka is bottled at 40%ABV and is made by marinading marmalade with their English Potato Vodka in the belly of their still; this is then boiled and infused in a Carter Headstyle still with fresh Seville Orange.

Own

Sweet citrus on the nose, like Triple Sec or country marmalade. Packed with flavour, there is a touch of vanilla that reminds me of ice-cream. This straw-yellow liquid has a slight warming effect and a moderate bitterness from the orange peel. It's rather complex and is dry rather than sweet. It has a certain smoothness, but has a touch more burn then some of their other products.

Frozen

A lovely texture, as the cold of the ice box has made the vodka a little more viscous, like a thin syrup. At this temperature some floral or perfume elements come to surface. The vodka is characterised by the preserve's sweetness and the bitterness of the peel (in the same way that marmalade is), but, when served at a low temperature, these two flavours seem to separate. This doesn't detract from the drinking experience, however, and this is still a well-rounded tipple.

Martini

6:1 Martini Extra Dry - Shaken

With a nose of freshly zested orange, the drink is smooth, yet crisp, and has an initial flavour of sweet citrus, a bit like Cointreau. It has just the right balance between sweet and bitter and has a long finish. Pleasant and delicious; if only you could spread it on toast!

In Conclusion

It was great to get a chance to try the new batch of Chase Marmalade Vodka and I wasn't disappointed. This is great to drink on its own or to experiment with in some summery cocktails. A Harvey Wallbanger variation: 2 parts Marmalade Vodka, 1 part Galliano, 3 parts Orange Juice and shaken would, perhaps, be a good starting point.

All in all, this is an enjoyable spirit to drink, but my heart, for now, remains with the luverly Chase Smoked Vodka.

Floral Delights—Chase Elderflower Liqueur

Members of the New Sheridan Club may recall the Elderflower-themed Cocktail Cabinet in March's newsletter; well today we have a special bonus feature on Chase Elderflower Liqueur (20%ABV). This comes from the same company that make a vodka that was voted "World's Best 2010", as well as Chase Gin and an excellent Smoked Vodka.

#3 Gin & Elderflower

#4 Elderflower Bramble

#1 On its own
Nose: Sweet, slightly jammy nose of elderflower with a tiny hint of citrus.
Taste: Soft and syrupy in the mouth, sweet elderflower with a slight, tea-like muskiness. Very pleasant to sip. In terms of sweetness it sits between the sugary St. Germain and the slightly sharper Bitter Truth.

#2 Elderflower Collins
Made in the same way as a normal Gin Collins: equal parts Chase Gin, Lemon Juice and Sugar Syrup with an additional equal part of Elderflower Liqueur. Top up with soda water. Cool and refreshing, not too sweet; a nice long way to enjoy Chase Elderflower.



#3 Gin & Elderflower
A 4:1 mix of Chase Gin:Chase Elderflower, Shaken.
This is a cloudy Martini-esque drink with the sweetness of the liqueur just rounding off the edges of the gin. The elderflower brings out the fruit and floral elements of the gin.



#4 Elderflower Bramble
Rather cooling, rather lovely. The difference between this and a normal Bramble is that it is less jammy and as you're using elderflower rather than blackberry it is much fresher. I think that the flavours of lemon and elderflower are natural partners and it's interesting to note that, as you drink the drink, the taste of elderflower grows stronger as the liqueur sinks to the bottom.

#5 Fashionable Elderflower

#5 Fashionable Elderflower
Made in the same way as a Gin Old Fashioned but the sugar cube and water are replaced with 10ml of the Elderflower Liqueur. This is a pleasant way to enjoy both the Chase Gin and the Chase Elderflower. The Angostura Bitters and Elderflower flavours compliment each other well and this drink has the right balance of sweetness as well as a subtle fruity edge.

Chase Elderflower Gin is available from the Chase Website.
£10.50 for 20cl or £19.50 for 50cl.

A Pash-ion for Vodka #1: Chase Smoked Vodka

This is the first of a new series of articles looking at Vodka, it used to be the darling of the spirit world but recently has become a bit less popular, at least with drinks writers, it seems.*


A good friend of mine, Mr. Pasha, comes from Moscow and on his periodic trips to the UK he usually brings me a bottle of something he has picked up in the Motherland. In fact when Mrs. B and I got married our wedding present consisted of several bottle of vodka and some caviar (much better than a toaster, I'm sure you'd agree!).


That said the first of these articles will actually focus on a British Vodka that I've been meaning to write about for a long time. But rest assured there will be more Russian Vodka to come.


Chase English Oak Smoked Vodka

When I purchased up it was a toss up between this and the Chase Marmalade Vodka, I've not yet tried that but I was still really pleased with my choice of the smoked. The vodka was inspired when one of the folks in the distillery was tasting some fine local smoked salmon; the vodka is smoked in a similar way to the fish. The smoke from the oak permeates Chase's award-winning Potato vodka in a specially designed smoke chamber for about a week.

The run of Smoked Vodka was very limited and although it is currently discontinued there are still bottles about. Mine was about £30 for 70cl.

The Taste

On its own
Nose: neutral grain and a little smoke
Taste: Wow! There is the smokiness, moving from Bavarian smoked cheese to smoked fish to a great smoked meat. To my mind this beats any peated whisky. Despite the smokiness it is still remarkably smooth with a pleasant sweet pick-up on the finish.


Smokey Mule
Moscow Mule using Chase Smoked, quite a pleasant way to enjoy the vodka; Chase holds its own in this drink and the fieriness of the ginger beer is followed by the smoke of the vodka. (No pyro-puns intended)


Martini (5:1) - SHAKEN
Strong flavours of smoked cheese and Palma Ham, the vermouth (Dolin) added a little green herb element, not unlike olives. These flavours combine to create a sort of antipasto misto in a glass. Cool, crisp and delightful. I've never had anything like this.


Frozen Chase
An easy one to make this, it's just smoked vodka straight from the freezer. A very strong smokey flavour, unusual as freezing usually curbs the flavour of the vodka. The vodka is delightfully smokey and almost textureless. it is as if cold smoke vapour is passing down my throat after leaving a warm tingle on my tongue.


In Conclusion
Chase Smoked is the best smoked spirit I've ever had and with its flavour of smoked cheese and meats we at the Institute think that this is what a good bacon vodka should taste like. With that thought comes a plethora of cocktail ideas…


Sadly this has currently been discontinued by Chase but I, along with the dozen people who have sampled some of my bottle sincerely hope that it is brought back.


*Maybe it's just because I move and shake in the gin-set

Not only here for the beer: spirits from Adnams

Anyone with a still seems to be chucking out a gin at the moment, but I was surprised to hear recently that Adnams, brewers of fine Suffolk ales since 1872, had also now produced a range of vodkas and gins. I shouldn’t have been, really—their premium spirits are made from exactly the same grains as their beer, a mixture of locally sourced barley, wheat and oats. Even though they’ve had to have a still installed—a copper one, for they too subscribe to the cult of copper—it’s all part of the process. So are they bandwagon-jumping or do they have something to bring to the party?

Let’s start with Adnams Copper House Barley Vodka (40% ABV). It’s made from East Anglian malted barley, brewed into a wash at 6% ABV without hops, then distilled. They describe it as “beautifully smooth…with a natural sweetness”, but to me it has a keen nose with a hint of dry sherry. The palate does have cream, by comparison with mass-produced vodkas, but compared to other premium vodkas I’ve had recently it tends more towards fruit and minerals—this is a characterful drink. Indeed Adnams describe it as having “plenty of character from our handmade copper pot still”. I couldn’t say if that is where the flavours come from but if I line it up with some others I have to hand—SW4*, Sipsmith, Chase and Indiana—it seems to have oranges, grapes and even cherries going on. Sipsmith and SW4 are also made from barley but their styles are quite different. If you’re after a vodka that is all about creamy smoothness and nectar sweetness, then this probably isn’t the one for you, but my curiosity has been well and truly piqued.

Next up is Longshore, a vodka bottled at 48% ABV, made from the more complicated three-grain blend and a finer “cut”—taking just the choice middle section of the distillation batch. And what a difference it is. If the Copper House barley vodka has an edgy, fruity character, this vodka smells like a meringue, rich and sweet. But on the palate it still has a family resemblance to the first one—rather than the unctuous smoothness of Sipsmith it has a distinctly citrus-cream fruity flavour with hints of wood. It tastes like a wooden crate that was used to store oranges.

As a relative vodka novice I’ve been astonished by the variety of flavours you can get from this basic recipe. The Chase potato vodka, for instance is vinous on the nose with a smooth palate and a hint of pears. So what will we make of the third Adnams offering—North Cove Oak-Aged Vodka, a version of their Longshore that is bottled at 50% ABV after sitting in oak barrels? (The sample that I have spent a month in a mix of French and American oak though I’m told the production version will use just European barrels.) As soon as you stick your nose in the glass you really can smell the wood, and not just a general “woodiness” but actual sawn planks. Then comes the buttery, vanilla richness, familiar from oak-aged wine. Adnams suggest coconut too, and it is there, in a coconut-matting kind of way. On the palate again a strong wood character—probably too much for some—giving it an edge almost like red wine. You can imagine this vodka pairing well with food, such as smoked salmon; this, or perhaps the lighter vodkas, might be a good match with sushi.

To me this whole range has a striking fruit character. The oak-aged one has elements of prunes and marmalade, but even the basic barley vodka has it too. The next morning I smell all the empty tasting glasses and, while Indiana, SW4, Sipsmith and Chase have no residual aroma to speak of, all of the Adnams range do, especially the oak-aged, though less so the Longshore. When we tried them all together I got the impression that DBS was most keen on SW4, followed by Indiana and Sipsmith. I think they’re excellent too, but I have to say I’m taken by the forthright character of the Adnams range.

The family also includes two gins, the Distilled Gin made from the barley vodka and First Rate gin made from the Longshore vodka. The Distilled Gin has six botanicals, featuring sweet orange peel and hibiscus flower, plus juniper, cardamom, coriander seed and orris. This sweet, floral approach is very much of the moment. Berry Bros. No.3 gin is specifically intended for Martinis and also includes sweet orange peel in its spartan botanical list: I assume the sweetness is there to make it more palatable served more or less neat.

Certainly there is juniper and citrus straightaway and a pronounced floral aroma. I don’t really know what hibiscus tastes/smells of but here there is a sweetness and a hint of blackcurrants too. This perfumed character reminds me slightly of soap, though I guess that is more a comment on how we choose to fragrance our toiletries than on the gin. On the palate overall it’s again about sweet orange, flowers and also gingerbread. Plus a smidgen of geranium. Diluted by half with water, it maintains this character, though I get a whiff of strawberries too.

First Rate gin immediately contrasts by having more juniper on the nose. It has the same botanicals, minus the hibiscus, and adds caraway and fennel seeds, cassia, angelica, lemon peel, liquorice, thyme and vanilla. You do get a clear family resemblance: flowers, gingernut (interesting that there are no flowers in this one, and no ginger in either) and that stemmy geranium note. On the palate this persists, though it also has more alcohol, plus the smooth, creamy character of the underlying vodka. Watered by half, I also get a dry aromatic perfume like lavender, which must come from the thyme and perhaps the seeds.

Comparing these two with SW4 gin, you realise how much more the latter is characterised by mid-range spice notes of coriander, cinnamon, cassia and maybe nutmeg, compared to the floral characters on display here. Oddly I am reminded of the G’Vine range, which is also all about flowers (vine flowers in their case), sweetness and with a strong ginger note. They too have a lower ABV version and a higher ABV one with a sterner, more junipery mix: I assume the basic idea here is to have a sweet, floral, approachable version marketed at people who basically are put off by traditional gin’s austerity, plus a more juniper-driven one for people who do actually like gin.

Both the Adnams gins are comfortable with tonic at 2:1. Again the Distilled is sweet and floral while the First Rate brings in a steely note of juniper and the sharp aromatics of the spices and resinous thyme. Adnams themselves feel both gins work well with tonic or as Martinis, and benefit from lime garnishes, adding that First Rate is also “stunning with a strip of cucumber”.

Personally I prefer the First Rate, because I like a drier, more pokey spirit, but I think both are well made, intriguingly complex products. They’re not cheap, mind—and with both First Rate and Longshore the more pernickety distillation method cranks up the price further. Adnams Copper House Barley Vodka is £22.99 for 70cl; the Longshore Vodka is £23.99 for 50cl; the North Cove Oak Aged Vodka is £25.99 for 50cl; the Distilled Gin is £23.99 for 70cl and the First Rate Gin is £24.99 for 50cl. All may be purchased directly from Adnams’ website.

* This vodka doesn't really have a name yet. On the Park Place Drinks site it is called Radost but it hasn't actually been brought to market yet. Perhaps you can email Martin your suggestions for a name?