DRINK

Zyr Vodka

Vodka is probably the most disliked or hated spirit by serious mixologists - myself included. Then there are some mixologists who like vodka but they appear to be in the minority.

Perhaps Zyr russian vodka will make you reconsider vodka as a spirit worth taking seriously and not "Gin without pants" as Gabe over at Cocktailnerd says. I received a review sample of Zyr vodka a short while ago and let me tell you this - Zyr Vodka is one damn fine vodka.

Zyr [ZEER] Vodka is made from a unique combination of wheat and rye which comes packaged in a distinctive light blue bottle. What made me sit up and take notice was the rye, as gin happens to be my overall favorite base spirit.

The Rye imparts a somewhat sweet and spicy profile to the wheat vodka which makes for a spirit that is better off used for sipping vs mixing in a cocktail - we've got Smirnoff for that. Zyr vodka is produced in an area outside of Moscow and I was pleased to learn that Zyr oversees the entire chain of supply from harvesting the grain to bottling. That's dedication, people.

Personally, I enjoyed Zyr vodka the most by sipping it neat - ice cold. I also tried it in a cocktail and it blended effortlessly, disappearing into the background, like a really great vodka should. It's almost as if it wasn't there, which is exactly how the base liquor in a well crafted cocktail should be. Zyr has received nods from the Robb Report, Playboy and the Wine Enthusiast to name a few.

Best enjoyed ice cold, on the rocks. Sweet and spicy. Please don't waste this vodka on people you hate - this is delicious vodka. MSRP of $32 for a 750 ml bottle.

Distribution for Zyr Vodka appears to be mostly on the East coast at the moment, but if you have the opportunity to sample some, come back and tell us about it in the comments.

In case you haven't heard by now, but I'm sure you soon will - Starbucks has released a trio of coffee flavored energy drinks called Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Drinks. The flavors are French Vanilla, Mocha and Coffee and the initial response has been overall very favorable. We recently had the opportunity to sample the entire trio and let me just tell you this, these drinks are very delicious ...

I'm surprised Starbucks waited this long to come out with a coffee based energy drink - this would seem like a no brainer especially given the success of other energy drinks out there such as Red Bull, Rockstar etc. The Doubleshot Energy drinks add ginseng, guarana and vitamins into the mix for a smooth, milky, sweet taste. My favorite was probably the Mocha, but again the Vanilla and Coffee are really good.

So in honor of a job well done, A Grandiose Blog has created a cocktail in honor of the new Starbucks Doubleshot Energy line - the Starbucks Doubleshot Cocktail.

• 2 oz Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Drink (coffee flavor)

• 1.5 oz Vodka (we used Zyr Vodka)

• 1 oz Milk (1% lowfat milk - hey I'm influenced by the vitamins and ginseng)

• 1/2 oz Grenadine

Shake all ingredients well in a Boston shaker filled with ice. Strain into a martini glass.

Christiania Vodka's trademark is "The World's Smoothest Vodka". We had a chance to review a bottle of the spirit and we came to the conclusion that Christiania Vodka is anything but the world's smoothest vodka. Actually we found it quite nasty.

There are a number of better vodka's which we have had the opportunity to review here and consider quite superior to Christiania Vodka - Trump Vodka, Zyr Vodka, heck even bargain priced Sobieski Vodka is waaaay better than Christiania.

Christiania Vodka has a great story, and a slick marketing campaign - but all that does not make a great vodka. We found Christiania Vodka a bit too strong and harsh, especially for a six time distilled potato based spirit. Potato based vodka's are supposed to be the smoothest of the smooth, and if you ever have the opportunity compare Christiania Vodka to another potato based spirit - Trump Vodka.

In my opinion, Christiania Vodka represents everything I dislike about vodka - an average product trying to brainwash consumers with a slick marketing campaign. This review might be a bit harsh but this is my personal opinion. There are some who seem to like Christiania Vodka - but I'll let you be the judge. In the meantime somebody please pass me a bottle of Zyr Vodka ....

Let's see, there hasn't been a vodka review or a post about vodka period ever since Gabriel from Cocktailnerd did a guest post. I haven't posted anything here in awhile, mostly because I've been extremely busy hanging out with the Search Engine Optimization and Affiliate Marketing crowd, which resulted in the creation of Selfpreneurs.com. Selfpreneurs has been a great success for me in it's very short existence because it has led to a couple of paid consulting projects for a few small business owners. As much as I love blogging about cocktails, it is a very expensive hobby to maintain.

So imagine my surprise when I was contacted by the folks at Imperial Brands who wanted to know if I'd like to review their new product, Sobieski Vodka. Vodka?! Regular readers of my blog already know that Gin reigns supreme here, and most a lot of the mixologists I run with in the mixosphere share a dim view on vodka. However after sampling Sobieski Vodka I realized ...

Today's topic, Gin - is a big favorite around here and you can read this previous post for a brief history of Gin.

On a recent visit to the best liquor store on the East Coast, I wandered over to the gin section looking for a brand to review or use in a recipe for todays MixMo. One particular, pale yellow gin stood out from the rest - maybe because it's price tag was $70! If you're a gin aficionado or you've probably guessed that I'm referring to Old Raj. It was hands down the most expensive gin in the store. I love you readers - but not that much, so at the suggestion of the store owner I settled for Broker's Gin instead. An excellent choice, but that post is for another day.

The pale yellow color in Old Raj comes from the addition of saffron (probably why it's so expensive) - but that got me thinking - instead of reviewing a brand why not "make" my own gin instead? Gin is a neutral grain spirit flavored at least in part by juniper berries. The juniper berries give Gin it's distinct "twang" or profile. All brands have the juniper berry in common, and what differentiates one brand from another are in the botanicals used - Old Raj sets itself apart by using saffron, Hendrick's uses cucumber, G'vine Gin uses a grapevine flower. Guess what? We're going to make us some Bathtub Gin?!

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Welcome to another edition of Recap Sundays - a recap of grandiose posts from other blogs in the Mixosphere.

• Gabriel at cocktailnerd reviews a book, "How's your Drink?" by Eric Felton and gives it four stars out of five
• The Good Doctor pairs a Martini with Celery & Stilton soup. Is that a new logo Doc?
• Robert explains Why Vodka Sucks at Explore the Pour
• Gwen serves up a Cucumber lychee sake
• Natalie's still living it up in Paris and does drinks in the Ritz Hotel at Bar Hemingway
• Jeffrey's Wassail recipe makes it into the Nation's Restaurant News
• Luxist discusses the Worlds Priciest Cocktails
• Rick reviews Stiletto Vodka
• Scott discusses a bunch of Ginger Ales, and throws in a few Ginger Beers for good measure
• Who is this Mysterious bearded fellow?