Cold River Vodka
I had the wonderful opportunity to taste and tour Cold River Vodka’s distillery in Maine. Cold River makes 100% potato vodka which, according to my tour guide, is a rarity these days. Making vodka completely of potato leaves a slight sweetness to the taste. The distillation process is really quite interesting.
First, a mash is made of the potatoes by heating them in a giant pot. Secondly, the mash is set to ferment in giant vats. At Cold River they have to make five mashes in order to get a high enough alcohol content to run their still.
Finally, after all five mashes have fermented and the alcohol content is at least 95%, the solution is put into the copper pot still. Using copper is of utmost importance. Most stills are made of stainless steal; however, copper is really the way to go according to Cold River. Copper reacts with the solution during the distillation process and pulls out various sulfur compounds. This means that the vodka is purified while it is distilled so Cold River does not have to purify after the fact. This process allows Cold River to keep the taste and character of their vodka intact. Once the vodka is distilled it is mixed with water, as all vodkas are, to bring the alcohol content down and bottled – without adding anything. The residual sugar –natural potato wine created in the fermenting process- keeps the vodka sweet enough without any glucose additions.
How about the taste? I personally am impressed. This vodka really has character: there is certain buttery quality on the tongue which is accentuated by the vodka’s viscosity. The liquor is smooth and leaves your palate with a sweet aftertaste – not cloying in the way drinks sweetened with corn syrup can be, but clean like a well made drink containing a hint of simple syrup. Because of Cold River’s distinct taste it will be harder to create mixed drinks with than a “normal tasteless and odorless” vodka; however, I think if you let your creativity take you it would be most rewarding.
Cold River recently came out with blueberry vodka. Staying true to their ways, nothing is added to the vodka except blueberries (from Maine, obviously). If you tour the shelves of your local wine-o-mart you’ll find that most flavored vodkas are about 10% less alcohol content than their plain counterparts. Not so in the case of Cold River; the blueberry vodka is the same proof as the straight. The essence of the blueberry is imparted into the vodka without the addition of extra sugar, making it far better for mixing cocktails in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the blueberry vodka, the smell alone was intoxicating. There was a certain woodiness to the taste of the vodka, like standing in a field of blueberries, smelling the bushes, trees, and fruit surrounding you and at the same time sipping a very pure glass of water.
I purchased a bottle of the blueberry vodka so I could take it home and experiment. And what a wonderful experiment it was! I mixed the vodka with lemonade and garnished it is a sprig of oregano fresh from my mother’s garden. The resulting drink was sweet, sour, fresh, fruity and herbal all at the same time. While this simple drink was delicious I was convinced I could do better – but that would have to wait for my return to New York. Once back in the city I squeezed some fresh lemons, made simple syrup, and went to work creating my “blueberry lemonade martini”. I took a martini glass and liberally smeared the inside with blueberry honey. I shook the simple syrup, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and blueberry vodka together with ice and strained it into the honey smeared glass. For a last touch of fanciness I topped with at stem of thyme. Delicious!
Cold River Vodka is the closest you are going to get to “terrior” in vodka. Terrior is a term, popular in the wine drinking community, which denotes the specific character imparted to a beverage due to its geographical position (why a pinot noir from California tastes different from a pinot noir from Oregon). Cold River gets all their potatoes from Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, Maine and takes the water they use from an aquifer in the valley where the farm is located. All this gives the vodka its vary specific taste, which will probably change slightly from time to time depending on weather conditions.
Cold River is definitely a vodka worth picking up. They are currently distributing in several states and hope to grow their distribution network in the next few years. Find out more on their website, www.coldrivervodka.com.
