Despite the extraordinary growth of gin, vodka remains the UK’s best-selling spirit. Most of us slosh it in with mixers for the alcohol hit rather than the flavour, but vodka is currently having something of a moment in the booze world, with aficionados treating it as a drink to be sipped and savoured neat.
While there are sometimes very subtle flavours, vodka’s charms to me are more about texture. Black Cow (£28 Sainsbury’s; 40% abv) is made from whey, the byproduct of cheesemaking, and has a lovely, creamy mouthfeel with none of the acrid burn found in cheap, grain-based vodkas. I like it as a shot, freezer-cold, as a quickfire aperitif.
It pains me to recommend these next two because of the smugness of their names, but they’re both rather good: Virtuous (£24.25 The Whiskey Exchange), distilled from organic Swedish rye with no other additives, is a gentle 38% abv and has seductive notes of vanilla and fresh bread, while Fair (£24.64 thedrinkshop.com, plus independents; 40% abv) is made in France from fairly-traded Bolivian quinoa (I know) and has a spicy, peppery hit without being fiery. Both have beautifully buttery textures and make good sipping, or use to pimp up something worthy in a NutriBullet, if you’re of that persuasion.
When it comes to flavoured vodka, it’s terribly easy to make your own. Pick a flavour, any flavour (think fruits, herbs and spices), and look online for a recipe. Marmalade vodka (heat one jar Oxford-style marmalade until it liquefies, add a bottle of cheap vodka, seal, leave for a week, then strain) makes a funky negroni when it replaces the gin. Those too daunting to try at home include Chase’s dangerously delicious new Espresso Vodka (£40 John Lewis, and nationwide from September; 40% abv), which is distilled from potatoes and Ethiopian coffee. Use it to supercharge an espresso martini or on the rocks with (or instead of) a chocolatey pudding, or even a bag of Maltesers.
The Polish Wyborowa Bison Grass Vodka (widely available, around £20) is a longstanding favourite, made from rye and infused with grass. Herbaceous and astringently fresh, serve it alone, with ice and tonic, or (better, in my view) with sparkling apple juice and a wedge of lime.
What if you don’t want anything fancy, just a workaday base for a vodka and tonic or cocktail? Absolut and Stolichnaya are reliable 40% stalwarts. And, at 37.5% abv, there’s nothing wrong with Glen, which is also available almost anywhere, including your local corner shop.
• Kate Hawkings is co-owner of Bellita in Bristol. Fiona Beckett returns next week.
