1.25 oz vodka (Organic Nation)
1 oz. ginger liqueur (Domaine de Canton)
.75 oz Satsuma juice
.5 oz lime juice
Absinthe rinse (Pernod)
Dash Jamaican #1 Bittercube bitters
Shake over ice. Pour into chilled cocktail glass after first rinsing chilled glass with absinthe.
We haven’t created many vodka cocktails on the blog, but intend to change that going forth. Part of this inspiration came from the recent attendance and the high quality cocktails of the Belvedere Unfiltered release at Teardrop Lounge covered in depth at DrinkSpirits.com, and part came from the shift taking place within the vodka realm where flavor (not artificially added) is now a desired attribute (Belvedere included) after years of clean, though most often flavorless premium vodka brands. We aim to highlight more of these craft vodkas in upcoming posts.
Organic Nation is a family run small craft distillery located in Ashland Oregon that is a great example of a company creating a delicate, yet flavorful vodka, and take things one step further by ensuring that every ingredient that goes into the spirit is certified organic by the Oregon Tilth, an organization with some of the strictest standards for organic certification. The vodka is a blend of rye (65%), wheat , and corn (% not listed), and evokes notes of cocoa, hay, and grain. It is great on its own, as well as a joy to mix with.
The cocktail is a fantastic amalgamation of flavors. Satsumas are a fun citrus fruit to work with, though sweet, and therefore trade high amounts of citric acid for sugars. The lime is included to make up for the lacking acid, and creates a nice blend of citrus flavors. Ginger plays very nicely with citrus of all kinds, and we have found it makes a particurly good partner with Satsumas. The bitters add a bounty of spice notes, with the flavor profile for Bittercube Jamaican #1 listed as Jamaican spice overtones, ginger, and black pepper. The bitters help transcend the cocktail from good to great, a difficult chasm to cross. The absinthe rinse also adds it own herbal richness on the nose, and lingers faintly on the swallow.
craft cocktails 