Glen's Vodka is a brand of vodka, owned and produced by the Loch Lomond Group, a Scottish company. It is produced from sugar beet at the Catrine Distillery in Ayrshire, Scotland, and is sold by drinks retailers across the UK. It is available in 50 mL, 200 mL, 350 mL, 700 mL, and 1-litre bottles.
In 2009, Glen's Vodka came first in a blind-tasting test conducted by British newspaper The Telegraph.[3] The tasting included a variety of premium-brand vodkas including Grey Goose and Absolut.
Giant rival William Grant won exclusive rights to use the ''Grants'' name, forcing Mauchline, Ayrshire-based Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse, Bulloch's main trading company, to rebrand its number-two UK-seller Grants vodka as Glen's. Grants gin has been similarly renamed.
The bar will no longer be selling Hammer + Sickle Vodka, which is brewed in Russia. Another popular vodka brand, Stoli, is actually brewed in Latvia, but its partial Russian ownership means O'Donnell won't sell it.
Many other vodka brands like Smirnoff or Popov employ a Russian aesthetic, but are actually owned and brewed elsewhere. O'Donnell, who opened the bar in 2015, says boycotting Russian liquor is the right thing to do.
O'Donnell said he's looking to find alternative Ukrainian vodkas or wines he can sell instead, but has thus far been unable to find any that are available. If he can source Ukranian alcohol, he's willing to take his political statement a step further.
The competition awards Silver (70-79 points), Gold (80-89 points) and Master (90-100) points. The top vodkas in the 2021 competition hailed from all over the world, and included winners from the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia and the United States.
Another surprising winner, among the cheapest available vodkas, was Syabry Rye Bread Vodka. It sells for around $7 for a 500-ml bottle, and is produced by Belvingroup in Belarus. It has limited distribution outside of Belarus, and is not yet available in the US. See wine-searcher.com if you want to look for an international mail order supplier.
The top scoring vodka in the premium category ($15 to $30) was Halewood Artisanal Spirits JJ Whitley Artisanal Russian Vodka, 38% ABV, 750 ml. Halewood Group is a UK based beverage company that operates 12 distilleries around the world. Its Artisanal Russian Vodka is produced at the JJ Whitley Vodka Distillery in the town of Kingisepp (previously named Yamburg), near St. Petersburg. The distillery was once among the largest in Russia.
Reyka Vodka is an Icelandic vodka owned by William Grant & Sons. It, too, has been a perennial award winner. The company brings in spirit from Scotland that has been distilled from a mash bill of wheat and barley and then redistills it in Iceland using a Carter-Head still. It uses geothermal heat to power the distillation.
Kamo is a wheat-based vodka produced, its vaguely Finnish sounding name notwithstanding, in Barrow Upon Soar in Loughborough in the United Kingdom. The vodka is distilled seven times, and undergoes nine filtrations, resulting in an incredibly smooth vodka with a clean, neutral taste. Kamo is not available in the US, but can be purchased from UK mail order vendors.
There were three Master awards in the ultra-premium ($45 and up) vodka category. These were Uokka, Tanzanite Vodka, 40% ABV, 700 ml; One True Maverick Vodka, 40% ABV, 700 ml and Pur Vodka, 40% ABV, 750 ml.
Tanzanite is a French vodka brand that is produced from a mash bill of French winter wheat. Uokka is a Scottish based distributor of wine, beer and spirits that handles Tanzanite Vodka in the United Kingdom. The brand is not yet available in the US.
Sweet Grass Vodka, 40% ABV, 750 ml is a potato based vodka produced in Charleston, South Carolina. It won a Master Award in three separate categories, Organic, Micro-distillery and Smoothest. The vodka is continuously distilled, resulting in a spirit that is ultra-smooth and lacking the spirity alcohol notes often found in vodka. Each bottle includes a single blade of grass from Charleston.
In addition to the Nemiroff Burning Pear Vodka, there were two other vodkas that took a Master award in the flavored vodka category: Saranskiy Distillers Balchug XVI, 40% ABV, 700 ml;and Nemiroff, The Inked Collection Wild Cranberry, 40% ABV, 700 ml.
The Vodka Masters competition also recognizes the top vodkas by mash bill and location. In the rye vodka category, Belvedere took the top honors for its Belvedere Vodka Heritage 176, 40% ABV, 750 ml and Belvedere Vodka Single Estate Rye SmogÃry Forest, 40% ABV, 750 ml. This is one of two single estate vodkas produced by Belvedere.
Belvedere is a Polish distiller that crafts its vodkas exclusively from Polish rye grain. Vodka Heritage 176 uses a traditional method of malting the rye grain and then subjecting it to a fire-kilned drying. The result is a rich, complex, full-bodied vodka that offers up notes of sweet honey, walnut and allspice.
Also winning a Master award was Roust ÅubrÃwka Bison Grass, 40% ABV, 750 ml. This is a very herbal vodka, with pronounced herbaceous aromas including rich notes of chamomile and a bit of vanilla.
The other Master winner by mash category, in this case potatoto, was Royal Mash, Royal Mash Vintage Vodka 2020, 40% ABV, 700 ml. This is another vodka that is not available in the US, but sometimes crops up on a special import basis. It uses a mash bill based on Jersey Royal Fluke potatoes, a variety of potato discovered on the island of Jersey in 1878. Distillation is in tiny, very short necked, alembic style, 200-liter pot stills.
Other Master winners were Saranskiy Distillers Balchug XXI, for best Russian vodka. FNQ Spirits Croc Vodka (note that this is a different brand from Ciroc vodka) and GX Spirits Baxter Vodka won for best vodka in the Rest of World category. Both are Australian vodkas and are not available outside of the country.
The Global Spirits Master Vodka judging highlighted an interesting array of vodkas. Significantly, many were craft vodkas from small, new producers. Unfortunately, many are not yet available in North America but will likely become available at some point. The recognition, however, does underscore the remarkable quality and innovation that craft producers are bringing to the forefront of the global spirits industry.
Lime and sweet coffee, of course, make for an interesting flavor combination: a sour, a sweet and a bitter. The vodka mellows it all out so everything plays nicely together. This drink is strangely refreshing and relaxing.
OPERA America invites proposals for grants of up to $15,000 from composers who identify as women and can document their ability to compose theatrical works for the trained voice and instrumental ensemble.
Like another super-chill Texan export we know, the Austin-based vodka brand seems to straddle the divide between craft/indie culture (local-ish ingredients, brand cohesion) and a more relaxed, everyday drinking vibe. Read on for seven more things you should know about the brand behind the bottle.
38c6e68cf9