By
George Brozowski
Somehow,
I mistakenly came to the conclusion that there was a limit
to what could be distilled and the flavors that any distillate
could and should be imbued with. I have recently learned that
I was horribly wrong on both counts.
Anything.
And I do mean anything with a bit of a sugary profile can
be distilled and produce alcohol: cactus, beets, corn, wheat,
cherries, maple syrup, bananas, strawberries, etc., etc. All
you need is a bit of heat and some yeast to start the process
and a dab of patience and there you go. Why, even prisoners
in jails can produce alcohol. They call it Pruno and they
make it using just a plastic bag, hot running water and a
towel or a sock to conceal the pulp during fermentation. The
ingredients can include any or all: apples, oranges, fruit
cocktail, ketchup, sauerkraut, and sugar. Can you just imagine
what alcohol produced from ketchup or sauerkraut must taste
like? The yeast is derived from crumbled up bread. The end
result has been described by an aficionado as a vomit flavored
wine cooler, and I'm willing to bet it's just as smooth going
down as it is coming back up.
Which
brings us to the topic of flavors, apparently nothing is sacred
and nothing is taboo and anything goes - and I do mean anything.
We're seeing some beers with seasonal flavors as well as other
taste treats like iced tea, coffee, pizza, cheese steak and
even smoked beers. Sake, rums and tequilas, gins and brandies
and just about every distilled spirit is being beefed up with
all sorts of flavoring. Vodka seems to be the most popular
spirit to "infuse" or as I have previously put it
"confuse" with flavors since it is pretty much a
blank canvas in its natural state.
Some
distillers actually carry over 30 flavors including: Watermelon,
pomegranate, cake, Rangtang (horrible), atomic hot, bubble
gum, cookie dough, cotton candy, gummy, chocolate, bacon (unbelievably
yummy), Bison grass (one of my favs), sour apple and much,
much more. Even my friends up at Buckeye Vodka have been experimenting
with a Rosemary infused vodka (please pass the rack of lamb).
Most of these entries are just plain horrible while a handful
really shine.
The
folks over at Van Gogh Vodka are already
up to more than 20 flavored vodkas. I have always had a fondness
for their plain Jane unflavored naked vodka and find it smooth
and totally neutral and absolutely perfect just the way it
is. I have tried their Cool Peach and Dark Chocolate vodkas
(my rave on them is here)
and found them quite pleasing and palatable. So every time
they send me a new flavor to try my first thought is I hope
they haven't screwed this one up.
So
now it's time to take a look at, and a taste of Van
Gogh's PBJ. PBJ...LOL...WTF! Peanut Butter and Jelly
Vodka, oh come on, give me a break. What are you guys after
with this, the ever elusive 3-12 year old demographic? What's
next, a pabulum flavored vodka aimed squarely at the 0 to
3 year old demographic? I guess when the legal drinking age
gets lowered to 1 you should have a strangle hold on the market.
Don't hold your breath!
Well,
I have to admit the bottle is playfully decorated in bread,
peanuts and jam and pretty in pastel colors. When I unscrewed
the cap and stuck my nose in the neck of the bottle I was
immediately assailed by the unmistakable aroma of peanut butter.
I mean real peanut butter; smooth peanut butter like it might
have smelled just spread on white bread! There's a hint of
jam in the background as well. My, my so far so good. Poured
into a glass the peanut butter gets a bit laid back and the
jam comes forward a bit and a bready yeasty kind of aroma
rounds out the nose. Go figure, it really smells like a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich.
In
the mouth, the raspberry jelly taste comes forward with the
peanut butter following behind and pleasantly coating the
entire mouth much like a spoonful of real peanut butter might
melt and coat your mouth. That is quickly followed by yeast,
white bread and vanilla and combines into a reasonable facsimile
of a PBJ. Further mimicking a real sandwich,
it has an agreeable thick and gritty kind of mouth feel. This
drink just might make a decent lunch and on top of that I
really believe the kids will love it. I know, I know- the
legal drinking age is 21. Hey, I'm only joking, but just how
seriously can anyone take PBJ flavored vodka
even if it is good?
Well,
it does in fact make an interesting martini, and I can't wait
to play around with it in some other cocktails but in the
mean time I think I'll have myself another PBJ.
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