Review: You and Yours Vodka
You and Yours Vodka or as the bottle reads Y&Y Vodka is made in San Diego’s East Village. The You and Yours Distillery was founded in 2017 by Laura Johnson. She was inspired by a trip to Cuba she took with her father as a High School graduation gift. After touring the Havana Club Distillery she became fascinated with the whole distillation process. The distillery currently also crafts two gins, a Summer Citrus Vodka, and a line of canned cocktails. The vodka was originally going to be comprised of a blend of grape, corn, and potato, but to create a blend you have to perfect each component first. They started with grape, and they liked to result so much they decided to let it stand alone. Y&Y is made from California wine grape varietals distilled from bulk wine in a 250 gallon hybrid eau de vie still with a brandy cap and eight plate 10 foot column. Y&Y is bottled unfiltered. Read more 
Review: Sonoma Coast Spirits Vodka
Sonoma Coast Spirits Vodka is one of six vodka varieties currently crafted in Petaluma California across the street from Lagunitas Brewery at Sonoma Coast Spirits. Jill Olson opened the distillery in 2011. Her husband Doug handled sales and marketing until he passed away in 2018. The distillery is now owned and run entirely by Jill Olson. The other vodka varieties include Citrus Basil, Jalapeno Lime, Sweet Ginger, Rose, and Espresso. Oprah Winfrey enjoyed the Citrus Basil, and Jalapeno Lime Vodka so much they made the O list in Oprah’s July 2018 magazine edition. The distillery also produces a line of all natural RTD cocktails. The flavor lineup currently includes Lemon Drop, Pomegranate Cosmo, Raspberry Lemonade, and Mango Tango. Sonoma Coast Vodka is made from 100% corn and is distilled 6 times in a pot still, filtered, and bottled on site. It is currently sold in California, or you can purchase a bottle directly from the distillery and have it shipped to you if your state allows. Read more
Review: Pacifica Vodka
Pacifica Vodka was released in the summer of 2017. It is crafted by owner and Master Distiller Jason Tripp at the Tripp Distillery in Pacifica California. They also produce a gin and rum. More spirits will follow. Pacifica Vodka is made from 200 pounds of organic cane juice sourced from Paraguay and 200 gallons of water. It sits and ferments for 7 days before it is pumped into a hand made 220 gallon, hour glass shaped still for 16 hours. The spirits rests for 30 days in stainless steel and is then distilled another 16 hours. The spirit, now a rum is kept in oak barrels just long enough for the chemical reactions between oxygen, carbon, and alcohol to settle the bold flavors of the spirit. Once mellowed, the rum is filtered through coconut shells for 4 days and then redistilled by hand in a copper pot still, where it is reborn as Pacifica Vodka. It is hand bottled and labeled at 80 proof. The bottles neck is hand dipped in wax. Read more
Review: Rocket Vodka
Rocket Vodka was introduced in the fall of 2016 with the Limited Launch Edition of 1000 bottles. Founder Darius Paczuski soon followed that up with a second Launch II release of 2000 bottles. I am reviewing a bottle of their IV release. Rocket Vodka is handcrafted at Dry Diggings Distillery in El Dorado Hills California. Darius Paczuski was born in Poland but he soon moved to Norway with his parents. Darius picked ground apples for his fathers moonshine, which smashed and fermented fresh apples and then aged the spirit in oak barrels. At 20 Darius came to the US on a Cal State Long Beach University swimming scholarship. Darius first came up with the idea to craft a vodka while skiing in Lake Tahoe. Darius was a skilled and fast skier earning him the nickname The Polish Rocket, hence, the Rocket Vodka name. Rocket Vodka is made from a combination of fresh apple juice and apple concentrate from Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith apples which are sourced from Barsotti Farms in Apple Hill California. Yeast and pure Sierra Nevada Mountain water are the only other ingredients. Rocket is distilled twice in two different pot/column stills and is double carbon filtered. Read more
Review: Haymakers Vodka
Haymakers Vodka was introduced May 2019. It is made from fresh California grown Pink Lady and Fuji Apples and white potatoes that are mashed and fermented six times in a pot column hybrid still made from scratch at Ventura Spirits in Ventura California. Ventura California is located halfway between LA and Santa Barbara. Brothers Anthony and Andrew Caspary, and two of their friends, James Greenspun and Henry Tarmy opened the distillery in 2013. They previously made a vodka distilled from California strawberries, thanks in part to 500,000 pounds of frozen strawberries abandoned in a contract dispute that they acquired for a steal. Wilder Gin, Opuntia Prickly Pear Spirit, and Strawberry Brandy are also crafted at this distillery. Read more
Review: Loft and Bear Vodka
Loft and Bear Vodka was crafted in the heart of the Los Angeles Art District. It is currently produced by another distillery to the same specifications while their new distillery is being built. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill Paul Ryan, aka Bear embarked upon a journey to create a vodka purely for the challenge of developing something unique. The summer of 2014 in a loft in downtown LA, he did just that. Loft and Bear is made from soft organic winter wheat and California sourced spring water. At launch it was crafted in a 30 liter copper pot column still. It was distilled four times and filtered once. Once open the new distillery will distill the vodka in a 1300 liter pot and column still. Read more
Review: Tahoe Blue Vodka
Tahoe Blue Vodka was launched March 2012. Founder and CEO Matt Levitt grew up in Maryland. After earning a business degree, Matt drove to California in his blue Econoline van for a two week vacation. On his scheduled last day Matt arrived in Lake Tahoe and fell in love with the brilliant blue color of the lake and never left. Tahoe Blue is made to Matt’s specifications at Essential Spirits Alambic Distilleries in Mountain View California. It is distilled from a three spirit blend of 50% Sugarcane, 25% Grapes, and 25% Corn. Each is distilled separately. They are then blended together and distilled two more times. Pure water from Lake Tahoe, the second deepest lake in the US, is blended to reduce to 80 proof. Read more
Review: Fugu Vodka
Fugu Vodka is crafted in San Diego California at Cutwater Spirits. Cutwater Spirits was built by the Founders of Ballast Point Brewing and was originally named Ballast Points Spirits. In 2015 Ballast Point Brewing was sold to Constellation Brands for $1 Billion. The executives used the money to expand the spirits product line and moved to a 50,000 square foot facility that includes bottling, canning lines for their canned cocktails line and a restaurant. In February 2019 Cutwater Spirits was acquired by Anheuser Busch. Fugu is named for the poisonous puffer fish also know as the Fugu fish. The Fugu is hundreds of times more poisonous than cyanide. Fugu fish is considered a delicacy in Japan where it is meticulously prepared so as not to poison their customers. It is with that same attention to detail that Fugu vodka is crafted. Fugu is made from the finest corn grains and is distilled six times and carbon filtered 15 times. The spirit then passes through a chamber of diamonds in a proprietary diamond blending vortex blending the vodka with water purified through reverse osmosis to reduce to 80 proof. Read more
Review: Re:Find Vodka
Re:Find Vodka was launched March 2012 along with Re:Find Gin. The Re:Find Distillery currently also produces Cucumber Flavored Vodka, Barrel Aged Vodka, Limoncello, Kumquat Liqueur, Rye Whiskey, and Bourbon. The husband and wife team of Alex and Monica Villicana actually started making wine in 1993. By 1999 the 13 acre vineyard they personally planted in Paso Robles had matured enough to produce their own wine grapes marking their transition to an Estate Winery. The Re: Find Distillery was derived from the Villicana’s desire to be more sustainable in their winery. Winemakers bleed a percentage of free-run juice from red grapes before fermentation to concentrate and enhance the color, tannin, and quality of their red wine. This bleed is called saignee. Some winemakers use this saignee to produce Rose wine, others just discard it. Re:Find reclaims their own and in total approximately 60 acres of premium Paso Robles wine grapes each year through their distillery. Syrah, Mourvedre, and Grenache grapes from their own winery and other varieties including Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from their neighbors wineries provide the saignee base. The varietal doesn’t play a role in the flavor of the spirit. What really matters is that the wine grapes are ripe because it is the glycerol that creates the luxurious texture. The fermented saignee is triple distilled in a 250 gallon custom Carl Hybrid Column/Pot Still. Re:Find is bottled unfiltered onsite at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Malahat Spirits Vodka
M
alahat Spirits Vodka is crafted in small batches in San Diego California. While the Malahat Spirits Distillery is best known for the five rums they create, they are very serious about their other crafted spirits including, Rye Whiskey, Bourbon and Vodka. The mash for their vodka is a blend of four grains: corn, wheat, barley, and rye. The proportions came only after dozens of experimental runs. The precise blend is not published but the majority is corn and rye. The grains are mashed, fermented, and distilled in house. Malahat Vodka is distilled in a 1000 Liter Pot Still/Dual Colum Hybrid Still. Only the narrowest cuts through multiple distillation runs, approximately 50-60% are used. No chill filtering is required. Read more