There have been instances once I would have quite been seen with gum in my hair than vodka in my drink. Within the aughts, once I moved to New York, the craft cocktail revolution was in full swing. Rye was ascendant, and most of the metropolis’s most discerning bartenders scoffed at vodka.
Fortunately, pendulums swing, instances change, and cocktail tradition has matured. (I’d wish to imagine I’ve as nicely.) Today, the very best bar professionals and cocktail lovers encourage everybody to get pleasure from well-crafted variations of no matter they like, be it a basic Manhattan, a mezcal Outdated Normal, or bubbly vodka soda. To me, all of it serves as a beautiful reminder which you could be dedicated to high quality drinks with out taking your self too critically.
Moreover, there are some critically nice vodkas on the market. Lately, I used to be notably struck by Airem Natural Vodka, a wheat-based spirit from Spain. Distilled in copper stills with Sierra Nevada mountain spring water, it has a citrusy nostril and end, plus a light-weight physique that also holds up in drinks. I really like to focus on its vegetal notes in savory cocktails like Bloody Marys, an herbaceous Vodka Collins, or, once I’m feeling particularly iconoclastic, an ice-cold Soiled Martini. $29.99, missionliquor.com
