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Bottlegreen, a UK-based premium cordial and Edwards 1902, a vodka made from potatoes, have teamed up to create an elderflower vodka liqueur. The first went to Desi Daru Mango Vodka, which Rodriguez-Curtis enjoyed for its “fleshy and vibrant” nose. He said: “The palate is smooth, pleasant, good level of mango flavour and good level of enjoyability. The mango has a brilliant freshness. Chilled out of the fridge or freezer, this vodka would be brilliant to enjoy.”
Located just a few miles from where their spirit’s main ingredient was first cultivated in Brigg, Elsham Wold Distillery have committed 8 years of passion and hard work to bring their vision of ‘soil to spirit’ to life. Prousaefs was particularly enamoured of Summum Single Estate Vodka: “Very smooth, crisp and light on the nose and palate. Super easy going and easy to drink, with an almost excellent mouthfeel and lasting finish.” Banks and Bloom Ice Vodka impressed Filer, who said: “Soft nose with some creamy vanilla, lemon and grain. A smooth and oily mouthfeel with a saline element, and a balanced profile of peppery grain with sweet citrus, and no disruptive heat.” As evidenced by our Taste Master winner, perhaps a renewed focus on flavours from vodka producers will help to drive growth of the category. The Rest of the World round awarded two Golds and two Silver medals. Gold winner Meili Vodka was described as “comforting and rich”, with “lemon rind, cacao nibs and a hint of dried vanilla” on the nose. Fellow Gold medallist The Community Spirit Vodka offered a “crisp and clean nose” and a “long and lingering finish”.Because of the locality of the raw material, Edwards are able to significantly reduce the food miles and carbon footprint associated with their vodka. They are also able to champion ‘wonky’ and turn unloved Kind Edward potatoes into vodka royalty. Next up is filtering, which gives vodka its clean mouthfeel. Although some craft distillers choose to skip this step altogether to impart a more unique flavour. Eleven Golds were given out, including one to Neft Vodka, enjoyed for its “smooth palate with a nice body and texture”, and Sapling Climate Positive Vodka, with its nose of “fresh and toasted grain” and “nutty sweetness” on the palate. A retaste of the highest scorers saw Desi Daru Mango Vodka selected as this year’s Vodka Taste Master.
The second panel was chaired by Bryan Rodriguez-Curtis, wine and spirits buyer at Harvey Nichols, who was joined by: Antony Moss MW; Evan Prousaefs, bar manager at Sexy Fish in London; and Tatti Sukamongkol, wine and spirits specialist, and contributor to Malt Review. They are committed to supporting local farmers and businesses, their vodka bottle is made 60 miles away, their coffee comes from a coffee roaster 300m down the road, and their rhubarb comes from the Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle. Emma Hamilton, co-founder of Edwards vodka, described the partnership as the result of “a very clear meeting of minds”.The team at Edwards have control of the whole process from the sowing and growing to the brewing and distilling – a true British soil to spirit vodka. Once the potatoes have been harvested and washed, they arrive in the distillery where every step of the process is watched by the meticulous eyes of the distilling team. Smith called the flight a “step up in interest and complexity from the previous category, with a more developed character from some of these products”. Shaken, stirred or sipped neat, there are plenty of quality options to discover in this year’s results The final flight of the day, Vodka Liqueur, saw a Gold go to Edwards 1902 x Bottlegreen Elderflower Liqueur. It was praised for its “light elderflower notes” and “good acidity”.
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