Akvinta Vodka

A few weeks back I was sent a bottle of Akvinta Vodka. I had never tried it before and decided I needed to first taste it straight- as is, from the bottle and not chilled. I was surprised by how savory it was. But I did not take that into consideration when I started mixing cocktails. First I mixed the Akvinta with Lillet Rouge and added a few drops Arizona Bitters Lab‘s Orange Sunshine bitters.

I decided it wasn’t quite right or sweet enough. Back into the tin it went and it was drinkable. My next few attempts weren’t getting any better. I kept trying to use this vodka thinking the end result would be more of a typical sweet vodka cocktail but really, this vodka would be better suited as chilled shots with Russian food. Or perhaps as a “martini” or a Kangaroo (Akvinta, vermouth, stirred and served up— I’d go for a cocktail onion over a lemon twist).

Formosa Cafe’s  Duck Down (Bloody Mary)

Then I heard Kate Grutman over at Formosa Cafe was doing an infusion with the Akvinta. Specifically she came up with a duck confit infusion for Formosa’s fabulous Bloody Mary. Her new drink called Duck Down has the Akvinta washed with duck confit, Vince’s original Bloody Mary mix,  lime, Sriracha and garnished with fried spam, gobo root and an olive.

It was in a word, delicious. I don’t think I gulped down a Bloody faster. I also really enjoyed the fried spam and pickled gobo root. This was umami city.

Akvinta is kosher, organic and does not have any added sugar. It’s triple distilled and made from organic Italian wheat and Croatian spring water. It’s filtered through five natural materials; charcoal, marble, silver, gold, and platinum. Akvinta claims these materials does the following:

• Birch Charcoal — purifies the water to reduce impurities and contributes
  to the taste
• Marble — reproduces the natural filtration process found when rain
  water is purified in a natural spring
• Silver — softens and smoothes the taste
• Gold — adds warmth to the taste
• Platinum — unifies all components and adds half-tones to the after taste

I think I’ll make a Bloody Mary next with my Akvinta. I have plans for the wonderful heirloom tomatoes now in season.

7156 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046 — (323) 850-9050

© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2012