Strange Drinks For Strange Times
You may recall that I made a deal to try Oddka Vodkas in exchange for reporting on my impressions. Their company sent me minibar samples to experiment with, and I had some mixed feelings about the project. Like it, and you look like a sellout. Dislike it and you look like something else, equally unappealing.
In the end, I shouldn't have worried; I look like neither. Or both. The samples provided were all over the board. To me, some were interesting, and some were disappointing. I chose three that showed the most promise, and here's what I came up with.
My favorite flavor of the five was the one that drew me into this web to begin with: Fresh Cut Grass. It's my favorite scent, and made my favorite Oddka cocktail. I muddled cucumbers into the glass and added the Fresh Cut Grass mini with an ounce of lemon juice and three-quarters of an ounce of lavender-infused simple syrup. I shook it, double strained it and split it with my tasting partner. It was my favorite, but it was not hers.
She likes the cocktails that "taste like Christmas." There's sugar and dairy hidden in that formula. For the Apple Pie flavor, I shook it up with an ounce of cinnamon-infused honey syrup, then poured in an ounce and a half of 2% milk before whipping it with an Aerolatte milk frother to make a semi-stable foam that looked like a pretty cloud and tasted delicious. I ate what didn't end up in the glass, with a spoon.
I had really high hopes for the Wasabi flavored vodka. I understand that we can't get real wasabi in the U.S., but I like the green horseradish I've come to expect when I see or hear that word. I like the searing, vegetal flavor and the way I regret breathing out through my nose when I have wasabi in my mouth. The unnecessary sweetness and lack of heat in the Wasabi vodka made me sad. Determined to make something of it, I broke my own rule and added a greater number of ingredients than I think is seemly. First, an extra half-teaspoon of commercially-prepared wasabi paste. A smidge of cilantro and lemongrass, an ounce each of lemon juice and light lychee syrup. I worked too hard to make that vodka taste like something.
Overall, I think these vodkas are for another sort of drinker than myself. The mixology provided by the company recommends a lot of shot-drinking or some ginger ale/other soft drink. Having said that, in the right mood I'd buy one of the first two drinks and not feel ripped off.
As for the other flavors in the sampler, I had such high hopes for Electricity. The literature promised a tingling sensation that just wasn't present for me, and its cloying fruity sweetness was just too much. I couldn't get with the Salty Caramel Popcorn at all. I don't doubt it will find a home somewhere, just not with me. I'm thinking freshly-minted college kids, throwing back shots.
That's the truth about my experience.