Vodka - Flavored - Crater Lake Mazama Infused Pepper - Bendistillery

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Crater Lake Mazama Infused Pepper Flavored Vodka
Bendistillery, Bend, Oregon

PROOF: 80 (40%)
AGE: Not applicable
TYPE: Vodka - Flavored

PRICE: $ 21 750ML

Notes: This is one of a number of excellent products from Bendistillery. They filter their vodka (which is also the base for their gin) 10 times through
charcoal and lava rock, then age it slightly in oak. In this incarnation, they use a infusion of at least six real hot and and sweet peppers which is added to their Crater Lake vodka. This is vodka stylistically different from Pertsovka, which uses pepper to both purify and flavor vodka .

Appearance: Slight yellow cast to this vodka, body is heavier than water but not excessively so. Some formation of legs on the glass but not a lot but a slower flow back down than the uninfused Crater Vodka. A harbinger of of the pepper oil.

First Impression: PEPPER! And lots of it - both green and red - a strong vegetable component - this is stuff smells like you just cut open a nice ripe pepper, the first whiff almost made me cough.

Taste: HEAT! This vodka grabs you by the tongue, then slides down the throat with a burn that makes you think that it was a serious mistake to drink it. Then... suddenly it's gone and you want to do it all over again. At first it tastes like every bad hot sauce experience you've ever had - you are expecting more and worse pain to come and then it settles right down again and leaves a tingling smolder in your mouth. A rollercoaster of pain, fear, and pleasure .

Drinks: Have a Bloody Mary made with this in the morning! An intriguing mixer to use  both for drinks and food. Makes a interesting addtion to that shrimp cocktail or barbeque sauce.

Final Thoughts: One of the more interesting vodkas I have sampled in a while. Quite a good buy for a pepper vodka of this quality. They get points for not coloring it with caramel like a number of pepper vodkas - (dulls the taste and effects the flavor in a bad way) and striking a good balance on the heat.

Bottle: Tastefully understated frosted bottle with pastel printing, but
somehow easy-to-spot on the shelf despite this.

Website: www.bendistillery.com  

Straightforward design, fast loading but lots of information. Well laid out, no annoying flash presentation or intros. Just solid design and well thought out content. Nice drinks recipes section.

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