Titos Handmade Vodka

Tito’s is one of the first of a burgeoning crop of handmade vodkas. They distill their vodka in pot still (a rarity for vodka – and much more labor intensive than a column still) 6 times and filtered through activated charcoal. Although the term “Handmade” is somewhat of a misnomer in that they take bulk NGS (Neutral Grain Spirit/ethanol ) and rectify/re-distill it and call  it handmade – many real microdistillers who ferment and distill their own products (a much more expensive and labor intensive process) have and do take issue with them using that term.

Appearance: Clear as glass, body is heavier than water but not excessively so. Some formation of legs on the glass but not a lot – which tells us they didn’t use any thickeners to mask anything.

First Impression: Very nice sweet corn scent to it. No off-notes or that rubbing alcohol smell you get from a bad or sloppy distillation. An exceedingly clean spirit. Some sweet smell: no doubt the influence of the corn.

Taste: Very smooth; it just glides down the throat. Silky, slightly hot at the end; it lets you know you are drinking vodka, but not the broken glass and rubbing alcohol finish you get from a badly made vodka. Great body to it without having to resort to all the tricks others use.

Drinks: Works well in a martini and just about every other drink we tried. Slight sweetness of the vodka is a real plus for a lot of drinks these days.

Bottle: Clear glass bottle shows vodka to nice effect. Plain brown label with simple graphics stands out against the sea of frosted bottles and slick graphics. Simple and clean-like the vodka.

Final Thoughts: One of the better new American vodkas – cleaner than Avian Fashion Vodka and about 1/2 the money. Damn cheap for what you are getting. Very clean, smooth and easy to drink. Another plus is being made from corn, it is gluten-free for people with wheat allergies.