Vodka: potato vs grain

Vodka is defined as a neutral spirit "without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color. In fact, vodka's neutral taste does account for much of its appeal: It mixes equally well with tonic water and tomato juice, and it can be as crisp as James Bond's vodka martinis or as trashy as the "swamp waters" my local bartender mixes (made of vodka and Redbull). Vodka suits any occasion, goes with any food, and "possibly" gives you less of a hangover than any other liquor. It's no wonder that in America, vodka outsells gin, rum, and tequila, as well as scotch, bourbon, and whiskey.

Vodka can be distilled in a good many ways, from a great many substances, including wheat, rye, beets, corn, potatoes, and sugar cane. In Russia, the Yukos oil conglomerate recently made headlines for marketing a vodka distilled from hemp seed. As a result, each brand has a distinct smell, flavor, aftertaste, and burn (i.e., the burning sensation vodka creates as it goes down your throat). The grain-based vodkas, which are the most popular, tend to be smooth and can even go down easy. Vegetable-based vodkas are often, and often unfairly, dismissed as being harsh.

After several tastings, we came up with this short list of tasty, smooth vodkas.

• Brilliant (Distilled from grain)

• Glacier (Distilled from potato)

• Ketel One (Distilled from wheat)

• Armadale (Distilled from wheat and barley)

• Chopin (Distilled from potatos)

All fantastic, but in the end, Chopin was by far the best of the best. So, there you have it, distillation with potato is the winner. Cheers!

a simple, but necessary part of any tasty lybation

Simple syrup is very simple to make and is an essential part of any tasty lybation. You will find it in many popular mixed cocktails including Mojitos, Daiquiris and Hurricanes. This sweetener is primarily used as a substitute for raw sugar, keeping the cocktail from tasting granular and adds rich volume.

Making your own simple syrup is also more economical than buying it at the store. You can make as small or as large a batch as you wish and store it in the refrigerator in a well sealed bottle for around 6 months. It can be made in a variety of ways, here's how:

Thicker Simple Syrup:

With this variation you can use less syrup than a cocktail calls for.

Ingredients:

• 2 parts sugar
• 1 part water

Prep:

1. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water, stirring constantly.
3. Once the sugar is dissolved completely (about 3 minutes), remove the pan from the heat.
4. Allow to cool completely and thicken, then bottle.

To prolong the shelf life, add a little vodka, tequila or rum (whatever spirit you use the most) - usually between a tablespoon and an ounce, depending on how large the batch of syrup is.

Flavor-infused syrups:
Simple syrup can also be infused with flavor, such as lemon, lime or orange zest, and used in a variety of cocktails to add a unique twist.

Try these new infusion combos

Here are some of my favorite infusion combinations:

• Bourbon with cherry, fig, or peach
• Vodka with basil, fennel, or bell peppers
• Gin with chamomile tea, tomato, or cucumber
• Rum with banana, mango, or pineapple
• Tequila with blood orange, habanero, or strawberry

It's simple, just add the flavor of your choice, seal in a container and let stand at room tempurature for 2 days to 2 weeks depending on the strength of flavor desired.

You can turn a classic cocktail into a Lybations masterpiece by using your infusion - for example, a martini made with lavender gin or a Manhattan made with apple-vanilla bourbon.