Beverage of the Week (B.O.W)
in
BOW for the Week of: October 12 to October 18, 2011
Van Gogh has quietly become the master of flavors in the Vodka world. We have sampled our share of flavored Vodkas and we can say without hesitation that the portfolio from Van Gogh cannot be beat.
Perhaps it’s due to the fact that the brand’s first offering was a Gin. Gin, being the original flavored Vodka, is made by carefully infusing natural botanicals – flavors – into a pure spirit. Van Gogh seems to create their flavors with the soul of a Gin maker carefully balancing natural flavors to create true aromatics and taste experiences that capture the essence of their ingredients.
Van Gogh is made in relatively small batches at the Royal Dirkzwager Distillery in Schiedam, Holland. Van Gogh’s Master Distiller Tim Vos attributes their success to their unique “double infusion” method and to the fact that they create over two-dozen variations of any new flavor before selecting a winner. While the brand is just a decade in age, this distillery has been creating great spirits for well over 100 years. To date, Van Gogh offers 19 flavors with more being formulated and dreamed as we speak.
The Van Gogh Coconut simply blew us away. Few things can cause us to yawn as deeply as the thought of spending the afternoon sampling flavored Vodka. The flavors are so well delivered and proportioned that it transcends the category. It is great in cocktails but we love it simply chilled and served straight up. BevX has sampled and reviewed more than 100 Vodkas and this is our first to earn Five Stars.
