Beverage of the Week (B.O.W)
in
BOW for the Week of: January 27 to February 2, 2010
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.
While you may think of windmills and tulips coming from Holland, Van Gogh’s Master Distiller Tim Vos sees something else. “The Dutch art of distilling is going back to the mid-14th century. Not only because of the water quality but also our reputation as a sailing and trading nation. The VOC ships went all over the world and besides beer they had spirits with them.”
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.
We were stunned that this cool weather nation distiller was so perfectly capturing tropical flavors. Vos says, “Our mango flavor originates from Indonesia and imparts a typical mango taste. This is a delicate and exotic fruit that has refined notes of orange, cucumber and herbs, making the flavor highly aromatic, full and round. Smooth with a long finish that lingers on the palate.” We just say, well done and pass me another please.
