St. Augustine Florida Cane Vodka

How are you cleansing off the week? I'm "sanitizing" my patience and mind with Batch 2 of St. Augustine Distillery's Sugar Cane Vodka. Hailing from Florida, this pot distilled vodka is crafted with local sugarcane. I admire that their distilling cuts are made by hand, they're a family-owned business and they restored St. Augustine's first power and ice plant (from 1907) to call home. At 80 proof, the first whiff is of light ethanol. It immediately starts to wane in favour of earthy grassiness. It's not off-putting in the slightest.  I am pleasantly surprised by the luxurious richness of this vodka. There is a faint sprinkle of heat on my tongue, but I was prepared for more. This vodka has a gently sweet citrus and vanilla quality that genuinely makes it enjoyable to sip neat. There's a slight floral and peppery note that reminds me of Nasturtiums (did you know that this common garden flower is edible?). The finish is noticeably absent in a good way. It disappears immediately save for a slightly cooling cucumber aftertaste that makes me salivate for more.  While I don't tend to sip vodkas neat, I would love to use this in a quality martini. Its body and modest flavour profile makes this vodka a good boozy blank canvas to paint upon. 7.5/10

Vodka made from sugar cane out of St. Augustine, Florida. Sweet and smooth with a bit of citrus and a bitter finish. I like it for highballs. Not sure I’d continue to go with this because of the price point, but worth one or two purchases

Very oily and sweet. Moderately harsh. Starts fights at tailgates when chugged

This is wildly smooth, and light to boot. I was afraid it would be really sweet, but it's got the same "texture" and flavor profile as Tito's.