Labor Day Libations

I'll be honest: I never had much use for vodka. I am a single-malt Scotch drinker, and I would far rather spend an evening exploring Skye and all the other fine regions of Scotland through a highball glass than listening to some vodka snot tell me about how one clear, odorless, largely tasteless liquid is somehow worth four times as much as a seemingly identical liquid.

I just didn't see the point. Sure, I love a screwdriver every now and again, and I make a cranberry vodka slush that's a mainstay of my party arsenal, but I pick my vodkas by price, not supposed flavor. As long as there's nothing floating in the bottle, I figure it's good enough for my purposes.

Slate and The New York Times found panels of average folks who, when presented with an array of vodkas from the cheapest to the priciest, chose cheaper brands by a good margin in a blind taste test.

Then I heard from the folks at Cold River Vodka. They have, in a very short time, completely changed my attitude about and opinion of this simplest of spirits.

One of the things I love best in life is the concept of small business, of farm to table, of small producers controlling every step of their process to put out quality products. Cold River could be the poster company for those concepts. Donnie Thibodeau, one of the four partners who run the show, owns Green Thumb Farms, which grows the potatoes used to make the vodka. The Cold River from which the water comes flows clear and clean into the Cold River Aquifer, from which the distillery draws. The blueberries used to make the blueberry-flavored vodka are wild Maine blueberries.

Get the idea? This is local sourcing of a high order. This is a group of guys looking around, seeing what they've got available and putting their heads together to start a business. They control the process from the planting of the potato seed to the finished product, and their passion for the business shows.

The head distiller, Chris Dowe, has a degree in philosophy. I'm not sure how that relates to vodka, but I respect anyone who can digest Nietszche and Kant and still want to drink anything other than pure grain alcohol. He's also helped dozens of microbreweries get off the ground, making an important contribution to my favorite industry.

I'm far from being a connoisseur, but there are plenty of folks who are who have draped enough awards around the Cold River distillers' necks to make Michael Phelps jealous. Wine Enthusiast named it one of its "Top 50 Spirits," it took double golds at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and many more.

The best way I can describe the taste of Cold River is to say that it's all about the finish. Grain-based vodkas, which make up 99 percent of the market including almost every super-premium and high-end brand, to me have a harsh finish. Cold River is smooth, almost velvety, with the faintest hint of sweetness to my unpracticed palate. The blueberry vodka is truly amazing, with an aroma that puts you dead-center in a blueberry patch with blue-smeared hands and a mouthful of berries. Most flavored vodkas' aromas hit me like a car air freshener, heavy and cloying and obviously fake. The Cold River blueberry is truly at one with itself, with the blueberry essence playing nicely with the existing notes.

With Labor Day almost upon us, I can't imagine a better main ingredient for your cocktails on the deck than Cold River. Use it to make all your traditional favorites, from your morning screwdriver to your evening martini, or try one of the recipes below.

My personal favorite, because it reminds me just a bit of a pink caipirinha, is the Blue Palm:

3 ounces Cold River Blueberry Vodka

1 ounce pomegranate liqueur

Squeeze of fresh lemon

Mix together and serve in a chilled glass over ice.

If you want something that will be visually arresting as well as tasty, try the Simply Blue:

2 ounces Cold River Blueberry Vodka

½ ounce Blue Curacao

Splash of dry vermouth

Shake, strain and serve over ice. Garnish with slices of lemon or lime.

You want a couple that use the standard Cold River? Coming right up, starting with the most high-end screwdriver you've ever seen, the River Driver:

1 ½ ounces Cold River Vodka

½ ounce Cointreau
Splash of simple syrup Splash of blood orange juice Splash of soda

Pour the first four ingredients over ice in a highball glass and stir. Top with the splash of soda and garnish with an orange round.

I've never been a "Sex and the City" fan, but my female friends tell me Carrie Bradshaw would slurp this next one up by the gallon: The Cold River Wild Blueberry Cosmo

2 ounces Cold River Vodka

½ ounce Cointreau

1 ounce chilled blueberry juice

Shake and pour over ice. Garnish with a cocktail pick with dried blueberries and an orange twist. If you can't find blueberry juice, you can substitute pomegranate-blueberry cocktail.

Whether you use one of these recipes, come up with your own or just enjoy some Cold River ice-cold in a chilled glass, make it part of your Labor Day gatherings.

Got a question? Comment? Topic you'd like to see covered? Drop me a line, anytime!