Subscribe to RSS
As if 20 flavors of vodka weren’t enough, those over the top distillers at UV have just launched their 21st flavored vodka – Sangria. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably sitting there scratching your head and wondering about Sangria made from vodka. Typically, Sangria is made with wine that is steeped in every kind of fruit you can lay your hands on and just occasionally a touch of brandy or maybe 7-Up and a bit of sweetener but not Vodka.
When I was a youngster and was just starting to appreciate alcohol, the sweeter the booze was, the better I liked it. Since getting our hands on alcohol was a sketchy thing at best, we would use whatever came our way and add anything else we could come up with. I particularly remember a Sangria we once made that used Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill wine, real strawberries, blue berries, oranges and pears and was topped off with a bit of Everclear we had gotten our grubby little paws on. Needless to say, it was sticky sweet, had a bit of a bite, and if you were unfortunate to have actually swallowed a couple of glasses of this concoction, it was guaranteed to be just as horrible going down as it was coming up.
Since those early days, my palate has matured a bit and my stomach has finally settled down. These days when I whip up a Sangria I use some mighty fine wines, the freshest fruit and a hint of cognac and let the whole thing steep for at least one night. And guess what? No one gets sick anymore! As expected, with 21 flavored vodkas UV has had some hits and misses; let’s see how this Sangria flavored vodka fares.
Let’s try this sangria straight up and see what happens. The nose is a strange combination of tart and sweet and citrus and lemon and cherry and strawberries with very little alcohol that combines to nearly mimic something that approximates a sweet cough medicine. On the palate, the liquid is thick and oily and features the tart sweetness of lemon, cherries and strawberries. The finish is tart and citrusy and again bringing the lemon, strawberries and cherries front and center and ending with fruity sweetness that lasts a medium amount of time. There’s just a whole lot going on here, and I think it might fare more favorably on the rocks so let’s try that next.
On the rocks, the nose settles down somewhat and the aromas all blend together more nicely, but it still ends up being more medicinal than fruity. On the palate, the tartness subsides to a more appreciated level and the sweetness calms down as well. The blend of fruit flavors seems more natural and not quite as piquant. I still get a strong sense of the lemon, cherry and strawberry followed by a more muted sweetness. The finish is smoother, not that the straight up version wasn’t smooth, but here, the blended fruit flavors complement each other more harmoniously.
If you’re in a time crunch and have to come up with a sangria for your party in the next 15 minutes, this could certainly be the way to go. Otherwise, if you have several days before your party, you might want to go the more traditional route. There’s plenty of sweet and tart in this sangria to stand up to being fortified or blended with whatever fruit and other alcohol you may have on hand, and that just may be the way this sangria was meant to be used. If you used this UV Sangria as a base, you could add your favorite other elements and ingredients and eventually end up with something you and your guests just might enjoy. It’s only $11.99 for a 750ML bottle, so that leaves a lot of room for experimentation, and don’t be afraid to spread your wings with this one as it can handle anything else you might want to throw at it. However, I would recommend against the Everclear unless you’re really young, naïve or just plain stupid.
By George Brozowski
