It’s hard to believe I’ve done four of the seven sins (+ 1) with Bitters ‘n’ Twisted, and hosted by the wonderful Vicky Osgood of Brumderland. Previous events can be read about here:
Tonight was going to be a boozy evening as we were treated to a vodka pairing tasting experience to celebrate their large range of exciting vodkas.
We began with a Winnie the Pear cocktail, with Grey Goose Le Poire, organic pear juice runny honey, spicy fresh ginger and lemon juice! The combination was nice and tart with a rich pear taste (as expected!). After catching up with the other bloggers attending, we settled down for a talk by Ian the manager.
We were to be taken on a European tour with a varied selection of vodkas on offer, along with some bar snacks ready for pairing and a peruse of the cocktail menu:
Whilst we had a nibble, Dave from Brumhour discovered the sausage went very well with the honey at the bottom of our Winnie the Pear cocktails!
Readying our palates with a few pickles, a traditional Polish palate cleanser, then it was time for our first neat vodka of the evening:
Five Vodka is a new(ish)comer to the market via Penderyn Distillery making it Welsh. It was developed whilst they were waiting for their first whiskeys to mature and is made from Brecon water from an aquifer below the distillery, which gives it a distinctive flavour. Slightly overproof at 43%, it had a little bit of a burn to begin with but developed into a delicious fruity note.
Next along was an English vodka from the guys at Chase Distillery, (also the minds behind Tyrrell’s Crisps) and made in the tallest still in Europe. We were treated to a chilled and a room temperature sample to see the difference in flavour. A significant amount of the edge was taken off with the chilled sample, however, the roundness of the flavour was dulled. It was actually very sweet in flavour and much more noticeable in the room temperature sample.
For pairing, we munched down on the cousins of the vodka with some Tyrrells crisps. Then another palate cleanser with some beetroot.
To take a break from the alcohol, we had a break with a St Clements Mocktail, possibly one of the first ever mocktails. Created in 1981 by Lt. Keith Freeman, this was a delicious twist with a sugary slice of orange.
Reyka Vodka, as you can probably guess for the name, is an Icelandic vodka which likes to bill itself as the greenest (ecologically) vodka in the world and is made with glacial spring water. All ingredients at present come from within a square mile of the distillery. The taste was very clean and smooth with a mild spice to the finish.
Time for a cocktail break! This time, for a Polish twist on a South American Classic with a Capiroska! It was super tasty with Luksusowa Vodka combined with lime and brown sugar.
The next vodka on the list was Belvedere billed as “The Whiskey Drinker’s Vodka” served room temperature in a chilled glass. It is an apt description for the drink which had a sweet and spicy peppery taste.
Our final drink of the night was the ubiquitous Vodka and Coke but this time made with quality ingredients. This was a combination of Skyy Vodka and Fritz Kola. This ‘super premium’ American Vodka is distilled four times then filtered 3 times, giving a clean and crisp taste. Fritz Kola is a vegan German cola with a not insubstantial 25mg of caffeine per 100ml. It was a great way to finish off our boozy evening.
To help soak up the excess of alcohol, RVT even laid on a few treats for us to sample from their American Diner style menu:
We were treated to nachos, sliders and my personal favourite chicken wings!.
If you want to try vodkas in Brum, RVT are well on their way to building up to 100 different brands and would be a great place to start!
Disclaimer: For this evening, we were guests of Brumderland and Rose Villa Tavern who provided all food and most of my drinks; this provides no bias to the review. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.
When: 02/03/2016
Where: Rose Villa Tavern, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham
Who: Brumderland, Rose Villa Tavern, Bitters & Twisted
