Ultimat Vodka is a rare vodka made from wheat, potato, and rye. Recently, we attended a tasting held at The Kitchen, which was taught by Jennifer Simonetti- Bryan. For those of you who are not aware of who she is, Jennifer is a MW, Master of Wine and Ms. Simmonetti-Bryan is the fourth woman in the United States to hold this prestigious title. The tasting consisted of trying vodka made with wheat, one with potato, and one with rye. Jennifer taught us how to analyze the vodka with the 4 S’s for tasting spirits: see, swirl, sniff, and savor. To smell the vodka, a trick she taught us was to smell the spirit to the side of your nose and keep your mouth slightly open. When you “see” the vodka make sure it is clear and there are no impurities, which is where the swirling comes into play, releasing more aromas. As for savor…well we all know how to “savor” vodka, but a lot more goes into it as we learned as she walked us through this fabulous tasting.
What made the tasting so much fun, as well as educational, was how passionate Jennifer was about the topic. She is able to speak to the average consumer and make learning the history and factual information a lot of fun by engaging in questions, giving examples and real life experience stories to connect with us. After hearing her speak and tasting Ultimat, you feel the weight of the potato, the freshness of the wheat, and the brightness of the rye.
“Why haven’t you made a vodka glass?” That was the question Ultimat brought to Riedel, the wine glass company, and they responded by making a vodka glass special for Ultimat! This tulip shaped glass is perfect for smelling, swirling, and seeing the vodka. The bottom of the glass also resembles the top of the Ultimat bottle.
You will notice how versatile Ultimat is when it comes to cocktails. At the tasting we were given two cocktails–Blueberry Sunrise, which was served at the Governor’s Ball, and a Ginger Berry Cocktail. To accompany the delicious drinks, the chef made us some delicious bites; my favorite was the one with smoked salmon.
Be sure to check out Jennifer’s Great Courses tapes on Spirits & Cocktails. Here she will walk you through everything you will need to know about this subject so you, too, can feel comfortable analyzing and enjoying vodka and making delicious drinks! Between the wonderful people, the tasty spirits, and great food, it was the perfect way to spend a Wednesday afternoon!
