INDIGENOUS VODKA: A Storm of Apples, the Manzana Tempestad

PINKY MIXOLOGY’S APPLEJACK-OFF 2014:
Tuthilltown Spirits Indigenous Fresh-Pressed Apple Vodka

Remember when we mentioned that Indigenous Apple Vodka from Tuthilltown Spirits might go well with Sidral Mundet apple soda? Well we went and did that. We decided to mimic the style of the well-known tactic of (soda + lime) + booze = good.  We will be using Indigenous Vodka and Sidral Mundet (which is Mexican apple soda).  Sidral Mundet is imported, but it's not that hard to find in the U.S.  If your local stores don't have it, try your local Mexican take-out shops and taco places.  Chances are in the soda case there might be some.













Like many drinks, a small amount of lime juice is the make-it-or-break-it factor between good and terrible.  So don't forget this part, and it should go without saying that this needs to come from an actual lime and not a glass bottle of something.





How do we know this?  It's written on the actual Sidral Mundet label.  "Carbonated Water, Sugar, Contains less than 1% of: Apple Juice Concentrate, Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid and Malic Acid,  Sodium Hexametaphosphate and Potassium Sorbate (to protect taste), and Caramel Color."   So this isn't Martinelli's by any means.   So on the scale of "bad-for-you-ness" just think of it as the same level as a rum & coke poured from the soda gun of some local bar or something.  Actually, using Martinelli's might be pretty cool, so go buy some Indigenous Vodka and Martinelli's and try it out.








Yeah... same photo. 

A good ratio to maintain no matter what size glass you use, is to fill half with a combination of ice, vodka, and lime juice, and then the other half with apple soda. The earlier strong pungency of Indigenous Vodka we mentioned simply melts away leaving a great nose and flashy peacock tail of all that the tastes of apples have to offer.  When combined with the citrus of the lime, it cuts the sweetness of the apple soda to a nice medium, and makes this a great drink for easy drinking or just refreshing yourself on a hot day.  Screw the gin and tonic, go with the Dark n Stormy inspired name of Manzana Tempestad. Maybe just Manzana Tempest or just El Manzana ...?  This does have vodka in it, so maybe we can branch off from Moscow Mule.  Something like  Mexican Mule, (nah, that would be Tequila with lime and Ginger Beer) or Manzana Mule...? (ooo that's nice).   Someone come up with a name for this!


Again, we'd like to thank Tuthilltown Spirits (we can now spell that right without checking... sweet) for providing this bottle of Indigenous Vodka for our use in our Applejack-off 2014, and you can see more later this year when we use it (and others) in an upcoming episode.