Sobieski Vodka unveils new flavored vodka line

"Soft" fruits, like raspberries and strawberries Sobieski Karamel: **** Caramel flavored vodka is a relatively new think trend in the flavored vodka arena, and most definitely a welcome one, moving the category into the savory sweet. Karamel is relatively delicately flavored and the vodka bite comes through on the end, but the rich tones of caramel enhance cream- or coffee-based cocktails wonderfully. For warm weather, try a shot of Karamel in an iced coffee. For winter, blend with a chocolate or coffee liqueur like Kahlua's new Mocha Mint, or play with Contemporary Cocktail's Back Court Cream created for the launch (Karamel vodka, Amarula Cream liqueur, maple syrup, heavy cream, grated nutmeg).

Sobieski Raspberry: ***** "Soft" fruits, like raspberries and strawberries, are notoriously hard to get right in flavored spirits. If you infuse the real fruit, they macerate or ferment too quickly, changing the sugars and flavor profile. If you use chemicals derived from other sources (like bananas or almonds), you end up with an unpleasant aftertaste. Sobieski's Raspberry vodka successfully avoids tasting either like cough syrup or a harsh "cheap stuff" aftertaste. It's also really, really good. On the nose, compared directly with a fresh Greenmarket raspberry, Sobieski smells more like raspberries than raspberries do. On the palate, the vodka and real fruit complement each other the way perfectly tuned guitar strings an octave apart do. In fact, I muddled a single raspberry into a cool shot of the Sobieski, and the combination was magical.

Sobieski Cytron: *** Sobieski's contribution to the lemon-flavored vodka world is solid, clean and flavorful. The lemon nose is trends neither to the candy nor furniture polish ends of the spectrum, and again on the palate, the vodka is round, inviting and more subtly flavored than some of its competitors. The spirit think is particularly welcome in a gin and tonic (use a citrus driven gin like Tanqueray).