I have a great job. Not only do I get to interact with the best customers in the world, but I also get to do on-the-job research. Research at Slope Cellars consists of tasting wine and spirits from all over the world in order to inform our recommendations. I don’t drink a lot of liquor. There’s just not enough time with all the wine I want to drink -- but while doing research the other day, I tasted a spirit that frankly blew me away: Kastra Elion Vodka. Now I know vodka isn’t generally considered a particularly interesting liquor — it’s flavorless by design! But what struck me about Kastra Elion wasn’t its flavor, it was its texture. It was luxurious! The name translates to “Castle of Olives” and sure enough the vodka is made with cold-pressed, distilled Nafpaktos olives. Olives don’t contain enough sugar to ferment into alcohol -- that comes from wheat which is distilled alongside the olives. This is not a flavored vodka (although there is a subtle olive-y note lurking in the background of this neutral spirit); mostly what the olives impart is a smooth, buttery mouthfeel. There’s a whiff of olive on the nose -- just a hint -- along with a note of citrus oil. On the palate, there’s mild salinity, to go along with that note of olives, and a long clean finish - like the cleanest of dirty martinis. It will elevate a Vesper, Lemon Drop or even a Bloody Mary, but I really want to enjoy it in a Martini.

-Bob
