Fair. Quinoa Vodka

As I stated in my prior post: Green Spot Irish Whiskey, I mentioned that my friends and fellow bartenders know that if they have new spirits, I'm the man to try them out. Julia was at a local liquor store where a tasting for Fair. Quinoa Vodka was occurring. She liked the initial taste and decided to buy a bottle. Naturally she thought of me and brought in the bottle so I could have a taste. Before I go into how the vodka tastes, I want to go into what kind of vodka the company Fair. is making.

According to the Fair. Spirits website:

We are a spirits company, dedicated to high quality products that are sourced ethically and sustainably.

Our company believes in treating all people fairly. Our vision has taken us all over the world to source the best ingredients for our high quality spirits. We believe that all the people involved, in every stage of the process, should be treated equally.

Their vodka is made from Quinoa. Don't know what Quinoa is? Well according to the Live Science post for Quinoa What is Quinoa? by Elizabeth Palermo dated September 23, 2013:

Native to Bolivia, Chile, Peru and parts of Mexico, quinoa is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium) whose seeds are traditionally used in soups, made into beer and ground into meal for making porridges and cakes.

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) has been sustaining civilization in South and Central America for thousands of years. The tiny seeds of this plant were highly regarded by the Incas, and played a fundamental role in their empire. The Incas referred to quinoa as chisaya mama, or "mother of all grains," and believed that the plant provided warriors with strength and stamina in battle. The Incan emperor himself traditionally sowed the first seeds of the season with a special gold implement.

Though the Incas — as well as many present-day quinoa-lovers — referred to quinoa as a grain, the plant is actually an herb that thrives in cold, high elevations. While it's mostly grown in South America, farmers in the Rocky Mountains and in the Pacific Northwest have recently begun cultivating quinoa as well.

In terms of the vodka, Fair. creates it as such:

Our great taste comes from our high quality quinoa with a special production process – the result of a two-year joint research project between French distillers and Bolivian farmers.

Quinoa is the mother of all grains and is an ancient power food used by Incan warriors 5000 years ago. Quinoa is gluten free.

We source our quinoa from the Andean mountains of Bolivia. The Altiplano plateau is over 3000m above sea level where the quinoa grows in fertile soil on volcanic rock.

Then we carefully ship everything to the famous region of Cognac in France, where our Master Brewer / Distiller, Philip Laclie, with generations of French 'savoir faire', has perfected his techniques to make our incredible line of spirits.

Hence like the bottle states, Fair. Quinoa Vodka is distilled and bottled in France. So what do I think of it?

Julia kept the bottle on ice so it would cold. At first sip, the vodka had a slight burn going down. On the second sip I noticed that unlike other non flavored vodkas, this particular Vodka had a nice sweetness to it. It's not overpowering in the least and the sweetness tastes natural. It really is a nice change from the flavored vodkas out there that often try too hard to add artificial flavors to their products. Plus aside from the taste, the Fair. is trying to make a difference with their product and I think they should be commended for it.

Two interesting cocktail recipes that I came across containing Fair. Quinoa Vodka are The Green Eyed Monster which hails from Nic's Beverly Hills (453 North Cañon Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210-4819, 310-550-5707) and The Re-Invention, which is the #1 selling cocktail at the Hôtel Americano (518 W 27th St, New York, NY, 212-216-0000)

The Green Eyed Monster
FAIR. Vodka
Freshly pressed cucumber juice
Green Chartreuse
Lime
Sugar

The “Re-invention”
2oz of FAIR. Quinoa Vodka
1oz of Combier crème de pamplemousse
1oz of lime juice
1oz of blood orange juice

If you're ever near either one of these fine establishments, feel free and order yourself a cocktail containing Fair. Quinoa Vodka. Let me know what you think of it. And thanks to Julia for the taste. =)

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla
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