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Asparagus vodka a ‘world first’ says Portobello Road Distillery
Portobello Road Distillery has created a British Asparagus vodka, which according to the producer went from farm to bottle in less than a week.
Portobello Road Distillery has launched what it claims is the “world’s first asparagus vodka”.
The distillery intends to release the vodka annually, just after the start of asparagus season, using asparagus grown on Portwood Farm in Norfolk.
The vegetable is steeped for 24 hours in British Potato Vodka before being bottled in a limited run of 600 bottles each time.
Available for both the on-trade and off-trade, the vegan vodka features no filtration or additives and the distillery says it can be used to vamp up classic cocktails such as the Negroni or Martini.
The launch follows on from an earlier attempt by the distillery to make an asparagus-based gin, which didn’t work as well as the team had hoped.
“The fact that it was a gin and therefore required to be juniper-led meant the actual asparagus flavour was quite subtle,” said Portobello Road Distillery co-founder Jake Burger. ” So when we stepped into vodka production, we wanted to revisit the ingredient, but this time in a product where the flavour could really stand out and sing in mixed drinks”.
Its asparagus flavoured vodka comes on the back of a growing consumer trend for more savoury drinks and the fact that it will be released annually speaks to ‘conscious consumers’ who are interested in seasonal food and drink.
“When you give our British Asparagus Vodka a good old sniff, there’s no mistaking what it is – right away you’re hit with the unique aroma of asparagus, joined by a slight nuttiness,” said Burger. ” If we could imagine smell as a colour, it is distinctly green on the nose.”
According to the distillery, there is an “earthiness and nuttiness” to the vodka’s flavour, with a vegetal note that “lives long on the palate”. Its lasting impression is one of “freshness, softness and creaminess”.
Earlier this year, the drinks business reported how spirits producers are experimenting with a whacky array of ingredients to make vodka, including oysters. A trend for flavoured vodkas is slowly pushing the spirit back into the limelight with vodka predicted to grow by 2.5% CAGR from 2021 to 2025.