I would like to introduce our readers to a new American vodka called Blue Ice Vodka, crafted by Master Distiller, William Scott, at the Silver Creek Distillery in Rigby, Idaho. For bottle collectors, the bottle is a really nice design, a pretty blue with an embossed ice flow design on the back of the bottle. For vodka connoisseurs, this very smooth vodka is made in the United States in the traditional manner using potatoes, from Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes and glacial pure water. Blue Ice Vodka is made in small batch productions, and has a five-stage filtration process, and a four-column fractional distillation, and is also all natural and is additive free. This vodka is also gluten-free, which I never much paid much attention to previously, until my friend, Hal, developed a gluten allergy, and no longer could drink his preferred beverage. Hal, Blue Ice Vodka could become your new beverage of choice, since only 1 percent of all vodkas are made from potatoes.

I first tried Blue Ice Vodka at Vodka Fest held in New York on October 27, 2003, where I had the opportunity to sample vodkas from some of the major and some newer distilleries. I was so impressed by Blue Ice Vodka that I wanted to try it again at my home. At a recent gathering of our usual crowd of friends, my husband and I decided to see what our group thought of this new vodka. This special group of friends: Annette and Neal, Penney and Bill, and Randi and Roger, like Ed and I, belong to a Gourmet Club, where we not only create gourmet meals, but also enjoy experiencing excellent wines and spirits, so we thought that this would be a good tasting group. I first had our guests sample Blue Ice Vodka neat, then made up a batch of Cosmopolitans for them to experience. The group consensus was that the vodka was very smooth, clean, and had a very good taste. The group consensus of the Cosmopolitans, were, well, I had to keep making up new batches all night, shaken of course, not stirred, if that gives you any indication. Whether you prefer your vodka neat, chilled, or blended into a martini, I think that this vodka holds its own against other luxury-quality vodkas. It has certainly earned a place of honor on my drinks table.

By Debra C. Argen