Tasting Notes: Northern Keep Vodka

After craft beer, craft gin and Minecraft, please welcome craft vodka from Northern Keep, created in Alberta.

You’ve likely noticed new and exciting brands of craft beers. Those brands keep sprouting new tap handles, while the big brands’ tap handles wither away. Craft brewers toy with hops ratio and exotic yeasts, displaying unparalleled creativity and love for their craft. The tastes that they create prove that certain things can be done a lot better.

Craft vodka is also a labour of love. Northern Keep produces vodka from a savvy mix of locally sourced Canadian rye and winter wheat. The vodka is distilled five times. As if that was not enough to prove to you that these spirit-makers care, they “return the love” to the soil by sharing their profits with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (the claim: every bottle sold will help to protect five square feet of ecologically significant land in Canada). In summary, tasting this vodka is an act of civic duty.

The smell is clear, with a hint of sweet zest. If you have only ever tasted vodka from a big brand, you will find this one to be shockingly pleasant. There is an obvious sweetness, a touch of herbs, and it is perfectly smooth. No need to smell some bread, lick a lemon, bite a pickle, wince or drown this into orange juice. It is fully delectable on its own. It is a better vodka. If you wonder why there is a need for craft vodka, try this one. —Guillaume Garih

northernkeep.ca