Mazama Pepper Vodka

I have been meaning to try this for a while, because I like Bendistillery’s Crater Lake Vodka and I’m a chile-head. I’d wanted to compare and contrast the peppers and the heat, with New Deal’s Hot Monkey and other “hot” vodkas, as I had (wrongly) assumed they were fairly similar. But there’s little point to that exercise. Mazama has a very different feel, and has some noticeably different uses.

Nose: First nose is of earth, and a trace of pepper heat. Then the more full scent of roasted red bells or other sweet peppers, comes out. It really makes me think of summer evening tapas and the scent of frying up some Nardellos or some Italian sweet peppers with some coarse sea salt sprinkled on top.

Taste: The first flavors are a mix of hot, but only a little, and the sweetness of the ripe or likely roasted peppers.

Finish: There’s an odd watery gap of little flavor between the initial sweet/hot and the lingering warm and slightly earthy finish. The finish is just warm. Yes, there are hot peppers in it. No, this is not a hot vodka. It’s makes me think of a mix of hot paprika and sweet paprika.

Notes: As they suggest, this would go very well in a Bloody Mary. Just don’t overdo the other ingredients, because you want the sweet peppers to come through along with the hot. It’s also fine on it’s own, or I’d try it mixed with something light as an aperitivo, because the flavors in this seem to all make me think of food, and trigger hunger. It has a bit of heat, but it’s a very light heat. It’s European hot, not New World or Asian or African hot. But it should pair well with some citrus or island or Asian fruit juices and flavors.

This might be a vodka with cooking applications, as it would go nicely in a cream sauce ladled over scallops or shrimp or crawfish or made into a mignonette-like sauce to drizzle on oysters.

This might be a vodka with cooking applications, as it would go nicely in a cream sauce ladled over scallops or shrimp or crawfish or made into a mignonette-like sauce to drizzle on oysters. It looks like this bottle, at least, is destined for my plate.

Mazama Pepper Vodka, (Bendistillery, Bend, Oregon), 80 proof, $19.95 at Oregon State Liquor Stores

(Sample provided by Mr. Boozenik’s wallet)