Notes: This vodka is produced in a old aircraft hanger near San Francisco in small Holstein Pot Stills. Most commercial vodka is produced in column stills at rectification plants (read chemical factories) in huge refinery like settings and quantities.

In order to make their products taste like something other than dry gas for your car they add things like glycerin and vanilla to add the body and tast they lose using a column still.This vodka (and all the other variations) are produced in small quantities in a extremely labor intensive process compared to the industrial standards of many other vodkas. It is the “Arts and Crafts Movement” version of vodka.

This version uses a little known variety of lime that is more aromatic than the standard lime and used extensively in Asian cooking. As with their other flavored vodkas they infuse and macerate their flavorings, rather than add extracts or chemicals to a grain alcohol base. As such, it is a standout from the alcop flavored vodkas out there that tast more like a popsicle than a serious drink. This is made with real fruit and it shows. Bravo!

Appearance: Clear, no sediment whatsoever. On swirling, it leaves a thicker clear coat on the inside of the glass than the other varieties of Hanger One. It may have to do with the essential oils and their specific gravity.

First Impression: Wonderful smell at first intense aromatic oils, smells exactly like a Kaffir Lime, not a chemists equivalent thereof.

Taste: Coats the tongue with the oil of the botanicals. A very slight  warming of  alcohol as it goes down the throat and a puckering of the tongue, no chemical aftertaste/tang like you get from a lot of other flavored vodkas. But an intense, almost quinine-like aftertaste with the lime oils evaporating on the midpoint of the tongue.

Drinks: Any drink calling for a non sweet lime would be a natural for this one, we didn’t have enough to do many experiments with. Could make a mean Daquiri variation with some more research. . . mixed reviews with our martini attempts. Makes a interesting if idiosyncratic Cosmopolitan. Check their web site (below) for more ideas. Well worth some exploring and experimenting.

Final Thoughts: An outstanding value for the money – the price of some of the fashion victim flavored vodkas and far better tasting! Amazing how well they are able to capture the essence and bottle it. They could put Chanel out of business if they got into the perfume trade.

Bottle: Distinctive, in that it is tall, clear glass, and NO frosting unlike the sea of others. Simple graphics silkscreened or printed directly onto the glass. Nice heft to the bottle and a good grade of clear glass with a weighted bottom to it. Thin but robust shape similar to a good french brandy bottle. No nonsense straightforward, shows the vodka to good effect.

Website:: http://www.hangarOne.com  Fast loading with a fair amount of information. Easy to read with good content and descriptions of production if a bit terse. Again, they really need to post some drink recipes or other ideas on how to use their vodka (food recipes or accompaniments?), and make it available in 200 ML bottles for people to try it.