Cascade North Sister Vodka Review

Travel Distilled reviews North Sister Vodka from the Cascade Street Distillery in Sisters, Oregon, surrounded by the beautiful Cascade Mountains.

I recently reviewed Cascade’s Chipotle Pepper Flavored Vodka, and loved it. So has everyone I’ve shared it with. So what is Cascade’s original plain vodka like, which produces this wonderfully smoky and spicy Chipotle Vodka?

The Cascade Street Distillery is out of Sisters in Oregon, a beautiful part of the USA up there in the Pacific Northwest. The small town is surrounded by forests, lakes, and mountains up to 10,000 feet high. Their water comes from those Cascade Mountains, about as pure as it gets, and it says on their website that ‘the ultimate goal when distilling vodka has been a crisp, clean and bright elixir that refreshes the palate.’

To get that effect they take 100% American corn to produce a spirit which is distilled six times. It’s always a good sign when a company distills its own spirit rather than buy in mass-produced white spirit that everyone else is buying too. It’s then filtered 100 times and bottled at a standard 40% ABV.

Cascade North Sister Vodka Review

So what’s the result? On the nose the North Sister Vodka is absolutely crisp and clean. In total contrast to the chipotle vodka, which is so wonderfully hot and spicy that it clears your sinuses, this one is perfectly pure. If anything there’s a hint of vanilla sweetness, and after nosing it several times maybe a dash of lemon citrus. But otherwise – clean as a whistle.

Tasting it, I thought it seemed stronger than its 40% ABV – which is no bad thing. Swirl it around and hints of that vanilla and lemon come through, and perhaps a little liquorice, though that’s probably me as I often get liquorice in the vodkas I like best. It certainly has a nicely-rounded mouth-feel.

There’s a very slight burn on the finish, though nothing unpleasant. One benchmark for me is whether you would sip the vodka or not. You wouldn’t sip too much of the chipotle because of the intensity of the flavor, though just one shot is a great drinking experience. And with North Sister Vodka, I’d definitely sip, and more than just one shot.

I’m pleased to see also, by the way, that on their website the company recommends putting your vodka in the freezer for at least two hours if you’re going to drink it neat. I admit that I’ve got out of the habit of doing that, but it does enhance the taste and makes the vodka a little thicker and more intense.

The Bottle

The bottle is nice and chunky and the label certainly deserves a shout-out. It includes a lovely piece of artwork showing the scenery of the Cascade Mountains, and makes you want to jump in the car and drive straight there. Beautiful.

The artwork is by Dan Rickards, an artist from Sisters, and it’s actually 1/3 of a larger painting called Cascade Skyline. The other 2/3 is split between the labels for the distillery’s South Sister Gin and Broken Top Bourbon Whiskey, so if you get all three bottles you end up with an attractive panoramic painting. Is that cool or what?

Cascade Vodka three bottles with artwork — The Complete Art Work

Vodka Cocktails

Much as I like to sip my vodkas neat, a quality vodka like this one does improve the taste of a cocktail no end. I tried it in a simple Moscow Mule, making two identical glasses. In one I used a cheap vodka from the store, in the other this North Sister Vodka. No contest. The cheap one was perfectly OK for a day-to-day home-made drink that was quick and inexpensive. The one with North Sister Vodka was the kind you’d be happy to pay good money for in a bar.

The Cascade Street Distillery’s website has a number of vodka and other cocktail recipes, and here’s one I liked the sound of and which I’m sure they won’t mind me sharing with you.

Lemon Drop

A sassy lemon-flavored cocktail!

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz. North Sister Vodka

1/2 oz. Orange Liqueur

Juice of a Lemon

Lemon Peel

Super Fine Sugar (Colored sugar for extra decoration!)

Garnish

Lemon Peel

How to Prepare

Run a lemon wedge around the rim of the martini glass and dip in a plate or small bowl filled with the super fine sugar to coat the rim of the glass. Pour North Sister Vodka, Orange Liqueur, and lemon juice into shaker filled with ice. Shake well, and drain into sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with a lemon peel and enjoy!

I like the idea of the colored sugar as something to add a dash extra if you’re serving it to guests.