Firestarter Vodka Review

Travel Distilled reviews Firestarter Vodka from Moldova.

You see a vodka looking like a fire extinguisher, and called Firestarter, and you immediately scream ‘Gimmick!’ However, judges at tastings don’t see or care whether a vodka comes from a fire extinguisher or a fire hydrant, and the judges at the 2014 International Wine and Spirit Competition awarded Firestarter Vodka from Moldova a Gold Medal. This is what they said:

‘Restrained and refined on the nose with soft, savoury complexity and a touch of pepper. Perfectly balanced and delicately sweet on the palate with a graceful texture and subtle complexity.’

The vodka’s made using winter wheat from central Moldova to an 18^th-century recipe. That kind of thing always sounds good, though would you trust a recipe from an 18^th-century cookbook? But I was very favorably impressed by another Moldova vodka I tried not long ago, Exclusiv Vodka. That one tasted like a premium vodka but at a bargain price. Could Firestarter be just as good? Would I agree with the judges?

Well, I wasn’t impressed by the packaging, which had got dented in the mail. It was just a thin cardboard tube, though it did look like a fire extinguisher. But as you know, you can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t judge a vodka by its packaging.

Filtered Through Platinum

Firestarter Vodka is filtered five times through platinum. I’ve often wondered about that. Platinum costs over $1400 an ounce, so how much do you need to filter a vodka? And what do you do with the platinum afterwards? Rinse it off and use it again?

Firestarter is also infused with honey, which sounds good to me. Remember, the judges found it ‘delicately sweet’ though also having ‘a touch of pepper’. Interesting. The producers say that the vodka doesn’t taste of honey, but it gets a smooth and silky finish from the infusion.

Firestarter Vodka Review

This is what Firestarter’s own tasting notes say:

Crystal clear. The nose is invitingly fresh with a generous dose of sweet grains with an accent of wet rivers stones and hints of spring flowers. The palate confirms the nose being silky with a dose of sweetness that is expected with wheat based Vodkas. Nicely balanced with great texture ready to act as a solo performer or perfect for citrus mixers that will take advantage of the citrus notes that rise on the finish of this Vodka.

So – the moment of truth. I normally taste vodka from the freezer but I wasn’t sure how the cardboard packaging would take to being frozen, so I kept it for a few days in the fridge. This usually annoys my wife as she has this crazy idea that fridges are for keeping food in. I get on her good side by sharing the vodka with her.

On the nose I thought this did have a very slight sweet scent to it, a mix of vanilla and honey, though my wife thought it was more medicinal. Tasting it, though, she changed her mind and felt that it coated the tongue like a drop of honey. Very poetic. I was still getting that honey/vanilla blend in the mouth, with maybe just a hint of citrus.

Yes, very impressive. Another of those vodkas you can sip neat, because of that subtle sweetness, but is also good on the rocks, and I can imagine working well in cocktails. Firestarter suggests using it as a citrus mixer.