Voli Vodka Review
For centuries Cognac in France has been a one-spirit town. It produced cognac. Some of the biggest names in the business have been based in the little town for up to 300 years – Martell celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2015, Hennessy is over 250 years old, and Rémy Martin is somewhere inbetween.
But in 1997 that changed, and there was a new kid on the block, who some people thought had no right to be there: Grey Goose Vodka. Making vodka in Cognac?? Zut alors, as the French say. Unthinkable. Except Grey Goose, as you may have noticed, made pretty good vodka.
A few weeks ago I sampled some gin that was also made in Cognac, G’Vine. It was made from grapes and was d’vine. Then soon after, by coincidence, I was sent a bottle of Voli Vodka which is, guess what, made in Cognac. There’s a theme developing here, right?
Voli Vodka Review
Apart from food and drink, the French have style, and Voli Vodka certainly has that. It’s in a cool black bottle with the name repeated three times on the front. It will look great in a bar, or a home bar, and even when you finish it – which will happen quickly, believe me – it’s the kind of bottle you’ll keep hanging around to add a bit of class to a drinks collection.
So, into the freezer it went. A week or so later (I’ve been busy, OK!) out it came. As usual, I poured a shot neat. Well, maybe two shots. On the nose it was neutral with maybe a hint of citrus, although the vodka’s distilled from wheat. It was like smelling a bottled water compared to a tap water. It was clean, pure.
Tasting it, it had that same neutral flavor. Legally this is what vodka is supposed to be like – pure, neutral. And it tasted good. I let it get to room temperature, and it was still OK, but I preferred it fresh out of the freezer. I enjoy the thickness, the viscosity, that you get when you pour a vodka from the freezer.
Voli Vodka Cocktails
Over the next few days I tried Voli with a mixer. I won’t call them cocktails, as all I did was mix Voli with OJ, and then with cranberry juice. In both cases they tasted really really good. That neutrality means you’re drinking OJ with oomph.
I don’t think Voli is the cognac of vodkas. It’s not in the Grey Goose league, but then it’s not in the Grey Goose price range either. I left it in the freezer a few more days and then tried it again, neat. It may just have been my mood but it tasted really good – the feel was good in the mouth, nice and thick but still neutral on the palate. It’s not a sipping vodka as there’s not a lot of subtlety there, but its cleanliness makes it a good slugging vodka or one to use for cocktails or with mixers.
Voli also does a ‘lite’ version, which I didn’t try and that’s fine. I don’t do ‘lite’, like I don’t drink decaff coffee. I mean, what’s the point? They have some flavored versions too, including lemon, espresso vanilla, and mango coconut. I haven’t tried them so the jury is out on those. But I have tried the vodka-flavored Voli Vodka and it definitely gets my seal of approval.
More Information
Visit the Voli Vodka website.
Update
Voli Vodka seems to have morphed into Voli 305 Vodka which is made in Miami, not Cognac, and I haven’t tried that vodka to know if it’s as good as the original Voli Vodka.
You can find Voli vodkas for sale at Drizly.