By
George Brozowski
As
I first gazed upon the bottle, my initial
thought was why would anyone name a bottle of Vodka "Fair"
when they just as well could have named it "Great"?
As I read a bit further down the bottle, it become more obvious;
this vodka was made from Fair Trade Certified Quinoa.
Now, there's a mouthful of meaning in those four words so
let's take a closer look.
Fair
Trade certification is a product certification system designed
to allow people to identify products that meet agreed environmental,
labor, and developmental standards. Even though many a hippie
,back in the 60's, was leaning in this direction the movement
really took hold in the 80's at the initiative of Mexican
coffee farmers. The initiative offered disadvantaged coffee
producers following various social and environmental standards
an above market price for their crop. In the case of this
Vodka, it refers to over 1,200 carefully selected small organic
farmers located in the Bolivian Altiplano. Fair Trade labeling
certification also provides some assurance that the products
are really benefiting the farm workers at the beginning of
the supply chain. It really just doesn't get much greener
than that.
Okay
so what's up with this Quinoa? On the bottle it states; "Quinoa
is the mother of all grains, a superfood long worshiped by
the Inca people". That's quite a mouthful! The Encyclopedia
states that it is a species of goosefoot and is actually a
grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. It is a pseudo-cereal
rather than a true cereal or grain as it is not a member of
the grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related
to species such as beets, spinach and of all things tumbleweeds.
And I would like to add that, as I have always thought, you
can make vodka out of damn near anything that has a bit of
sugar in it. Nutritionally it really does appear to be a superfood.
Its protein value is very high at 18% and it is a source of
complete protein. It is also a good source of dietary fiber
and phosphorous and is high in magnesium and iron and is gluten-free.
With
all that going for it, I'll just bet that you could go on
an all liquid, food free diet of just this vodka for two weeks
and lose 20 pounds while getting all your nutrients. Hell,
you'd even be doing the world some good, going green and helping
poor farmers in Bolivia. What's not to like about that?
Eventually
all this quinoa makes its way to Cognac, France where it is
distilled 5 times in a 42 plate pot still and bottled. It
is also rumored, although I couldn't prove it, that Incan
Shamans then ritually bless each bottle thus eliminating any
hangovers from ever occurring. Who needs to filter it when
you have Incan Shamans?
Fair
Premium Vodka comes in a tall transparent bottle
with a black and silver label. The Vodka inside the bottle
is clear and just looks like pure water. Straight up, the
nose is quite clean with a touch of warmth and a hint of grain
but otherwise nothing really discernible. It is of medium
body, a bit oily in feel on the palate (which is really a
good thing) and again except for a touch of warmth and a nuance
of grain and maybe a bit of buttermilk biscuit it is elusive
to describe. It finishes quietly and smoothly and leaves vague
impressions of its passing in the mouth and throat. Yummy.
On the rocks and in a Martini it really shines and becomes
ever so much more docile and subdued, a truly "Fair"
super premium vodka.
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more Rants & Raves click
here.
Try these cocktails
using Fair Premium Vodka