By
George Brozowski
If
you've been driving yourself crazy searching high
and low for that perfect spirit to consume before, during
and/or after your next French themed, multiple person, over
the top wild sex orgy, then I have great news for you. The
name of this vodka, Ménage a Trois, spells it out very
clearly for you. According to my Funk and Wagnall's dictionary,
ménage a trios is French for "household of three,"
which is a polite way of saying that it's a domestic arrangement
in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same
residence. (By the way, this really is your lucky day as these
folks also produce over a dozen different wines under the
Ménage a Trois label as well.)
So,
you just gotta ask, who in the hell are these French loving
sex maniacs? Turns out that they're not French at all - but
Italian, all these sexual spirits and wines are brought to
you by Trinchero Family Estates, and these folks are not your
Johnny come lately types trying to make a name for themselves
with outrageous marketing ploys. This family has been active
in Napa Valley since 1948, and their portfolio includes more
than 40 brands including Sutter Home and Newman's Own and
alcohol free Fre wine. Judging by their successful 65 year
run in the wine and spirits businesses, you gotta know that
they know what they're doing.
That
being said, I did notice that they appropriated the logo for
their Ménage a Trois vodka of two
wildly dancing sprites from the Folie a Deux winery. This
actually shows a bit of laziness on their part as Folie a
Deux means a passion or madness shared by two - whereas it
takes three to ménage a trios. I guess adding one more
dancer to the label wasn't all that important but the devil
is in the details and the devil certainly rules all this French
passion.
At
any rate, a Napa Valley based vodka should be pretty darned
interesting if not at the very least highly intriguing. After
doing some further research, it appears that the two wine-loving
psychiatrists who started Folie a Deux winery are also the
same mad scientists who whipped up the vodka for Ménage
a Trois. As it comes from Napa, I simply can't believe that
they chose not to use grapes to produce this vodka and used
corn instead. If all this French madness and sex and booze
have got you as worked up as me, then there's just one thing
left to do and that's to try this vodka, preferably with two
extremely close friends.
The
nose of this unflavored vodka is very clean with just a hint
of grain and a touch of alcohol, but other than that, closely
adheres to the colorless, odorless definition of vodka. On
the palate, it is once again clean and straightforward with
just a slight hint of citrus. It has a clean body that is
not oily and sports a vague spritely tingle on the tongue
but otherwise is truly tasteless, and I mean that in a very
positive way. The finish is very smooth and clean and short.
This is a delightful sipper on the rocks, and that is really
about as far as I would go with regard to mixing it up, as
this vodka should be enjoyed neat and clean, with maybe a
twist of lemon. This is a super-premium vodka in every sense
of the word. It looks like all that wild French sex in Napa
Valley paid off.
And
if that ain't good enough for you, they currently also produce
two flavored vodkas: Berry and Citrus. These two vodkas go
a bit further in embracing that Ménage a Trois
definition by actually using three different fruits in each
flavor. The berry has raspberries, cranberries and pomegranate
in it, while the citrus has lemons, limes and oranges. Here's
an interesting aside: most distillers, when they produce a
flavored vodka, lower the alcohol content, but these folks
have kept the alcohol at the same level as their unflavored
vodka. Let's see how these babies stack up.
Let's
start with the citrus flavor. The nose is very crisp and clean,
and mostly, I get a sense of the lemon backed by the orange.
There is virtually no alcohol in the aroma. On the palate,
the tartness of the lemon and sweetness of the orange come
front and center, backed by the lime. The taste is very natural
and has layers of complexity that are quite unusual in a flavored
vodka but greatly welcomed. The finish is dominated by the
flavor of orange peel and lemon peel and clean and short and
sweet, with absolutely no bite. On the rocks, the flavors
blend together a bit more and present a delightfully citrusy
palate, with an even smoother finish with more subtle flavors.
By the by, this vodka makes a hell of a martini and it doesn't
need the lemon peel or orange peel garnish and all by itself
is very appealing.
On
to the Berry flavored vodka... WHOA, the raspberries dominate
the nose, and I haven't smelled such a delectable raspberry
aroma since I went raspberry picking on a raspberry farm and
made raspberry jam. (Did I really just use the word raspberry
5 times in one sentence?) This nose is absolutely delightful
and smells just like the real thing. Yes, I can sense the
cranberries and pomegranate in the background, but it's way
back in the background. The palate does not disappoint although
the intensity of the raspberries finally gives a bit to the
cranberries and pomegranate, and it produces an intensely
fruity and sweet flavor without any tartness. By the way,
the sweetness is held nicely in check and is not overwhelming
but perfectly proportioned. Of course, the finish is smooth
and sweet but short and to the point. If I could bake this
flavor profile into a pie, I could sell a million pies a day.
On the rocks, it rocks as the raspberry flavor finally settles
down enough to play nice with the other flavors. Again, it
makes a terrifically interesting martini that could provide
the perfect counterpoint to a pepperoni pizza or even a warm
brie. Either way you consume, this vodka it's pretty damn
good.
If
you can find any of them near you a 750 ml bottle that weighs
in at 40% ABV will set you back around $31.00 and it is worth
it.
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