These days, vodka seems to be mostly about appearances, so let’s start there. The bottle itself is crafted into a simple cylinder topped by a skinny column, closed with a cork. Upon closer inspection, you notice waves and small air bubbles in the glass, as well as labeling reminiscent of an 18th century map. These seemingly handmade touches promote the Although distilled liquor is an industrial product, Reyka does a good job of adding some pastoral spin with buzz phrases like “small batch,” and talk of a geothermally powered distillery in capital letters on the back label. Reyka has an excellent site where you can see more of what I am talking about. You may have seen their ads, with young woman bundled up in the cold talking in a Borat-like fashion about how Icelanders prefer “vodka flavored vodka.” That is a respectable mantra in my book.

As I’ve mentioned, the vodka itself is relatively tasteless. Served neat, and at room temperature, the aroma smells faintly sweet, and of ethanol. The flavor is also lightly sweet with a slight, quick burn. The finish is clean, but Reyka has a rich mouthfeel. Although the vodka has little flavor, it is quite satisfying. Reyka vodka would do well in Bloody Marys, Screwdrivers, and Vodka Martinis.

If you like to taste the alcohol in your vodka cocktails, then you should look for another vodka. For most everyone else, a smooth, simple, enjoyable vodka is probably exactly what you were looking for in the first place. Reyka fits that bill and sells for approximately $25 US.

The first time I encountered batidas were in a college Spanish class.

If you have ever had the pleasure of studying another language you probably remember textbooks filled with ostensible scenes of the culture in which you are immersing yourself. These pictures always show people happily milling about the areas that need to be learned, and conveniently names of these areas and objects are labeled (in Spanish in my case). Usually most of the pictures are relatively easy to understand like a bus labeled “autobus”, but some are not so evident.

The picture for batidas was a couple walking down the street holding cups. Nobody knew what the term batidas was referring to, and our professor said “Oh, umm…I think it’s a milkshake”. Some time later I noticed a batidas recipe in Dale DeGroff’s Craft of the Cocktail, and most recently Jeffrey Morgenthaler has added one to his new cocktail menu at El Vaquero in Eugene, Oregon.

These adult milkshakes are actually a Brazilian concoction, as both batidas call for cachaca, which is the national spirit of Brazil. Many people are familiar with cachaca because it is also the main ingredient for the increasingly trendy Caipirinha.

If you have not tried cachaca, it is white rum distilled from fermented sugar cane juice, not molasses like many rums. The taste and smell is earthier and rougher than other white rums like Bacardi, but in a good way. If there are not many cachacas available where you live, you may be able to score an inexpensive bottle. The bottle I purchased, cinqüenta e um, was the only cachaca in the liquor store at $19 US for one liter.

The Caipirinha is a great way to experience cachaca for the first time, but in batidas the flavor really comes through nicely as well.

For this article, I used Dale DeGroff’s ratio of 2:2:1:1; cachaca, fruit, sweetened condensed milk, and sweetener. Blenders have a bad reputation with many mixologists, but I would recommend using one plus a handful of ice cubes to get it to a really smooth consistency, as sweetened condensed milk is thick and does not dissolve well in a cold beverage. I used homemade grenadine (just dissolve one cup sugar in two cups pomegranate juice and reduce to two cups of syrup) as a sweetener and blueberries for the fruit, and the results were great. Experiment with your own mix of ingredients depending on what you prefer or what is in season. Saúde!

Batidas

2 oz. cachaca

2 oz. fruit puree (I used blueberries)

1 oz. sweetened condensed milk

1 oz. syrup (I used grenadine, but simple syrup is fine)

My mother is Greek and I thought it would be easier to attempt to fill Brenda Pederson’s shoes if I started with something familiar. Ouzo seemed too common, so I chose retsina wine.

Retsina has been produced in Greece for over 3,000 years. Back in the day of the bota, before more sophisticated winemaking techniques came about and bottling was common, wine that needed to be shipped by Greeks was packed in barrels sealed with pine resin. The resin imparted a piney aroma and flavor to the wine. Akin to the way British India Pale Ale was born and stuck, the flavor became popular; even after the process became unnecessary.

Boutari is the bottle used and seems to be one of the more popular brands. It is made in Thessalonica, the main retsina producing region in Greece. The label itself does not mention the addition of pine resin, but when the bottle is opened you will not doubt it’s in there.

People agree that the resinous quality of retsina definitely make it an acquired taste, but it is popular among Greeks. Being familiar with retsina, I figured it deserved some credit and might even make a good cocktail. At fewer than ten dollars, retsina is an inexpensive experiment for anyone willing to brave the bad reputation retsina has for being terrible rotgut. Generally you would find retsina wine at Greek tavernas served in a tumbler poured from a barrel, but I was able to find several varieties at the local grocery store. The bottle I chose was $8US.

If enjoyed cold and with bold flavors, such as those in Greek food, retsina is great. I chose to make a variation on a martini substituting the retsina in place of dry vermouth. The pine flavors marry well with the gin to make a refreshing, tasty cocktail. I used two parts retsina to one part gin, but you can make yours in the ratio you like. The 2:1 ratio brought out a light sweetness in the wine and showcased the pine flavor. It was perfect when a twist was added.

If this recipe turned out bad, I thought I would name it the “Turpentini”, but it didn’t, so I opted for something more serious. Opa!

Argonaut Cocktail

1 oz. gin (I used Bombay)

2 oz. retsina wine (Boutari in this case)

Shake and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a twist.