OUR VODKA PROCESS

Vodka is an intense, long process of careful fermentation, distillation, and filtration to create the most popular spirit in the U.S. according to liquor.com. Ouragon Vodka is fermented from locally grown Hard Red Wheat to give a sophisticated and smooth base wash.

This wash is then 7 times distilled through our Reflux Still to create a whopping 180 Proof spirit. Even through the process of distillation, the Hard Red Wheat flavor can still be tasted once proofed down from bottling. This is where our Ouragon Vodka process ended, to create an interesting, yet slightly vanilla and spice flavored spirit.

While this Vodka was well received, our bartenders wanted a vodka that was just as smooth, but did not have any grain flavor in order to better highlight our fruit forward cocktails. Therefore, we now carbon filter our grain spirit for 3 to 5 days to create a grain neutral spirit. Finally, we proof the spirit down to bottling strength for our 276 Vodka and all of our flavored vodkas.

DISTILLER’S NOTES

Our 276 Vodka is the workhorse of our bar. Used in cocktails featuring fruits, vegetables, spices, and even meats we must ensuring our product is consistent throughout our process. In order to achieve this, we take extremely detailed notes to ensure everything matches the template recipe. However, small changes in the weather, temperature, grain, yeast, and other processes can create slight differences in our products.

To ensure that our products are consistent, we must constantly compare our previous batches to our in-process batch through careful measurements and, of course, tasting. While this sounds less like work and more like fun, it is important to remember that everyone’s taste buds are affected by what you just had for lunch, the coffee you just consumed, the smell of your perfume, and even the temperature of the spirit. Overall, creating a deliciously smooth grain neutral spirit requires constant attention to detail and it is certainly worth the effort.