Product: Triple 8 Vodka Producer: Triple 8 Distillery Approximate Retail Value: $25.00 for 750ml Category: Vodka Country of Origin: U.S. Reviewer: SexHerald Staff The F Words: Flavor – Natural sweetness, an even balance of flavors, with perhaps a distant note of dry black cherry skins. Perhaps it’s a little too intense for some, but you won’t need to search for flavor here. Feel – Full, robust, but not too heavy: A nice medium oiliness. Finish – I’ll add another F word—Fire. Long and steady, you’ll inhale it almost as long as you’ll taste it.

Rating:

While this reflection of our culture may describe everything from a good wedding date to a bearable one-night stand, it hardly makes for an interesting drink.

As some products are memorable for their absence, Nantucket’s Triple Eight Vodka may well become known for its substance. Although the eight-balls on the label conjure up images of sparrow tattoos and small-block Chevy’s, the product inside is as far removed from a dirty pool hall as Nantucket is from, say, the South Bronx. While distilled from grain, it has the kind of organic residual sugar notes found in potato, or even sugar-beet vodka. When tasted at humble room temperature, the smooth, gradual inclination toward sweetness and heat evidences itself immediately. Cold, Triple 8 begs to be made into a martini: this is vodka worthy of being sipped. The healthy, round body; the natural, subtle sweetness; the steady, pervasive burn-- all demand slow, unwavering attention, and that you handle your mixers with a light touch, lest you disturb the perfect balance. And the fire—while yes, this is vodka and of course it’s going to have some spark, Triple 8’s warmth is a little different, positively smoldering in your mouth, your breath, and your lungs.

Don’t misunderstand me; Triple 8 is indeed triple-distilled and quite smooth (the moniker, however, is derived from the well from which the vodka’s water is drawn, not the number of times it is run through the columns). While retaining character and plenty of punch, the Nantucket-based potable does noticeably lack bitterness and the shudder-inducing diesel characteristics present in less-pedigreed spirits.

While an office in Nantucket is an accomplishment -- as one of Massachusetts’ most-desirable vacation spots, both property values and residential noses climb higher every summer-- Triple 8 forged through the Commonwealth’s legal labyrinth and built its entire distillery there. Interestingly enough, the original intention was to produce grappa and fruit-based beverages. The interest then turned to Scotch-styled whiskey, so to kill time (and pay some bills) while the whiskey barrel-aged, the distillers decided to make this vodka. I’d like to personally thank fortuitous boredom for the advent of Triple 8 Vodka: it beats the hell out of board games, thumb-twiddling, and a lot of its super-premium shelf-mates. Give it a shot.