I was first introduced to Triple Eight vodkas three years ago in Massachusetts. You know how I love to support a local economy, so I promptly bought a bottle of their blueberry vodka for my boyfriend. We've become addicted. Stoli Blueberi is pretty good, but the Triple Eight is amazing. We add a little squeeze of lime, a little seltzer and there you go! It's a gorgeous blueberry color too.
When I saw the Triple Eight Cranberry Vodka in a Boston area store, I snatched it up. The possibilities are pretty endless. I think I could have probably incorporated it into a Thanksgiving meal, but I chose to go the Cosmopolitan route. My man fixed me up an amazing cocktail (see recipe below for Three Day Weekender). Although this is a flavored vodka (compared to the infused blueberry version), the flavors are really nicely integrated and there is obviously no addition of artificial flavorings. You can also feel good knowing that this is an artisinal product, done on a small scale, using local ingredients.Triple Eight Distillers is located on Nantucket Island. Dean and Melissa Long are the owners and distillers. They use local grains (not sure which kinds, but there was a picture of corn on their website) to make the base vodka and local cranberries to flavor the vodka. They pick the cranberries when they are in season and cook them with a bit of sugar and hot water before sending them to be pressed in a hydraulic press... YES - just like wine! Then they store the juice for the winter and blend it in when they make the vodka. Pretty awesome!
Their water source is drawn from #888 well - that's what they named the vodka for. They've only been around since 1997 and they have been growing in popularity ever since. In addition to the straight vodka, they have 4 flavored vodkas; orange, cranberry, blueberry and vanilla (with bean). They also make gin, a rum and some bourbons.
The Three Day Weekender
2 parts Triple Eight Cranberry Vodka
3 parts Cranberry Juice
1 1/2 parts Triple Sec
dash of Orange bitters
color: orangy, salmon
nose: bitter orange, cranberry, alcohol
taste: tart, orangish, cranberry
