Vodka, Thy Name is Whiskey: Kansas Clean Distilled Spirit Whiskey

"The problem with whiskey is that it's aged."

That's the tag line for Kansas Clean Distilled Spirit Whiskey. According to the website, "You won't find rednecks in overalls or middle-aged men in tweed flat caps anywhere near a bottle of Kansas Clean Distilled Whiskey." The pictures on the site show that this is a whiskey for hip, young people who need something to drink on the way to the club, the rave or wherever it is hip young people go these days.

But what is this colorless "whiskey"? Well, according to the federal regulations, "spirit whiskey" is a mixture of neutral spirits and not less than 5% whiskey. That's right, it's called whiskey but it can be up to 95% vodka. Yum!

It would be easy to prejudge this brand based on its website full of stereotypes and transparent demographic targeting or just the fact that it's vodka with a whiskey label on it, but that wouldn't be fair. So in the spirit of taking one for the team, I sampled some.

Kansas Clean Distilled Spirit Whiskey, 40% abv ($30)

There is no nose on this, none. It tastes mostly like water with a vaguely sweet note underneath, there is also some rice and artificial vanilla. There is no finish, none.

True to the vodka character, this has almost no discernible flavor. It tastes like slightly flavored water. I wouldn't say it's the worst thing I've tasted. After all, I like water, and I actually like this stuff better than most vodka, which I find tastes like rubbing alcohol smells. But it isn't whiskey by any stretch of the imagination, and I can't imagine why anyone would buy or drink such a thing unless their only goal was getting drunk in the most flavorless way possible, or perhaps if one had a palate disorder of some sort which made them averse to flavor of any sort.

The problem with Kansas Clean Distilled Spirit Whiskey...is that it isn't whiskey.

Click with Clix

A few months ago, I encouraged whiskey fans to celebrate Clix Vodka because the overpriced vodka from Buffalo Trace will hopefully subsidize the price of our precious bourbons and ryes. But then I began to wonder how a vodka of this sort would taste.

Most whiskey is distilled twice, three times at most. Vodka is often distilled many more times, and Clix vodka is distilled 159 times! More distillations has to be better, doesn't it? At $300 it's certainly more expensive than any of Buffalo Trace's whiskeys, and hopefully, it will stay that way. Now keep in mind that I don't drink vodka and don't really like it, but then again, who does?


Clix Vodka, distilled from rye, corn, wheat and malted barley, 40% abv ($300)

The nose is slightly white doggy. It tastes like corn whiskey with a lot of water added, then it just gets foul. The finish is like nail polish remover fumes. Hey, I thought this was supposed to have no distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.

Summary: It's not just terrible, it's $300 terrible!

Don't be Outraged, be Happy: Clix Vodka

The whiskey community reacted in predictably indignant fashion when news came out that Buffalo Trace was marketing a new vodka. This was not just any vodka. Clix Vodka is, according to BT, distilled a whopping 159 times, and it will retail for $300.

Now, I admit, the only thing sillier than paying $50 for a spirit that, by legal definition, must have no "distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color," is paying $300 for it, and the 159 distillations almost seems like a parody of vodka marketing. This was one of those press releases that I had to double check to make sure it wasn't originally from The Onion.

That being said, we in the whiskey loving community should rejoice at this news. Buffalo Trace has done an admirable job keeping prices reasonable on its excellent bourbons and ryes. There are other companies that would easily be demanding three figures for something like the Antique Collection, but BT doesn't do that. I'm hoping that things like Clix Vodka help them keep our prices low. For every imbecile that buys a $300 bottle of Clix, that's more money that BT isn't charging me for bourbon. All hail the cash cow!

In fact, from now on, I'm going to make Clix my standard recommendation for anyone who is dumb enough to ask me what super-premium vodka is the best (and I get asked this a few times a year). Of course you should buy Clix, it's distilled 159 times!

Vodka Vednesday: High West Peach Vodka 7000

Okay, it's not really Wednesday, but then again, this isn't whiskey. In the three plus years that I have had this blog, I don't think I've as much as mentioned vodka, and I've certainly never reviewed one. After all, vodka is, by law, odorless and flavorless; you might as well review rubbing alcohol. And flavored vodka is a travesty of chemistry. But High West Peach Vodka 7000 is different.

If you read my whiskey reviews, you know that the High West Distillery in Utah is one of my favorite blenders of rye whiskey. I recently attended a High West sponsored tasting of their whiskeys and, after going through their fabulous collection of ryes, the brand representative brought out their new peach vodka.

High West Peach Vodka 7000 is made with real peaches grown in Northern Utah. As such, it actually has a shelf life of about 90 days (from opening). Unlike most flavored vodkas, there is simply nothing artificial about this stuff. The nose screams fresh peaches. The flavor is like biting into a slightly sweetened peach. Since I had it at a whiskey tasting, I happily drank the stuff neat out of my whiskey glass. I'm sure a mixologist could do wonders with it, but the pure peach flavor made it a great drink on its own at room temperature.

Unfortunately, Peach Vodka 7000 isn't available in California yet, but you can get it at Binny's for $40 (plus shipping, of course). Check it out!