For most of the year, I take my pleasure in drinking beer or wine. They are my 'grown-up' drinks that I've been consuming since before I was a grown up and I love pairing them with a meal—a solid IPA with a curried chicken or a Chianti and a barbecue-grilled steak—or slowly sipping while enjoying a good flick on the TV.
I'll occasionally enjoy a good malt whisky but only do so if I have company, usually my father, who shares my appreciation of a smoky, peaty Islay malt.
But I don't often go for other alcoholic beverages during the year, except during the Christmas holidays. And I don't usually get into these drinks until December or, as I like to refer to it, the egg-nog season. At this time of year, I'll slip an ounce of Irish cream into my coffee or top up my egg nog with Kahlua (or rum).
I drink responsibly for the most part. Moderation is the key to enjoying life.
But there's one alcoholic beverage that our friends introduced us to, last summer, that made me want to start the holiday season a little early.
Our friends, Bee and Marc, allowed DW and I to invite ourselves over to their home to share in a vintage ale flight, and we sat in their lovely back yard on a beautiful summer afternoon. I brought eight bottles of Fuller's Vintage Ale, ranging from 2008 to 2016. Because it was too much beer to consume on my own and because flights are too special not to share, the four of us partook of these wonderful ales.
But our hosts were generous enough to first share a bit of a special bottle of rum and a bottle of something that became an instant favourite: orange-cream vodka.
Or Vodkow, as it is called.
The Almonte, Ontario producer of vodka-based cream liqueur, Dairy Distillery, produces several flavoured cream beverages, but their orange cream liqueur was our first foray into this type of sippable treat. If you like Irish cream, chances are that you'll like Vodkow.
The orange cream tastes very much like a Creamsicle frozen treat, with a bit of a kick. It is sweet and juicy and goes down easy.
Too easy. My first encounter with Bee and Marc had me drinking most of the bottle.
DW and I searched the LCBO for a bottle of the orange Vodkow, without luck. Our best bet would be to visit the distillery the next time we found ourselves in Almonte, but apart from a kayak adventure on the Mississippi, one late summer afternoon, we haven't been to this small town since.
Finally, in October, I thought I would visit the Dairy Distillery Web site and place an online order. I learned that orders of $100 or more received free shipping and that an order for that amount isn't hard to do: three bottles should cover that prerequisite.
I was going to order three bottles of the orange cream when another flavour caught my eye: egg nog. I ordered two orange creams, one egg nog cream, and called it a day. Two days later, the bottles arrived on my doorstep.
Usually, I don't buy egg nog until December. For me, it's associated with the Christmas season and I don't like my Christmas season to extend beyond two weeks—three weeks at the extreme maximum. The tree goes up two weekends before December 25 and comes down the first weekend after New Year's Eve.
But I was tempted to try the egg nog Vodkow and so I cracked the bottle open just over a week ago. It lacks the yellow hue of egg nog and looks more like... well... cream. Except, when you swirl it in your glass or take a sip, it leaves legs down the side of the glass that tell you there's some serious alcohol in it.
It tastes exactly like egg nog with a modest dose of alcohol. The alcohol isn't overpowering, especially if you sip it, which is what you're meant to do. When I pour myself a glass, I use a small one and fill it with no more than two or three ounces.
And try to resist the temptation to pour a second (I don't always succeed).
The egg nog Vodkow also tastes great in coffee. I added less than an ounce to my cup and it was heavenly.
As the bottle came toward its end, I knew that I wanted more and wasn't sure how long Dairy Distillery would offer this holiday-inspired drink, so I placed a second order. This time, I added two more egg nog creams to my list, with two more orange creams (even though we have an unopened bottle in our beer fridge), and I've decided to try the chocolate cream Vodkow (though, I'm going to save that for December).
Though the orange cream is amazingly special, the egg nog cream is my favourite so far. I plan to make it the star of my holiday booze list, assuming and hoping that Dairy Distillery makes it again, next year.
What about you? Have you tried any of the Vodkow flavours yet? If so, which is your favourite?
If you haven't tried it yet, you can find the egg nog cream at the LCBO (where you can also find the plain cream Vodkow and straight vodka, as well as a sampler pack). As far as I've discovered, the orange cream and chocolate cream are only available directly from Dairy Distillery. I suggest you give them a try.
Cheers!
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