drinkemporium's Wines Subscribe to this Feed

drinkemporium's Review:

Finally this month it's with great disappointment that we find out that the superb Xellent Vodka is no longer being imported into the UK. We do hope this isn't permanent and we're still awaiting confirmation as to whether they have seized production altogether, when we do have news we'll let everyone know. Interestingly it was illegal to distill vodka in Switzerland until as recently as 1999!Xellent Vodka is Swiss produced and the base ingredient is pure first-class Swiss Picasso and Matador rye. This is all grown in the foothills of central Switzerland. After the distillation process the vodka is then diluted with water from the Titlis glacier in Engelberg.With Xellent you end up with a virtually neutral spirit that tastes surprisingly sweet with a lemony undertone.Xellent really is fantastically smooth for vodka, and it really shouldn't be missed if you haven't tried it. If you have then you'll certainly want to make a purchase soon as we only have the last few cases in stock.

drinkemporium's Review:

U'luvka vodka was for a long time something of an enigma here at the Vodka Emporium. Is it just a gimmick, is it of decent quality, does is it give you good value for money?Well we thought it was about time we did some serious investigation into this vodka that has something of a growing following in the UK.There is no shying away that the majority of people are drawn into the product because of its unique bottle design. The bottle itself was designed by Aloof Design and represents both male and female energies. The U'Luvka logo also has an interesting fact as it is said to be an ancient alchemical glyph containing the symbols for male, female, sun and moon.U'luvka has a great history to it as well, the origins of the drink goes back to the alchemists of the 17th century Polish Royal Court.Once you get over the uniqueness of the products appearance we get to the quality of the vodka itself. Well I have to be honest that I was quite surprised at the high quality, it has a smooth, clean crisp taste which is way better than most triple distilled vodkas. For those of you that like to know a bit more detail on the vodka taste then here we go! Unlike many non flavoured types of vodka, this has a distinct floral aroma and no hint of overpowering fumes that some vodka in this price category has. Before you even pour a glass you are confident that you won't be disappointed. Once you have your first taste there is an unmistakable hint of chocolate that is followed by a creamy buttery finish. If you savour the drink you will notice that there is an element of spice thrown in as well. All in all you are treated to a variety of flavours across the palate spectrum and none that are to overpowering.I certainly didn't expect the flavours to be as fresh and long lasting as I found and if someone asked if they should try this instead of the usual Grey Goose or Belvedere Vodka then I would certainly recommend it.This brings me to the price, as I just mentioned I'd certainly favour this over the traditional Grey Goose, Belvedere offerings and with U'luvka only a couple of pounds more expensive is certainly good value.The final verdict from us is that if you want to try something different and don't want to fork out for a bottle of Ultra Premium vodka then you can't go wrong with a bottle of U'Luvka. It's certainly a talking point at a dinner party when you bring the bottle out and your guests will be pleasantly surprised with the vodka itself.If you usually favour the traditional Grey Goose or Belvedere then definitely try a change with U'Luvka. We've been convinced at the quality, so much so we've added the Magnum to our range and our regulars know we only stock the best quality vodka in magnums.

drinkemporium's Review:

This is without a doubt one of, if not, the favourite flavoured vodka I have tried in the last year.One of the most frustrating things about this vodka is that its seasonal. We've been waiting months for the season to bear fruit so that the 2009 batch could be sent out. Well yesterday morning our long wait was rewarded when a pallet of Hangar One turned up at our warehouse and the call came that it contained the long awaited return of Fraser River Raspberry.This is the first time for us here at the Vodka Emporium that we unanimously agree that the vodka is well worth the wait.We'll be doing a full review of this product in the coming week but thought we would let you guys know straight away that this is now available again. I would imagine that by the start of the autumn we would have sold out of this again.For those of you who have tried this before then you now know its back. For those of you who have never tried Hangar One or in particular the Fraser River Raspberry then this will go down so well you'll be back for more if you have time!

drinkemporium's Review:

Here at the Drink Emporium we're all getting excited at the launch of the new ultra premium Gin that is called Oxley.There's plenty that stands out about this product and we'll try not to bore you with too much!Oxley is the first spirit that has been produced by using a cold distillation method and is produced in the Thames Distillery in Clapham, London.The unique Oxley Gin is only produced in limited numbers with a production run of 120 batches a day, which translates onto 240 bottles per day. On top of this its only produced for four days week so it really is a sought after spirit.It has been a long process to get the product right before launch, and the experts behind the scenes made 38 attempts to ge the blend of 14 botanicals just right.Unlike most traditional Gins Oxley has a sweeter taste as the unique distillation process allows the use of fresh fruit such as grapefruits, oranges and lemons.All in all this really is a huge step change in the world of Gins and we believe that a product like Oxley will tempt the spirit connoisseurs in the Gin market.We already have limited numbers of Oxley so if you want to be one of the lucky few then dont hesitate to try it.

drinkemporium's Review:

Every week it seems you hear about new vodkas that have been distilled a various amount of times or infused with another wonderful fruit that is the next big thing.Here at the Vodka Emporium there is one brand that we cannot get our heads round. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you Nemiroff, the number one Ukrainian vodka.What many people don't realise is that Nemiroff is one of the vodkas that convinced us to start the Vodka Emporium in the first place. Here was a vodka that was head and shoulders above the usual suspects kept behind typical bars to be found up and down towns in the UK. If I'm honest we only tried because of the unusual bottle, so it was a complete accident! It was after this that we started seeking out the more unusual vodkas, then where to find them under one roof, or website as such.So really Nemiroff Vodka was one of the reasons I'm here today writing this blog.Anyway I really should get back to the original reason for this blog. Every now and again you hear a rumbling from Eastern Europe that Nemiroff is going to be the Number one vodka in the world and steal the crown from Smirnoff. One hell of a statement to make when you consider that at the moment they need to be selling more than 220million more bottles a year to achieve this.The main issue with Nemiroff isn't the quality of the products themselves but where and how they position them in the marketplace. I've yet to meet anyone that can truly see where it currently sits amongst other products in the marketplace today.Interestingly many people that have tried it think it's a much more premium product than the price suggests. Certainly the Nemiroff Black as many call it is extremely good quality for its price point which at the Vodka Emporium is 15.50. This puts it firmly in the market of Russian Standard, Smirnoff and Stolichnaya and without fail wins every time when sampled. When we get to the premium Nemiroff LEX we get similar results when its up against vodkas in the 20.00-30.00 market. Here as many of you know is an area dominated by Grey Goose and Belvedere. In my opinion as well as a majority of others it beats both in quality and smoothness, the only vodka in this price bracket that truly stands up to it is the Kazakhstan Vodka, Snow Queen.I think you'll be getting the impression by now that on paper it should be straight forward for Nemiroff to be a major player.The biggest reason it consistently fails to hit the mark is a poor supply chain out of Eastern Europe. The last time I had a rep call me from a new importer of Nemiroff it sounded to good to be true about the extended range and availability but in the end the delays were getting ridiculous.We still stock four of the products but have to snap up any stock that happens to turn up in warehouses throughout the UK. How can you possibly sell another 220 million bottles when your current sales can't be kept up with?To sum it all up Nemiroff have an advantage with quality of the product and an established market in Eastern Europe to play the heritage card. The negatives are that consumers don't know what they are buying as there is no marketing or personality behind the name. The impression is just a rip off Smirnoff but this just isn't the case.We'd really like to see Nemiroff succeed but as it stands in 2009, 3 years after the idea of the Vodka Emporium was born they have got no further. If there's anyone from Nemiroff reading this then give us a call!It really is worth the money to try this product, I'm a great fan of the Nemiroff LEX but you wont be disappointed with the Nemiroff Black either.We'd really like to hear from vodka enthusiasts for your input as well as any topics in the Vodka world you might want us to mull over and say our piece.