From Octane Coffee Bar to Red Hare Brewing Company, commercial coffee houses and craft breweries populate nearly every corner of our local landscapes. Apropos, it makes sense that artisan distilleries are jumping into a trendy market by combining America’s love of coffee and alcohol with surprisingly intoxicating results: introducing Crater Lake’s Hazelnut Espresso Vodka from Bendistillery.
Need a quick pick-me up before braving hordes of hipsters in fedoras at the local farmer’s market on a Saturday morning? What about a refreshing digestif after a sumptuous meal with friends? Hazelnut Espresso Vodka is your new go to alcohol. Try it neat or splash some into your favorite espresso to experience why coffee beans exist in the first place. For an extra taste sensation that will flood your gustatory senses, keep a bottle in the freezer and serve it chilled.
Distilled with the help of the purest water from the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, Bendistillery infuses fresh-brewed espresso and hazelnuts into their Crater Lake Vodka before adding a touch of brown sugar. What you pour into your glass comes across as the soulful essence of a coffee bean: the smooth, even body, the crisp, bold flavor, and a heavenly aroma so orgasmically earth-shattering that you will believe, even during the worst heat wave in July, that Christmas—in all its seasonal, refreshing splendor—can be found at the bottom of a cup.
Try this twist on the White Russian for a decadent dessert cocktail.
Nutty Russian
Ingredients
3 oz. Crater Lake Hazelnut Espresso Vodka
1 oz. Vodka
Splash of half and half
Directions: Combine ingredients in a cocktail glass over ice and stir.
Distillery: Bendistillery
City: Bend, Ore.
Style: Flavored vodka
Proof: 80