We first heard of Dry Fly Vodka when it won double gold in the 2009 San Francisco Beverage Tasting Institute competition. It’s obviously taken a while for us to get our hands on, but I happened to find a bottle at Spec’s in Austin, TX.

The Shot

Dry Fly Vodka has a big reputation to live up to, and I think it falls short. The vodka has a terrible ethanol flavor that I can’t get past. It’s like a better version of Trump Vodka, but it’s still not good. There’s not a burn on swallow, but it’s still not sitting right for me, so I reach for a mixer.

The Mixed Drink

I mixed Dry Fly Vodka with orange juice. Given how bad the shot was, I’m shocked that it mixes so well in a screwdriver. It’s easily drinkable and is one of those rare vodkas that actually makes the cocktail better than the sum of its parts.

Opinions

I tried Dry Fly Vodka with Daniel. He noted that the straight vodka tastes like ethanol smells, which is a weird thing to experience. He agreed, though, that the screwdriver was great and left no trace of the bad aftertaste from the straight vodka.

Dry Fly Vodka isn’t great by itself, but it makes for a really great screwdriver. That said, I small batch vodkas haven’t been our favorite vodkas in the past. If you’re into that sort of thing, Dry Fly Vodka might be just what you were looking for.