VeeV doesn’t claim to be vodka, but I still feel compelled to talk about it. I first heard about VeeV through their site The End of Vodka when I read the NYTimes.com article I posted about not long ago. If you haven’t heard about this açaí liqueur, I’ll reiterate.

The End of Vodka, at first blush, seems to classify vodka drinkers into three main types: irritating person, more irritating person, or most irritating person. Much like Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal was for some, the tongue is difficult to see in the cheek. The lesson to walk away with is not that vodka drinkers are irritating, but that people who drink a beverage to be fashionable are frustrating. The folks behind VeeV are just fine with vodka, but they want people to drink what they have determined is good instead of what is perceived as good. In that respect, VodkaBuzz is quite comfortable with The End of Vodka.

Açaí is the most recent “miracle fruit.” It’s been touted on Oprah and all over the Internet. As you may know by now, we here at VodkaBuzz aren’t swayed by trends, and, if you believe the idea behind The End of Vodka, VeeV doesn’t want you to be swayed by the açaí trend, either. So, I’ll dispense with introduction and get down to business.

I sat down with a bottle of VeeV to give it the same sort of evaluation I give vodka. Given the amount of time I’ve spent trying to hone my palate, the first thing I want to do with any alcoholic beverage is try it alone so that I can savor the flavor. I call it taking a shot, but it’s more than that.

The first thing I notice before my lips hit the rim is the really great smell. It isn’t sugary like some liqueurs. It’s very mild, naturally sweet aroma is reminiscent of the licorice-like absinthe from several feet away. The taste is similar, if you can imagine tasting the smell of absinthe from a few feet. VeeV is completely smooth in the mouth, and very comfortable to swallow. I don’t drink a lot of liqueur (and this is my first experience with açaí), but this is probably the best one I’ve tasted.

The idea that keeps coming back to me is that VeeV is a lot like an infused vodka. Deep in the flavor, beyond the açaí sweetness, is the subtle flavor of a grain neutral spirit. VeeV makes no such claim, but I’m perfectly happy accepting it as a familiar to vodka, if not a distant relative. I’m not the only one. Chow.com, in the same article that claims infusion isn’t trendy, reckons VeeV is an in-the-closet infused vodka. You can make that decision for yourself, however.

When I was able, I passed the bottle of VeeV around to some of my cohorts and received overwhelmingly positive feedback about this liqueur-as-a-shot. Everyone noted it’s sweet flavor and comfortable consistency, especially when departing the mouth for the stomach. VeeV has proven itself to be a great sipping liqueur. If you enjoy açaí, you’ll probably walk away doubly impressed.

It seems to me, though, that liqueurs typically shine brighter in a cocktail than alone. VeeV deserves a fair shake in this department as well. In the next several weeks, I’ll be putting VeeV through its paces as a constituent of a mixed drink and reporting back my findings.