The Northern Main Distilling Company makes an excellent vodka called Twenty 2. We reviewed the straight vodka previously, explaining the care and craft the company puts behind their product. As it turns out, they are also highly committed to infusions. They produce a 150-proof and 160-proof vodka for at-home infusions. Recently, though, they have introduced their own line of infused vodkas they dub Rested Expressions.
Twenty 2 Rested Expressions Coffee Bean Flavored Vodka is probably the most interesting of them because it is the most unique. Like all of the Rested Expressions line, the infusion is right in front of your eyes. The bottom of the coffee bean vodka is filled with coffee beans and it looks delicious.
Straight
As you might have expected, Twenty 2 Rested Expressions Coffee Bean Flavored Vodka tastes like coffee. Per my previous review, the underlying Twenty 2 vodka is superb, so the straight coffee vodka is excellent, too. There’s no burn and it’s very easy to sip. If you like any sort of coffee-based drink, whether it’s a Frappuccino or black coffee, this 80-proof vodka will put a smile on your face.
Mixed
I tried a few signature cocktails with Twenty 2 Rested Expressions Coffee Bean Flavored Vodka.
Caffè Mocha Crema (2 oz coffee vodka, 2 tablespoons of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and topped with cream soda in a pint glass half-filled with cubed ice) is quite good but I recommend you let the ice cream melt in the cocktail. If you dive in too quick, you’ll mainly get cream soda and coffee, which is a little odd. Once the ice cream melts through, it’s a very nice desert drink or maybe a nice drink for a hot summer day. You may also want to try blending the drink to get a thorough mix. In retrospect, I would have gone this way.
The White Acadian is a take on the White Russian. It consists of 3 ounces of coffee vodka, 1.5 ounces of fresh light cream, and a dash of vanilla extract in a rocks glass full of crushed ice. I sweetened it up a little with some Splenda to make it more palatable to my tastes. If you like White Russians, you’ll definitely want to give this a try.
Labor’s Lullaby was the most successful of the cocktails, consisting of 2.5 ounces of coffee vodka, .5 ounces of honey, and a splash of sparkling water in a rocks glass filled with cubed ice. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this cocktail, but the honey perfectly complemented the coffee vodka. It would be a great night cap to drink out on the porch after a long summer day. I’d definitely try this one again. It was an excellent cocktail.
I also branched out and make a spiked iced Americano. I’m not sure the exact mixture, but it consisted of a liberal pour of coffee vodka, a shot of espresso, five packs of Splenda, ice, and water. It was excellent. The vodka gave the cocktail an interesting pop, and was amazingly easy to drink.
Final Thoughts
Twenty 2 Rested Expressions Coffee Bean Flavored Vodka is an excellent infused vodka. It’s very versatile as a mixer and wonderful to drink straight. Coffee is not the limit of The Northern Main Distilling Company’s infusion imagination, though. There is more to come in the following weeks.
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