Nanuq Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Believe it or not........ Alaska distiller has high hopes for salmon vodka REACTION: Some are skeptical; others enjoy the smoky flavor. By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK Published: June 29th, 2010 10:00 PM Last Modified: June 30th, 2010 07:31 AM Imagine drinking rather than eating a big lunker salmon. Toby Foster did and then he made the unusual choice of distilling it into vodka. "The first three or four times, it was gag city," he said. In all, it took the Wasilla distiller nearly 50 attempts to perfect the recipe for his new Smoked Salmon Flavored Vodka, now available in liquor stores, bars and restaurants in Alaska and in some locations in the Lower 48. Salmon vodka is the costliest and most stressful product that Foster's 2-year-old company, the Alaska Distillery, has produced since its inception, he said. The existence of a salmon-flavored vodka prompts a reasonable person to ask many questions, starting with "Why?" Foster believes salmon vodka is Alaska's contribution to the large variety of boutique vodkas that have flooded the liquor market over the past decade or so, including bacon-flavored vodka from Seattle. By Foster's thinking, if he's going to make a big break in the vodka world, "It's probably going to be smoked salmon. Because it's so silly." Which leads to another question. Who would drink such a thing? "First of all, ick. Second of all, I haven't served one," said Amber Sheffield, a server at Humpy's Great Alaskan Ale House downtown. The owner of another popular bar downtown, Bernie's Bungalow Lounge, Bernie Souphanavong, said he doesn't think he's sold any of it either. Foster said his product has been out for a month and the marketing at local bars will begin soon. His team is considering a launch party and promotional events. For now, there are a few salmon vodka enthusiasts on the local restaurant scene: Amy Mack, a manager at the Bear Tooth Grill who dabbles in cocktail recipe creation, is one of them. "It doesn't taste like you are drinking a fish," she said. Instead, it tastes smoky, with a "very light underlayer of the salmon." "It's like you are sitting around a campfire and someone just lit a charcoal grill. I can almost taste bacon when I think about it," she said. A taste test by a reporter confirmed Mack's description of the salmon vodka flavor. The salmon taste was very light, to the point that it could have been mistaken for another smoky-flavored meat that leans sweet rather than peppery. Which leads to a third question. How does one make salmon-flavored vodka? Foster gets the question so often that he likes to tell people that he gets a group of Italian women to crush salmon fillets in oaken barrels with their bare feet. For now, the vodka is available at local liquor stores and roughly 30 local bars and restaurants. Foster says the salmon vodka outsold his national award-winning brand, called Permafrost, by about 30 percent in its first month. "We've produced 400 cases and sold 350," he said. Each case contains 12 salmon vodka bottles. "Actually I just sold my biggest order yet to Texas," he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheaton26 Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 i'll try anything once! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronoluvvv Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 ohhh HELL NO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 yyyeecchhhh!!! Next we'll have chicken wing vodka...then Big Mac vodka...or how about pizza vodka??? This madness must stop!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipSlap Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 I can see this being surprisingly good or an unspeakable atrocity. I'd be wiling to try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Salmon vodka.....I am just praying this guy is not of Norwegian decent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Salmon Ice Cream is next. (Actually, I think it has been done on Iron Chef).... LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 how about pizza vodka??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rek001 Posted July 1, 2010 Report Share Posted July 1, 2010 Okayy...so I'm of Lithuanian ancestry, and one of our gastronomic delights is to shoot an ice cold vodka and immediately chase it with a bite of some kind of prepared fish - pickled herring, smoked salmon, baked whitefish with tomatoes. So good! So, I guess this is not so offputting to me. I sveikata! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted July 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2010 Okayy...so I'm of Lithuanian ancestry, and one of our gastronomic delights is to shoot an ice cold vodka and immediately chase it with a bite of some kind of prepared fish - pickled herring, smoked salmon, baked whitefish with tomatoes. So good! So, I guess this is not so offputting to me. I sveikata! Ice cold vodka and pickled herring? YEAH BABY!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted July 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2010 Salmon vodka.....I am just praying this guy is not of Norwegian decent Ah you are right Gunnar, he is not one of God's Own People. Sadly. Cold lutfisk in a glass? Are we ready for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.