Crystal Head Vodka Lunar Year Snake Limited Edition

Crystal Head was created in Canada by Dan Aykroyd and artist John Alexander, and the Lunar Year Snake edition keeps the recipe while swapping the famous skull for a fiery red and gold design marking the 2025 Year of the Snake. The base is Peaches and Cream corn from Newfoundland, distilled four times for a sweet, neutral spirit, then filtered seven times, including three passes over Herkimer diamond quartz crystals. There are no additives and the vodka is kosher certified, so what you taste is the corn spirit and the water, nothing dressed up.

The nose is very clean, with black pepper and a hint of vanilla. The palate is fuller and drier than expected, with ground pepper running through it, and the finish is medium and gently warming. That peppery backbone is the thing to use: build a Black Pepper Martini by stirring it ice-cold with a whisper of dry vermouth and a few cracked peppercorns, strained into a chilled glass, so the spice in the spirit meets the spice in the garnish head on.