Blue 42 Smooth Luxury Vodka

Blue 42 is made in England by OSA Fine Spirits from English winter wheat, with the name pointing to its 42% strength and its diamond-cut bottle. Wheat is the source of its character: it distils to a soft, rounded spirit, and here it is triple distilled and then put through an elaborate filtration that smooths the texture to something buttery and almost creamy. The slightly higher strength gives it a touch more weight on the palate than a standard 40% vodka, while keeping a fine cereal sweetness rather than any harshness.

The nose shows soft cereal, a fine sweetness and a hint of vanilla, the palate is very soft and creamy with mild wheat and a clean mineral note, and the finish is long and silky with a natural sweetness. A vodka this soft and faintly sweet rewards being tasted cleanly, so keep the bottle in the freezer and pour it neat into a chilled glass as a sipping vodka. At freezer temperature the creamy body thickens and the vanilla note comes forward, which is the whole point of a wheat vodka built for softness rather than punch.