Sipping Vodka, Not SLUGGING vodka...
By: Warren Bobrow
Published: August 6, 2014

Azzurre is a sipping vodka.  I found it to be quite sumptuous, prepared very simply- so that the aromatics could shine- without being covered up by inexpensive and harsh, artificially flavored juices or other liquors.
 
Sometimes less is much, much more.  
 
It’s quite soft in the mouth feel, citrus and white chocolate predominate with a long- almost bourbon-like finish.
 
There are notes of dark stone fruits and wet sea-slicked stones.  Great minerality and clarity.  But I would never mix it with cola or concentrated corn syrup sweeteners.
 
 At the end of the day, Azzurre is just too good to mix.
 
Traditionally I’m not a vodka fan, but Azzurre is beyond vodka.  It is the most "un-vodka" like vodka I’ve had in recent memory.  
 
Snifter+Azzurre+Fruitations Tangerine Soda and Cocktail Syrup = love.  
 
When someone says vodka, I immediately go into shut-down mode.  Vodka?  Stripped of flavor from dozens of distillations?
Am I supposed to be impressed by the number of distillations? 
 What is left after all the flavor is stripped out?  hint: Not much.  So I don't care for commercial- "overly-distilled" vodka.
The vodka of my childhood was made from potatoes- so it stands to reason that I wouldn't like the grain variety- unless it was really good.
Azzurre is not a vodka that I would mix too much.  No, it's too good to mix with ingredients that stifle its creativity.  
 
Just one sip across your tongue takes the desire to cover up an already highly expressive liquor is not my idea of a day well spent.  
 
Why spend your hard-earned money on vodka if you are planning to mix with it anyhow?  Why not just drink something inexpensive?  And that candy-flavored stuff?  
 
That's not even on my radar!
 
Azzurre is glistening, resplendent and potent.  It's the kind of drink that demands your attention.  Might that be the Azzurre Blue Eyeball on the label?  Perhaps it is!  You cannot escape that blue eye!  
 
They say that it is gluten free, but that really doesn't matter to me.  I eat (and drink) just about everything.  
 
Sailing Trip Cut Short by the Fog
4 oz. Azzurre Vodka
1 oz. Fruitations Tangerine Soda and Cocktail Syrup (made from pure cane sugar and fruit) 
4 oz. Seltzer Water
long lemon zest
2-3 drops Fee Brothers Cardamom "Bokar-Style" Bitters" 
Prep:
To a Boston Shaker, fill 3/4 with ice
Add the Azzurre Vodka
Add the Fruitations Soda and Cocktail Syrup
Cap and Shake hard for 20 seconds
Pour into two snifters
top with a 2 oz. of seltzer each
Drip 2 drops of the Fee Brothers Bitters over the top and sip.. sip... sip..