Australian brand 666 Pure Tasmanian Vodka has teamed up with champion barista Matt Perger of Melbourne’s St Ali Coffee Roasters, to produce the world’s first direct infused Aeropress style coffee vodka.
“It has been very exciting for us to be working with Matt & St Ali in developing the perfect blend for our 666 St Ali Coffee Vodka,” said Dean Lucas, the man behind 666. “We are proud that Australian bartenders are the first in the world to have access to this unique flavour.”
It’s not easy getting good quality coffee flavour into spirit, and the collaboration has seen them working over the course of a year to refine and perfect the incorporation of St Ali coffee flavours into the 666’s vodka.
“The combination of coffee and alcohol have so much potential for a delicious relationship but things often go awry,” said Perger. “The infusion of coffee into vodka is one of these moments when flavour doesn’t always live up to expectations. Vodka, and its high alcohol content, is an especially virile solvent. That is, it’s very good at stripping flavour out of other ingredients. When introduced to coffee, it can expose a lot of dry-distillate flavours that don’t usually appear when brewing with water. These flavours can be unpleasantly medicinal, quinic, ashy and burnt; none of which we want to see in our coffee vodka.”
“After many experiments and taste tests with 666 I can happily announce that we’ve been able to control the extraction of the coffee flavours to a point where we’re only getting the good stuff. A rich, chocolaty, fruity and lingering coffee flavour that sits happily alongside 666’s vodka without interfering or overpowering — a perfect sipper, mixer or accent to any drink.”
For more information email Dean Lucas on dean@666purevodka.com.