Sub Rosa Tarragon Infused Vodka is 45% abv. / 90 proof and is made in small batches, each individually batch numbered and labeled. It has just been released in Oregon where it is available on a limited basis, and can be special ordered in Washington. Availability in California is coming soon, then the world.I used to spend a lot of time in the wilderness working as a licensed wilderness guide and Outward Bound instructor. Many times as we made our way through the wilderness, we would push through patches of wild tarragon. The sweet, spicy, tangy, anise-like, musty, and herbaceous smell would rise up around us. To liven up my meals I learned to forage for lots of wild edibles. One of my favorites to use as an herb with dinner or as an herb tea to settle the stomach or for colds and coughs is wild tarragon. It mostly grows in the Mid-West and Western parts of the US, but is occasionally found in the East as well. Sadly the flavor of wild tarragon is undependable and varies greatly, unlike the French tarragon you find in the market.
The main ingredient infusing the Tarragon Sub Rosa is fresh, locally grown in Oregon, French tarragon. To balance and build on the spicy and complex anise taste of the tarragon is a dash of fennel and a hint of mint. The aroma and flavor remind me of pushing my way through those patches of wild tarragon in the wilderness. It is delightfully spicy and complex with that unmistakable smell of fresh tarragon and hints of the fennel and mint, combined with herbaceous and floral notes, with a hint of musk.
This is an unusual and compelling infused vodka, unlike any you may have tried before. It is actually in a class by itself, more grown up, refined, and savory, not sweet. I enjoy it ice cold as a sipping shot with dinner, on the rocks, and it makes a killer Bloody Mary mixed with V-8 juice. I think that it will soon be one of the new weapons in the top mixologist's arsenal for creating unusual and interesting cocktails. I am now thinking about trying it to deglaze the fond in my sauté pans for making pan sauces, and I wonder what it would be like in the steaming broth for mussels and clams.
While I was sitting down smelling and tasting the spirit, the aroma was so compelling that I actually tracked down the distiller, Mike Sherwood at Sub Rosa Spirits in Oregon, and gave him a call to tell him how good, and different, I think his Sub Rosa Tarragon is. (I actually caught him as he was out in a vineyard harvesting and crushing grapes.) I can't wait to try the next infused vodka in his line up, Sub Rosa Saffron.
