Sub Rosa Saffron Infused Vodka is 45% abv. / 90 proof and has a lovely light straw gold color to it. Not too long ago I reviewed Sub Rosa Tarragon Vodka, created by distiller Mike Sherwood. I thought it was an excellent addition to the flavored vodka contingent with its savory, not sweet tones. Sub Rosa is Latin for for all things secret, private, and confidential. A perfect name for a company making strikingly infused vodkas with hidden depths of complexity.

Well add another one to the list of complex and delightful savory vodkas with Sub Rosa Saffron Vodka. Infused with eight spices including cumin, coriander, ginger, black peppercorn, cayenne, galangal, turmeric, and of course that most regal of spices, saffron.

The aroma takes me back to the exotic and beautiful island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania in East Africa. For many hundreds of years the Persians controlled the spice trade and settled on Zanzibar with its spice plantations, and developing Stone Town into a grand place where they lived and shipped off the spices all over the world.

Called Stone Town because the multi-storied buildings are made of fancifully carved stone. One of the most noted things about the town besides the artful stonework are the doors. These are made of thick and beautiful wood, banded with bronze, and with large projections jutting out to prevent the spice traders elephants from trying to butt down the doors when they wanted to join their owners or cage a snack. Then as you climb up to the covered dining areas on some of the rooftops the city bursts into color as a majority of the roofs are painted in a multitude of bright hues. there are actually books dedicated to photos and stories of the doors and the roofs of Stone Town.
A few years ago I spent some time on Zanzibar and in Stone Town before going off on safari inland. Touring the islands spice plantations and walking through the spice markets, I was deluged with the nose and mind filling aromas of the spices.

The scent was everywhere, playing a background note as you bargained with folks selling their wares. Fancifully colored and very artistic batik prints, handmade bead and bone jewelry, and carvings both delightful and ugly in their beauty. Up front and in your face as you pored over the heaping mounds of spices laid out on tables and on rugs covering the dirt floor.

All these scents bring back those cherished experiences as well as the numerous fine meals scented with those fragrant spices. Sub Rosa Saffron is like putting a spice market in a bottle in liquid form.

The taste is bright and bold with the spices dancing along your tongue. Cumin, coriander, the two cousins galangal and ginger, black pepper and hot cayenne pepper showing bare hints, a hint of turmeric, and floral notes from the saffron. In some ways this is like a gin, taken to the extreme, but with none of gins sharp notes, instead replacing them wit warm and dusky ones.

I can see Sub Rosa Saffron Vodka becoming the new darling of the mixologist set, where they can play on the savory flavor, creating new cocktails that pair well with meals. Mike Sherwood told me how he has been playing with it and that it goes great with mango juice with a quick squeeze of lime, or in a Bloody Mary where it brings in an exotic depth and softness. I tried both and have to agree, but I like it sipped from a snifter as well or served plain on the rocks.

Now I am going to head into my living room which is decorated with my African art that I brought back from my journeys. The multi-colored batik prints of villagers dancing or going to market, mounted in their striking bronze frames, and dark, semi-abstract Shona sculptures from refugee Zimbabweans of faces composed in thought. There I will truly enjoy sipping this saffron and spice melange as i journey in my mind to the spice filled island of Zanzibar.