There are some people who it is just plain good to know. When you're in college, for example, the guy with a truck is incredibly helpful, and when you go in to business, the understanding accountant and the slightly unethical lawyer are almost necessities.

A few years ago, my friend John became one of these fabulously helpful people. A lifelong resident of southwest Virginia and a trained chemist, John had a skill set that was uniquely wonderful: he knew how to get hold of moonshine, and he knew how to test it for impurities. While the grain liquor (or "likker," if you prefer) that I got from John wasn't all that cheap, it was completely flavorless, and I soon discovered that it made the perfect carrier for various fruits. Within a couple of months, I had a collection of incredibly delicious infused cordials that I would mix with seltzer or tonic water to produce light, moderately alcoholic spritzers with insanely pure tastes.


John ended up moving away and we fell out of touch, but I thought of him recently when I visited Vlada, a New York bar with an impressive selection of infused vodkas. After a few weeks of working out the details, I finally got to try them out last Friday. My wife and friends in tow, I was waiting by the door when they opened at 4PM; within minutes, my wife had ordered their pomegranate vodka, I had ordered one ginger and one horseradish shot, and our companions had settled on a kiwi martini and a shot of raspberry. While the bartender prepared our shots, we looked around at the place: it was nicely appointed, with a packed-ice bar (to keep the drinks cool), and a light-wood interior that brought to mind an old Pullman car, albeit one with an amazing decorator.

The vodkas were, admittedly, somewhat mixed. The horseradish was amazing, an aggressive, intense shot to the sinuses that, combined with the vodka, both woke me up and relaxed me. The ginger was somewhat flavorless, and my wife felt that the taste of the vodka interfered with the flavor of her pomegranate. On the other hand, the free macerated mint shot that the bartender gave us was absolutely amazing. He iced it in a cocktail shaker, rendering it freezing cold and incredibly refreshing. Having learned the value of some well-applied ice, I would have liked to work my way through the entire menu of fifteen flavors, but time and my own limited tolerance meant that I could only try a few of them. I'm already planning my next trip; I'm particularly intrigued by the grapefruit, peach, and pepper shots and, at only $3.50 per glass during happy hour, the sole limiting factor is my own ability to metabolize alcohol!