Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
There aren’t too many stones left to turn over in the world of spirits. It feels like pretty much anything that can be fermented into at least a passable form of drinkable poison has been.
However, I’ve never seen vodka made out of agave before.
A quick search suggests it’s an arrow in Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Skull quiver, but largely an overlooked part of the spirit landscape. Well, the Soul Man himself has a little more competition now thanks to Weber Ranch.
Upon opening my bottle of Weber Ranch Agave Vodka — one of the first ever produced, a helpful note tells me — I realize I have no idea what I’m getting into. Agave and vodka are not worlds that mix often outside of the ill-prepared stomach of a fraternity pledge. While Weber Ranch’s beautiful presentation suggests a much calmer and thought-out experience, I’m still not quite sure how to react to a vodka made from the base that gives us tequila.
Well, better drink it and find out.
Weber Ranch Agave Vodka: B+
I’m pouring this over ice, because that’s what I’d do with any vodka. Don’t worry, I’ll give it a straight up sip later, but I’d like my first experience with a brand new spirit to be in what’s probably its most enjoyable form.
The smell is complex. You get a little bit of the astringent qualities endemic to vodka, but that agave also imparts some rich earthy and fruity flavors as well. I get a little cinnamon and pear, on top of the light burn you’d expect from a 96 proof booze. No, wait, that says 40 percent ABV. Never mind, carry on.
The first sip leaves me cocking my head back and forth like a golden retriever hearing a clarinet for the first time. It’s a very gentle sip, not harsh or sharp but soft and pleasant. It finishes with a sugary sweetness that carries a little bit of that cinnamon with it for a calm and enjoyable end. On the way there you get a little bit of that basic vodka influence, but it’s overpowered by the sugars of that roasted agave and the fruit that comes with it.
That gives it way more character than your typical vodka despite never feeling like tequila. This is a satisfying sipper out of a rocks glass; a slow drinker for sure but one that never makes you wince or feel bad for enjoying it. It’s a lot, and I mean that in a good way. Tasting it neat backs this up; lusher flavors than you’d expect from a vodka, but not something you’d mistake for a tequila.
Let’s see how it translates to a cocktail.
Weber Ranch in Ranch Water* with Betty Buzz Meyer Lemon Club Soda: B
At first I felt bad about not having the traditional ingredients for ranch water at home — I review drinks for a job, I should at least be able to put 50 cents aside each week to keep a lime handy — but felt less bad when I realized this isn’t a true ranch water since it’s being made with vodka. So I gave my glass a generous pour of Weber Ranch and topped it with Meyer lemon club soda from Blake Lively’s Betty Buzz line of mixers. I don’t love club soda, but I figure the sweetness inherent to the spirit will help make up for the lack of sucralose bubbles I’d get in a light tonic.
You get that astringent vodka reflex up front, but it melts away to mix with those bubbles and that lemon to create a drink that finishes much better than it starts. The end result is a bit complex and boozy, though it never burns. It would probably play better with fresh fruit — honestly, this is more a half-assed Tom Collins than a half-assed ranch water and a nice squeeze of lemon would be a win — but it’s an approachable spirit that rewards you for giving it a shot.
As is, it’s not my favorite — but again, it’s not quite a real cocktail. I preferred it as a sipper on its own, where the flavors stood out more and the back-end smoothness left no penalty for drinking without a mixer. The media guide says Weber Ranch was made to straddle the line between vodka and tequila cocktails. Turns out, it’s pretty dang good on its own, too.
*not really a ranch water.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?
This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Weber Ranch agave vodka over a cold can of Hamm’s?
I think so. I’m kinda excited to figure out how it will taste in a bloody Mary, if we’re being honest.
