Boatyard Vodka

Jake is a bartender, writer and broadcaster who has spent his entire professional career in hospitality with experience ranging from neighbourhood bars to some of the most critically recognised venues in the world. He also sits on the judging panel for the International Spirits Challenge, where he is responsible for the entire spectrum of world vodka.

Oh, goodness me this vodka is good. There’s a whack of flavour so forward, I’d suggest wearing a gum shield. It has more fudge than a Granny’s pantry, illuminated by bright pops of citrus that weave together to create a structurally divine drop.

When I asked the team at the Boatyard Distillery, they said the vodka started as a passion project. That is the liquid equivalent of calling your guitar lessons a passion project and then immediately releasing Eric Clapton’s entire discography. Boatyard has produced a new world vodka with a point of difference - an unfiltered 100% Irish grain vodka that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else, by anyone else on the planet. With all of this in mind, Boatyard Vodka is perfect for any occasion where you find yourself amongst loved ones, sharing the finer things.

Anybody with even a passing interest in quality, craft spirits should own a bottle of Boatyard vodka. This is the perfect gateway to understanding spirits at an atomic level. Boatyard’s sustainable ethos of field-to-bottle and use of only local, Irish wheat is what makes this organic vodka so exemplary. As a discerning drinker, it’s impossible to miss the ingrained qualities of a liquid that has been made with a conscious consideration of some of the finest raw materials available.

Personally, I have a fascination with revitalising old, dusty classics and giving them new life. The gimlet, done well, sings truest with Boatyard. A relatively simple drink, it's essentially vodka, lime and sugar in some variation or other. Yet, it is deceptively hard to perfect. Enter stage right, Boatyard Vodka.

You have a few options here. Usually, I’ll forgo ice altogether with a gimlet and pre-batch my drink for ease. A pre-diluted batched gimlet spending a few hours in the freezer will take on velvety consistency that can’t be achieved otherwise. However if you can’t wait that long, any quality cubed ice will do for stirring. You can scale this all the way up to a bottle or thermos easily. I leave it to chill for around an hour before serving it into a frosted glass and garnishing by expressing lime oils across to the top to finish.

I always go for smaller glasses where a Gimlet is concerned. The drink relies on being beautifully, bracingly cold and it’s much easier to have a consistent experience with something a tiny bit wee. Smaller glasses also fit in the freezer much easier, with space for buddies. The Nick & Nora glasses that were all the trend in fancy cocktail bars a few years ago are perfect. Essentially, you treat it like any drink made in a Martini or a Coupette glass, but trimmer and because of its diminutive size, more concentratedly delicious.

Everything Boatyard does is shot through with Irish practicality. The last time I visited my ancestral mother country, I ate a plate of lamb sweetbreads so ruggedly delicious I sprouted a shepherd's beard. As for sides, it was colcannon with a metric ton of liquid butter. What I’m trying to say is, anything humble, delicious and chubby with Irish butter will marry perfectly with Boatyard Vodka.