Spiced Pear (Plus Exclusiv Vodka Review)

November 26, 2010 (Day 300) — Spiced Pear

(trademark Daniel Seelbinder)

It is Cocktails, 365’s policy that it always reveal when we receive samples of booze to review for the Website. As we tell those who offer samples, we will accept the liquor for review, but that does not guarantee a positive review. This week Cocktails, 365 received a bottle of Exclusiv. Listed below are the opinions of Cocktails, 365 and no one else. And always, thanks and drink up!

I was contacted by Exclusiv Vodka a couple days ago asking if we’d be willing to review their premier, flagship product — Exclusiv. It’s my standard to let you guys know when I receive bottles to review. Just because I receive a bottle to review does not guarantee good reviews.

So, you can always count that what I’m writing about are my actual tastes.

Classy appearance to the bottle. It has a nice, fogged glass bottle with simple typefont. I’m a sucker for design.

The first whiff of the vodka straight up is smooth, grain-like vodka. It’s a a wheat-distilled vodka from Moldovo. That wheat means you should probably expect that heavier grain alcohol taste on the end.

Poured neat, it has a very smooth flavor on the front. As expected, you do get a bit of that grain taste on the end, but not so much to be distracting. There’s no harsh burn either, which is very nice.

Spiced Pear

2 oz Exclusiv Vodka

1 oz Baileys

1/2 oz pear puree

1/4 oz cinnamon schnapps

dash of honey

Shake and pour in a chilled martini glass. Pepper cinnamon over the top and serve.

Pretty tasty, really. You have the advantage of a smooth vodka on the back of the cocktail. It’s interesting to note that the Bailey’s actually accents the pear flavor of the drink. We tried and mixed the cocktail without the Baileys, and the cinnamon just overpowered everything. So, while it may sound odd, you want to keep that item in there.

Cheers!

— Mark