Move Over Goose, There's a New Sheriff In Town: Tito's

Years ago I remember my vodka loving friends pining over Tito's; a handmade, distilled six times vodka from Austin, Texas. It was not widely distributed and definitely nowhere to be found in Southwest Florida. I became very popular after revealing that I had a Tito's connection.

My brother, Eric, lived in Austin and had turned me on to the smooth vodka before it's cult-like following. He would bring bottles home for Christmas and make his famous "Mexican Martini's".  It was a brilliant move; putting the entire family into vodka induced, afternoon naps. I still don't know if he did it to gain control of the remote or just revel in a moment of peace and quiet in our household.

If I'm not drinking wine, vodka is next on the list and yes, I almost always have Tito's on hand. Not too long ago my neighbor, Michelle, brought over some Chopin for Bloody Mary's. She is gluten-free and so is Chopin. When I think of gluten I think of bread not vodka. However some vodka's use grains that contain gluten in the distilling process.

We made beautiful Bloody Mary's full of olives, pickles, celery, shrimp and the works. I used Tito's. Michelle took a sip of mine then put on a sad face, Tito's was better. I was reading some press on Tito's yesterday when Michelle called. She was sharing something important when I suddenly shouted "Oh My God!"; she paused, I kept going, "Tito's is gluten free!......I'm sorry, continue."

(This photo was taken at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival; mainly because I wanted to brag to Eric that I found the greatest Tito's display ever, at least outside of  Texas.)

When I began seeing Tito's in places like Total Wine I was both thrilled and deflated at the same time. It's exciting to get your hands on something that is hard to find. And when you do get it, you often categorized it as "the best". Now comes the real test. Tito's was so good when I had to wait for it. Will it taste as fabulous now that I can find a bottle in 15 minutes or less? I see a blind vodka tasting in my future.

Either way, I'm happy that my gluten free friends have another choice for vodka! Yo quiero Tito's!

It's Not "REAL" But It Works!

Ever wonder how restaurants without liquor licenses can serve Bloody Marys for breakfast? They use what I call faux Vodka! It’s a clever little trick where rice, potatoes or grapes are fermented instead of distilled. In addition the alcohol content is less than traditional Vodka. That combination allows the “Vodka” placement as a wine instead of liquor. So any establishment with a beer and wine license is golden!

I wouldn’t recommend it in a martini but mixed in a spicy Bloody Mary you can hardly tell the difference. I had one of these tasty treats during my New Year’s Eve brunch at CRaVE in Fort Myers. CRaVE is a cozy little upscale diner in a strip mall off of McGregor Blvd. It has shiny metal siding on the back wall and a giant chalkboard on the side crammed with delicious specials.

The regular menu has something for everyone and the omelet choices are endless. Mine had asparagus, shrimp and Brie. It was a nice accompaniment to my Bloody Mary made with Soboloff Vodka. Finding information about Soboloff has been a bit exhausting and not very fruitful (pun intended). Our waiter said it was a grape-based “Vodka” with a little orange in it.

Vodka aficionados: give it a try! Let me know what you think. If you go to CRaVE on the weekends get there early. There is almost always a line out the door.