After the warm, fuzzy feeling Tanqueray gave us with their Rangpur gin, we here at BoozeBasher were delighted to give their vodka a try.  Even though socialite Tony Sinclair doesn’t mention Tanqueray Sterling Vodka in his trendy commercials, Tanqueray has produced their vodka since 1989, with the United States being its primary market.  Sterling comes in a British-inspired frosted glass bottle that exudes a certain sense of class and regality.  The spirit contained within has been distilled three times and appears completely crystal-clear.  It certainly has the looks of quality vodka, so we put it to the test.

    Sterling has a very clean and pure scent that just oozes class.  There is a hint of rubbing alcohol-like odor at the end of the sniff, but otherwise, you might think you smelled the purest of spring waters.  Over ice, Sterling tastes exceptionally smooth.  In fact, it is one of the smoothest vodkas we have tasted.  This exceptional smoothness makes Tanqueray Sterling quite desirable on ice.  It will go down easy and send you on your way to a happier place.  The flavor is somewhat bland when compared to some top-shelf selections, but there are hints of citrus in the finish with a nice warming sensation as the spirit makes its journey down into your eager belly.   You’d be hard-pressed to find a $20 750ml bottle of vodka that can equal this one’s smoothness and sheer drinkability without a mixer.

    If you add a little Sprite© to the vodka, the resulting drink seems heavily diluted.  The taste of Sterling pretty much disappears, but the warming sensation in the aftertaste remains.  This might be great vodka to use in cocktails for people who don’t enjoy the taste of alcohol.  Unfortunately for the people at Tanqueray, we here at BoozeBasher like our liquor to compliment its mixer, not just vanish into it.  That being said, Sterling would most likely make an excellent vodka martini.  Its smoothness on the rocks and proclivity for blending in with its mixing partners should spell success for any martini that has high alcohol content.  I can’t give you a definitive answer because I am finishing my second bottle of the stuff over the rocks as I write this review.  I don’t mean to consume this stuff in such mass quantity, but every time I make a drink with it, It brings out the animal in me. 

    Tanqueray Sterling is a party in a bottle!  Not only is there something about the spirit that beckons me to consume large quantities, it really fires me up and gets me pumped for a long evening of debauchery.  They must not want to promote Sterling with Tony Sinclair as its spokesman because the fun times it brings would certainly not fall under the “classy” heading.  I think a better spokesperson for Sterling would be Vince Vaughn’s character (Trent) from Swingers.   He possesses a certain smoothness and gives off an air of class, but he has a real wild side to him.  He’s a guy that can mingle with high society but can also occasionally be found passed out face-down on a tile floor of a stuffy apartment.   Sterling would be the perfect fit for him.  It didn’t get me drunk as quickly as Burnett’s does, but I commend the indistinguishable quality it possesses that kept me thirsty for more after each successive drink.  Anything that gets me drunk and keeps me thirsty is a winner in my book.

    The hangover that followed the morning after a night of drinking Tanqueray Sterling didn’t really intimidate me.  I had a headache, and my head was cloaked in a bit of cloudiness for a decent portion of the next morning.  After some pain killers and a swift kick in the ass, I was able to shake the hangover blues and move onto the pressing matters of the day, like drinking more Tanqueray Sterling.  I’m not an alcoholic.  Alcoholics go to meetings.

    When you take everything into account and consider its favorable reception in our blind vodka tasting, Tanqueray Sterling is a mighty impressive spirit.  It is smooth enough to enjoy on the rocks, and it blends well enough to bring intoxication to our friends who just so happen to not care for the taste of alcohol.  That sounds almost weird to say, but everyone knows people like that.  Sterling also creates a craving for more booze that can’t help but bring good times and a party-like atmosphere even to the sloppy man drinking alone on his living room couch, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and broken dreams.  So if you like good times, give Tanqueray Sterling a try!

Sipability - 7.5

Mixability - 7.0

Drunkability - 7.0

Hangover-ability - 7.5

Bang for the Buck - 7.5

Overall -  7.5 

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    I read recently that U.S. federal regulators have proposed legislation requiring all alcoholic beverages to don nutritional information labels.  The proposed legislation would require labels on every alcoholic beverage that discloses the amount of alcohol per serving as well as the number of calories per serving.  There is still some debate as to whether or not to include a U.S. dietary guideline that explains definition of “moderate” drinking.

     Though legislation still seems to be in it’s early stages, the fact that the big-time alcohol producers are already beginning to argue over label shape and placement makes me think that this may actually happen in the not-too-distant future.  I’m actually pretty torn on the issue.  I know the average health conscious comsumer is salivating over the idea of easily being able to count the calories contained within the meager amount of alcoholic drinks he or she may consume, and I can see some merit to it.  As I sit back, throw down another vodka, and watch my waistline expand, I have to admit I’m a little curious as to how much of my growing belly is a result of my alcohol consumption.  I know it’s a considerable amount because I wasn’t at all overweight before my drinking days began, but there is a big part of me that really doesn’t want to know the truth.

    I’ve always thought of liquor as my friend that helps me through long, black days.  I’d hate to think this friend may be a detriment to my sexy appearance.  Alcohol is the social lubricant to which I owe most of my occasional charisma and humorous tales.  If I didn’t drink, I would likely be more attractive to the opposite sex, but I doubt I would be able to talk to them, not to mention keep them amused.  Here’s the bottom line:  They can put nutritional information on all the bottles they want, but I’m going to play ostrich and stick my head in the ground on this one.

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    Many liquors claim distinctions to set them apart from the other bottles they share shelf space with.  While claiming to be the the world’s oldest single barrel bourbon is impressive, I think bearing the name of America’s first cocktail is even more distinguished.  So what exactly was America’s first cocktail?  The Sazerac of course!

    The cocktail was originally mixed up by an apothecary named Antoine Amadie Peychaud in his New Orleans shop around 1803.  It was used as a remedy for the ails of his clients.  The initial version of the concoction was a mix of Cognac, Peychaud’s own bitters, water, and a little sugar.  I have no idea what specific ailment this was used to treat, but I bet one of those would make anyone feel better just about anytime.  But wait, you say, there is no whiskey in there; how is Sazerac Rye associated with it?  Well, it didn’t take too long for the demand for Peychaud’s drink to grow to the point that it was served throughout the city’s coffee houses.  One of the largest of these coffee houses was owned by Sewell Taylor and named the Sazerac Coffeehouse.  In the early 1850s, Sewell decided that he needed to brand the drink and declared that in his coffee house, the beverage would be made with only the Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils, which was the namesake of his business.  At some point, a bartender there added a few drops of absinthe to the recipe, creating the classic version of America’s first cocktail.  Hmmm, still no whiskey involved.

    Thomas Handy took over the Sazerac Coffeehouse around 1870 and made a change to the recipe by substituting Rye Whiskey for the Cognac.  This drink was more suited to the American tastes.  This recipe persisted until Absinthe was banned in the U.S. and was replaced by the anise flavored Herbsaint.  The final version, consisting of rye whiskey, Peychaud bitters, Herbsaint, sugar, and water exists today as the modern version of The Sazerac.  Hold on though, Thomas Handy’s link to the drink is not over yet.  One of his former secretaries chartered the Sazerac Company, which eventually purchased a struggling distillery known now as Buffalo Trace.  The Buffalo Trace Distilleries produced the Sazerac Rye, Peychaud bitters, and Herbsait needed to make America’s first cocktail.

    Ok, now that the history lesson is over, let’s move on to the actual whiskey at hand.  We got our hands on a bottle of the junior version of the Sazerac Rye which has been aged for about 6 years.  The big daddy Sazerac has been aged 18 years and is just a little more expensive than the $25 or so that it costs for the 6 year.  Released in 2005, the 6-year version we tasted might be a little tough to find if you don’t live in the New Orleans area, as most of the product was slated for that region.  Your first sip will tell you that this is no bourbon, and it is not a liquor for sissies, either.  It has a strong spicy flavor that really warms you up as it goes down.  It finishes with a little peppery sweetness, yet it’s dry at the same time.  Sazerac Rye is 90-proof, and it lets you know.  That pleasant warming sensation will be with you long after the flavors have left your pallet.  It has been aged 6 to 7 years, but the oak flavors do not come through much unless your are so much of a Nancy that you let it sit with ice until it’s watered-down.  Honestly, we all agreed that it was just a bit too harsh to put it up there as a great sipping whiskey.  Do I enjoy drinking it on the rocks?  Absolutely, but we at Boozebasher think there is a much better way to enjoy this tasty whiskey.

    No, we aren’t going to suggest a Sazerac but instead a similar drink called The Old Fashioned.  You may have never heard of it, and I bet many bartenders would just stare blankly at you if you ordered one.  Fortunately, our forum member stochasticjack had provided us with easy to follow directions.  Simply put, this drink is amazing.  It is like a sunny afternoon, a front porch with comfy rocking chairs, a healthy serving of what is known in the South as “sweet tea,” and a refreshing nap all rolled into one.  The bonus here is that since an Old Fashioned is mostly Sazerac rye whiskey, it will get you nice and toasty with a quickness.  All good things must come to an end, and that end was the next morning for me.  I would like to place blame for the headache that persisted for the entire next day squarley on the sugar in The Old Fashioned, but I know that the Sazerac had a little something to do with it too.

    Even though I am mostly a bourbon drinker, I really enjoyed this bottle of Sazerac Rye.  It is a bit sharp at first, but the spirit wins you over with the big bold flavors for which ryes are known.  If you are a big whiskey fan, this is a bottle you definitely have to get your hands on to, at the very least, just enjoy an Old Fashioned or a Sazerac.  The only problem will be the sad day when your bottle of Sazerac runs dry.

Sipability - 7.5

Mixability - 8.5

Drunkability - 7.0

Hangover-ability - 6.0

Bang for the Buck - 8.0

Overall - 7.5  

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