Starka has long been an underground spirit, both figuratively and literally. Derived from the Eastern European tradition for new fathers to bury a wine barrel full of vodka when a child is born (to be consumed at the child’s wedding years later), the distillate has for generations been virtually unknown outside its home region.
The Oregon Starka Project has set out to shed a local light on the spirit. Released at this year’s TOAST event in Portland last March, the project brought Big Bottom Distilling together with Indio Spirits and Bull Run Distilling in burying three unique wine barrels full of vodka for between twelve and sixteen months. Big Bottom’s Starka is its first ever vodka release. It displays a gorgeous reddish-toffee color in the bottle and spice and fruit references in the aroma. At 91 proof (a signature characteristic of Big Bottom’s spirits), it’s a hard-hitting elixir, but its heat is metered by the woodsiness and hints of cassis derived from 12 months in a Zinfandel oak cask. Get your hands on one of the project’s inaugural bottles, and be on the lookout for next year’s release.
Follow on Facebook: Big Bottom Distilling
Track on Twitter: @bbdistilling
