Review of Felene American Handcrafted Vodka – Denver, Colorado
Felene Sugarcane Vodka Company Overview
Based in Denver, Colorado, Felene Vodka is an organic, NonGMO, sugarcane vodka distillery launched in 2016. The company was the original Denver Distillery making sugarcane vodka. In 2021, Felene also released its organic, flavored vodka line, Felene Flavors. In this review, we focused on Felene American Handcrafted Vodka, the straight 80-proof version their vodka.
The company founder, Tim Kelly comes from a family with over 30 years in the spirits business, so there is a bit of pedigree here. These days there are a lot of spirits industry opportunists and celebrities that are launching spirits brands with little or no distilling experience. We tend to seek out brands that have a passion for making good spirits, not opportunists trying to make a quick buck in the vodka industry.
Kelly says he visited dozens of distilleries over a period of two years to find the right recipe and process for making Felene Vodka before launching. After trying a myriad of ingredients, he determined that organic sugarcane produced the smoothest vodka at any price.
Since its Denver launch in 2019, Felene is now the fastest-growing organic vodka in Colorado. In 2022, Felene American Handcrafted Vodka was awarded a gold medal in the Denver International Spirits Competition.
Is Felene Vodka the Smoothest Vodka in the World?
The company says that it makes the smoothest vodka in the world. So, can Felene stand-up to this bold claim? The company says that core ingredients are as important as how vodka is made.
Based on this statement, we had high expectations and wondered how this premium vodka would stand-up to the claim and the competition. The vodka market is a $35 Billion Business and there are thousands of brands available worldwide. So, we jumped right in with a sample of Felene American Handcrafted Vodka (straight 80 proof).
First-Class Vodka on The Nose
Our tasters were stunned by the subtle, almost sweet aroma and the absence of acetone smell (what you expect to smell with most vodka). We expected Felene to have a gentler presentation on the nose; and to be called the “World’s Smoothest Vodka,” we were looking for something approaching slight alcohol aroma. What we got was a completely neutral smell with hints of sweet top-notes.
Our tasters had to go back and confirm that Felene Vodka contains zero sugar. OK, so how did this vodka come across so subtle, with hints of sweetness on the smell test? It turns-out that sugarcane vodka ferments very “clean”, in that it does not produce the bitter byproducts that potato, corn or wheat-based vodkas produce.
Since organic sugar has a high concentration of natural, fermentable sugar, it does not require enzymes to be added to convert starches (corn, potato, wheat) to fermentable sugars. Adding enzymes to boost fermentable sugar levels results in the formation of bitter byproducts in many vodkas, called congeners.
So far, Felene American Handcrafted Vodka was living-up to the hype.
The Felene American Handcrafted Vodka Taste Experience
OK, a great aroma is one thing (and certainly important), but taste is where the rubber meets the road. Our first experience tasting of Felene Sugarcane Vodka was neat (room temperature, straight). Once again, we immediately were struck by the absence of alcohol “burn”. The mouth feel had an excellent texture, was soft and smooth all the way through the finish; and like the aroma, had hints of sweet top notes.
Vodka is a neutral spirit and by design it does not offer the range of aroma and flavor of other spirits like bourbon, gin or rum. To be honest, we have generally regarded vodka (jokingly) as mostly all punishment and no reward. Today, we have met our match. That’s not to say that Felene American Handcrafted vodka is a flavorful as a floral gin or a port barrel-finished bourbon, it doesn’t. But in our review, we have to agree it is the smoothest vodka we have tasted, and until we discover otherwise, we agree that Felene is the World’s Smoothest vodka.
What Makes Felene American Handcrafted Vodka So Smooth?
Felene vodka has an incredibly smooth aroma and taste. And despite our take on vodka, it is actually pleasant to drink! But we wanted to go deeper into the process.
Using Sugarcane to Make Vodka
First, we learned that science is on Felene’s side. Using organic sugarcane to make vodka just produces much fewer bitter by-products. Therefore, it does not have to be distilled over and over like some brands have to do. We also learned that the number of times distilled has become somewhat of a marketing gimmick and does not mean a better vodka. If you start out with a quality product, you don’t need to distill many times.
Superior Water Source and Filtration
Water is the second consideration. Felene sugarcane vodka uses Rocky Mountain snow melt and has a high pH level and is considered one of the highest quality water sources in the world.
Many distilleries use reverse osmosis to filter their water for various reasons. Felene sugarcane vodka uses a proprietary carbon and physical filtration system (.65 microns) to filter their water. This is important because vodka is approximately 60% water.
Zero Additives
Many vodka distillers, including almost all the popular commercial brands, will add citric acid and sweeteners to their vodka to mask the alcohol smell and burn. Adding citric acid will lower the pH levels considerably and makes the vodka acidic. This is why many vodka-drinkers complain that vodka sometimes gives them stomach issues.
Felene adds no sweeteners and no citric acid. It has one of the highest pH levels of any vodka at 8.15-8.25, making it alkaline. We look for higher pH in premium-brand vodkas.
Additionally, Felene vodka contains no sugar, zero carbs and is NonGMO. That’s just an added bonus as far as we’re concerned
Overall Rating for Felene American Handcrafted Vodka
5-Star
Felene American Handcrafted Vodka gains our highest rating of 5-stars, and is truly an innovative expression of the ancient art of vodka-making. We support the company’s claim of being the “world’s smoothest vodka” and will be looking to review their Felene Flavors in the future.
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