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The Informed Drinker is Austinist's new cocktail column. Each week, the city's bartenders tell us what to drink when. This week, a local vodka expert weighs in.
In the spirit realm—and here, delicate readers, we are referring to alcoholic spirits—vodka is the workhorse of the bunch. Just think of the cocktails you know that begin with the word “vodka.” Vodka tonic. Vodka sour. Vodka gimlet. Indeed, when having our vodka, it usually comes mixed with something else, or else we shoot it straight.
In other words, when drinking vodka, we are usually getting drunk.
But lately here in Austin, many a creative mixologist has taken to vodka infusions, like Aaron Reed, resident bartender over at Rio Rita. Jalapeno/lime/cilantro-infused vodka? Why, yes please. Just recently, The Informed Drinker was in Florida, where she sampled a friend's homemade pineapple-infused vodka. The pineapple slices? Awful. The vodka, however—dangerously good.
It's been quite a circuitous career path, then, for Tito Beveridge, who made his way to vodka distillation via homemade vodka infusions. A former mortgage exec, Beveridge used to prepare flavored vodkas for friends as Christmas presents.
“But I got to a point in my career when the futures market was down, and I was looking for something to tide me over for a few years,” says Beveridge. “I was already making beer, so I built a little still at home for vodka, and played around with it.”
Beveridge bought property for his first business-supporting distillery in southeast Austin in 1994, making it the first legal vodka distillery in Texas. In 1997, he sold his first case of Tito's Vodka, and today the stuff is famous nationwide.
“I have made my share of mistakes though,” says Beveridge. “My learning curve wasn't just straight up. I got the wrong fitting for my still once, and came out with green vodka.”
Because vodka can be prepared from anything with simple sugars—grains, fruit, potatoes, etc.—and isn't aged in wooden casks like many spirits, the room for experimentation is great. Beveridge himself starts with corn, supplied largely from farmers in Texas. American vodkas are, by law, neutral spirits, meaning they aren't treated so as to detract from their inherent aroma, taste, or color, but Beveridge's own palate dictates the subtle attributes of his final vodka product.
“I make vodka that I like to drink,” says Beveridge. “I like it smooth, not face-quenching. A little burn. A little tartness after the sweetness passes. I want it to be vodka that you can sip, not vodka you have to shoot.”
Since Beveridge founded his own vodka career through mixed infusions, The Informed Drinker asked him to recommend three Tito's mixed drinks for three different scenarios.
Let's face it: many people drink vodka to party. What's a good Tito's drink for a celebratory occassion?
“Keep it simple,” says Beveridge. “Almost anywhere you go in this town that carries Tito's, you can ask for that, [San] Pellegrino, and squeeze of lime. It's refreshing and goes down easy.”
How about when you're on a date, and want to savor your vodka experience?
“Well, a Mexican Martini of course,” says Beveridge. “It's fantastic with Tito's. All you need is that, triple sec, and fresh lime juice if you're making it at home. At a restaurant, order one Mexican Martini and two glasses, so you have to share it. That's more of a romantic way to drink.”
When you need to put on a more professional front—entertaining clients, for example—what then?
“You can't beat a classic shaken martini,” says Beveridge. With three ingredients—vodka, dry vermouth and an olive—it's easily the MVP of Brat Pack beverages.
“Wife says I drop too many F-bombs when I drink martinis though, so I'm not allowed to order them,” says Beveridge. “At least in polite company.”
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