Review: Goodnight Loving Vodka

Goodnight Loving Vodka is a product that I’m awfully close to, and I mean that literally: The distillery’s CFO lives a few doors down from me, and the distillery is based on a ranch near Fredericksburg, about an hour away. Here in Austin, you can find Goodnight Loving in a large number of bars and liquor stores. Further afield, perhaps less so.

The vodka is distilled from corn, but the company says that the real star of the show is its Artesian spring water, which is sourced from the ranch. Considering the finished product is 60% water, there’s probably something to the idea. The name, by the way, is a reference to the Goodnight-Loving longhorn cattle trail, which ran through these parts in the 1860s.

The company dropped off a sample bottle for me — two, actually; the first one was left in my mailbox and disappeared when the mailman presumably took it for himself — and I gave it a try. Thoughts follow.

The vodka immediately offers a modern and slightly sweet quality on the nose, telegraphing a New World style that feels designed for mixing. Aromas of almond, coconut, and a touch of lemon are all represented, though none is particularly dominant.

On the palate, the vodka stays true to its promise: An instantaneous nougaty almond quality pairs well with a creamy, almost buttery body. There’s a touch of fruit after the initial nuttiness fades — followed again a bit of lemon — culminating in at last a punch of bright and biting ethanol. Any hospital notes are fleeting, but the impact is there, helping the vodka to fade out on a cleansing note.

While the vodka is on the sweeter side stylistically, it’s a versatile product that is a delight on its own but which fits fine into any number of cocktails. I wouldn’t make a martini with it, but in a chi chi? Goodnight.

80 proof.

A- / $19 / goodnightlovingvodka.com

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