Anestasia Vodka Review: The World’s First Tingling Vodka

In a world where vodkas are about a dime a dozen, it’s no surprise that every brand entering the market these days tries to comes with something catchy, unique or even exclusive to the category. G-Spirits did this by introducing spirits that though they looked and tasted average/normal, they offered a “unique” filtration system. The verdict on that brands success is still up in the air. Years ago Nuvo introduced the worlds first “sparkling” vodka, a huge success that has created a few copy cats. Not bad for what essentially is a higher priced sparkling wine.  Unfortunately, when you are constantly trying to find a way to re-invent the wheel and sell to the market, we sometimes don’t exactly always make a hit product.

A little while back, we received a sample of Anestasia, the worlds first “tingling” vodka. We weren’t really sure how or what the tingle came from, but we figured it was just another play on sparkling vodka. We weren’t even close. Anestasia is an organic based vodka, infused with a sensational, tingling, patent pending formula.

“While enjoying Anestasia, the consumer experiences a slight and pleasant tingling sensation which results in revolutionary smooth taste and and entertaining discovery. Anestasia offers you an exciting and innovative approach to the social experience of drinking.

Anestasia is pretty unique, and boasts a lot of awesome facts about its company and brand. “U.S. made, Woman owned, Gluten free”. Three bold and facts that Anestasia uses to market its brand, and lets face it, what does the U.S. economy care about these days (well most of us)? More jobs created and maintained right here in the U.S of A. Anestasia is crafted in Bend, Oregon using spring water from the Cascade Mountains. It’s then filtered 5 times through charcoal and crushed volcanic rock. Who are the #1 consumers of Vodka? Women! And as far as being gluten free, well to be honest it seems everything is gluten free these days and if it isn’t  you’re either doing a good job of hiding it or people are avoiding your product. So kudos for that. Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty. How does it stack up

First Impression: Whoa… let me stand back and say that again. Whoa. If this were a competition for most impressive packaging, this one would already be in the running for 1st place right now along with the tequila that comes in a “machine gun” shaped bottle, and and next to Dan Akroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka packaging. It comes in a bottle that i’m sure is what caused the Titanic to sink. Its impressive shape closely resembles an iceberg, or perhaps your favorite celebrities diamond wedding ring and was designed by Karim Rashid, one of the most prolific designers of our generation. Its color is clear without noticeable tint, pretty much what you would expect from a vodka. The aroma on this one was a big stronger of a “alcohol” smell that made me wonder if it had anything to do with the tingle we keep hearing about. Now for the taste…

Taste: I’ll be honest, before we fully sample some products in preparation for review we sometimes randomly drink them or mix them in drinks at random times without thinking much of it. Such was the case with Anestasia. While doing some work on the net for my other life, I poured a bit of Anestasia in with a juice mixer and sipped it. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something was off with the taste. I felt like there was a minty/menthol like after taste every time I took a sip. Now, normally this would have alerted my “spidey senses” right away but I actually confused the flavor/tingle/after taste with a after taste I had been experiencing the previous 3 days from excessive use of throat lozenges.  You see, we’ve been a bit sick here at 101 the last few days and have had issued with your usual stuffy nose, sore throat common cold symptoms  After tasting a bunch medicated drops and liquids I actually thought the taste I was experiencing with Anestasia was affected by that. Little did I know that it was actually all a part of the Anestasia branding and patented formula. I actually felt a bit silly but that’s what I get for drinking something before reading up on it. So to best describe it, it reminds me of drinking a mint flavored vodka. Initial taste is smooth, and the ends with a cooling menthol like after taste. Not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, so that alone I could see being a turnoff to a portion of drinkers. But then again there’s millions of consumers out there that claim to hate licorice and yet line up to take turns downing Jager Bombs. In fact, a modernized Jager bomb, or Vodka based Mojito seem perfect for this one.

Price: 39.99-49.99 (750/ML)

Final Word: I can’t lie, we’re not the biggest fans of Anestasia, and although we aren’t, thats not to say it doesn’t have its place in the market. Its flavor profile is unique and actually makes it interesting to mix withand of course having tasted so many fancy drinks and ingredients, we can find a million ways to use this one. The bottle is impressive enough to keep it around so we’ll let it slide even though its after taste is a bit more than we can chew. We like to find the good in anything and besides its impressive bottle we already mentioned, it’s actually a smooth tasting vodka. Anestasia considers itself a sipping vodka, with no need for complex mixers, and their right. It works perfectly well on its own if your into the flavor that it offers but as we mentioned, we prefer trying this with some fun ingredients. Have you seen this one on your package store shelf? Let us know what YOU think. Don’t forget to check below for a few cocktail recipes courtesy of Anestasia Vodka. Cheers

Anestasia Mojito (Signature Cocktail)

• 2 oz Anestasia
• 1/2 lime, cut into 6 wedges
• 1 1/2 tbs lime juice
• 2 tbs torn mint leaves
• 1/2 oz agave syrup
• 4 oz Club Soda
• Fresh Mint sprigs (optional)
• Lime wedge (optional)

Blue Ice (Shooter)

• 1 1/2 oz Anestasia
• 1/2 oz Blue Curacao

Gimlet Frost

• 1 1/2 oz of Anestasia
• 5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 tsp sugar

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Sample, recipes, and photos provided courtesy of Anestasia Vodka. For more information on Anestasia be sure to visit them at www.anestasia.com or visit their Facebook.