Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

VDKA 6100 Review: New Zealand Born, Globally Bred Vodka

Sam Slaughter
By
vdka 6100
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In the vodka world, it’s hard to make a name for oneself, especially today.

Being a neutral spirit, there’s only so much one can do in terms of production to differentiate a spirit from the hundreds of others in the same price range. What it comes down to, more often than not, is story and branding.

Recommended Videos

The story of VDKA 6100 starts, sort of, in New Zealand. The vodka’s ingredients are sourced from there—specifically from Reporoa, which is on the North Island—but, as their own website says, the brand is not from there, hailing instead from the USA. The number 6100 in the brand name pays homage to this—it’s the distance between where the vodka is sourced and the brand was born.

Related

This is the groundwork for VDKA 6100, which was then added to by including an international team of master blenders, packaging designers, and mixologists from around the world. Finally, Robert De Niro was added to the list, helping with various elements of VDKA 6100.

That, in short, is this vodka’s story, one that definitely helps to differentiate it from others. Now, onto the tasting.

Nose: A very neutral nose, not much alcohol burn off the top. Slight hints of minerality reminiscent of spring water.

Palate: A little syrupy to begin, but not so thick as to confuse it with a liqueur or another spirit. Slight hints of white pepper and a little bit of citrus come through on the back end. The palate, overall is medium-bodied and hangs around a little bit in the mouth, which isn’t a bad thing compared to most vodkas that seem to penetrate the senses like cold fire.

Finish: A short finish that follows from the palate and nose with a little minerality and a hint of citrus.

Final Thoughts: There seems to be more and more vodka companies lately that are going against the idea that vodka has to be flavorless, and are pushing the nuances of their own products. VDKA 6100 is no different in this sense, and the product is built more on the story than anything. Thankfully, though, the vodka is more than serviceable for a variety of cocktails (the slight hints of flavor do well in a Bloody Mary) and when on its own, goes down smooth. Perhaps because of bad college experiences, but I prefer these vodkas that have hints of flavor in them.

VDKA 6100 retails for around $38.

Looking for more options? We’ve gathered our list of some of the best top-shelf vodkas, and some of the best options for Moscow mules

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
Forget avocado toast – why sweet potato toast is the best fall breakfast
This amazing fall breakfast is better than avocado toast (yeah, we said it)
Healthy sandwich on sweet potato for breakfast or snack

For those of us who are good little millennials, avocado toast is a sacred part of our morning routine. Something about our day just feels amiss if it's not started with our trusty trendy toast, scarfed on the go, rinsed down with our favorite morning brew.

This healthy breakfast has been getting us going for a while now, and you're not getting any complaints from us. But what if we told you that the latest trend in breakfast food could add a little fall flavor to your old routine, while still maintaining many of the best parts of your tried-and-true avocado-y favorite?

Read more
How much protein do you really need? Here’s how to calculate it
Whether you're building muscle or just getting your daily energy needs, here's how much protein you should eat
Making a protein shake

If you were to survey people about the most important macronutrient, you will likely find most people will answer protein. Although there are important benefits of all three macronutrients — protein, carbohydrates, and fats — and some unique functions of each, protein certainly plays numerous physiological roles that neither fats nor carbohydrates can replicate. 
For this reason, it's important that your diet contains enough proteins for your body size and activity level, but how much protein do you really need? How do you calculate your protein requirements? In this article, we will briefly discuss protein's many roles in the body, daily protein recommendations for adults, and how to calculate how much protein you need to eat in a day.

Why is it important to eat protein?
Protein is one of the three primary macronutrients in the diet, along with carbohydrates and fats.
Proteins are molecules composed of amino acids connected together in various linear sequences and three-dimensional geometric arrangements, depending on the specific type of protein.
Interestingly, despite the fact that there are thousands of different proteins in the human body, there are actually only 20 unique amino acids that form the building blocks of these thousands of different end products. Essentially, each of the 20 amino acids serves as a letter in the “proteins alphabet,” and different combinations of these “letters“ spell out all the different proteins your body needs, just like regular letters provide our entire dictionary of unique words.
Of the 20 amino acids, nine are considered essential amino acids because the body cannot manufacture them internally, meaning that you have to consume them through your diet.
In addition to providing four calories per gram, protein has many other functions in the body, including the following:

Read more
The best wine varietals for mulled wine
Try one these if you're having mulled wine
Glass of mulled wine with a cinnamon stick on top

Mulled wine completes a natural progression our collective taste seems to go through every year. Spring is for pink wine and summer for white, while fall and winter lead us to red. Come the holidays, we need an even heftier adaptation of wine -- one hit with generous amounts of citrus and spice and ladled into your favorite mug, piping hot.

We're not beholden to that progression, because we love a great sauvignon blanc in mid-winter just as we sometimes crave a quality pinot noir on the hottest day of the year. But it's tough to argue the many merits of mulled wine around the holidays, perhaps as an alternative to spiked eggnog or just a clever European way to repurpose a wine when snow is in the forecast.

Read more