It’s no secret I love a good drink so when I was sent a bottle of Our/Los Angeles Vodka just before Christmas I had visions of delicious holiday cocktails dancing around my head. Then I got super busy and those holiday drinks turned into new year’s cocktails but when December 31st rolled around I barely managed to ring in the new year with a glass of champagne let alone a mixed drink. But now it’s 2019 and it’s time to get down to business. It’s time for cocktails.

Our/Los Angeles Vodka is based in the heart of the arts district and is a rather unique concept. It’s an independent distillery using a global recipe. In other words, there are other Our Vodkas made around the world (specifically London, New York, Miami and Berlin) using the same distilling methods but with an emphasis on local ingredients. Get it? I must admit I didn’t at first so I decided to head down to the arts district and learn more.

At the distillery I met Anton and Samantha who showed me around the pristine facility.

Here, Samantha distills the vodka which is then bottled and distributed to various shops and bars around the the region. It’s an independently functioning micro-distillery using the global Our Vodka recipe which includes a specific wheat sourced in Sweden. The wheat is then combined with local organic, GMO free spirits and demineralized LA water creating a vodka unique to the area.

The result is light, crisp vodka with botanical notes (thanks to an exclusive yeast used mostly in wine production). In fact, it’s so flavorful that it can be enjoyed on it’s own just as well as in cocktails. But, let’s get real, I’m all about the cocktails.

First, I combined it with some jasmine liqueur, fresh lemon juice and sparking water for a refreshing spin on an iced tea before I decided to try something new – infusion. I know, infusing vodka isn’t new but I usually don’t go through the effort. But, at the distillery, Anton advised that due to it’s high linalool content Our/Los Angeles vodka is perfect for quick infusions with results in just a couple of hours. How could I not try it? I grabbed some rosemary from the garden and sealed it in a bottle with a couple of shots.

I then mixed my brand new rosemary vodka with some simple syrup, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice for a botanical spin on the Cape Cod and, man oh man, it was delicious. Seriously. I was a bit skeptical when I opened the bottle because the rosemary scent was overpowering but it really, really worked. Now, I’m super excited to experiment more with Our/Los Angeles.

Our/Los Angeles Vodka is available all over Southern California at various retailers including BevMo, Cost Plus World Market and Total Wine. And if you’re interested in touring the distillery they’d love to have you. Tours and tasting are available via appointment – just book through their website.