Vodka Innovator Reads the Tea Leaves in Search of Latest Flavor

Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Charbay, a family-owned winery & micro-distillery in Napa Valley, didn't have to read the tea leaves to figure out what its next flavored vodka would be. This time the family followed the creative lead of Miles Karakasevic, Charbay's owner and a 12th-generation Master Distiller. Charbay Tea Time is his newest focus.

"I wanted to highlight the delicacy, lightness and flavor of green tea, but in a martini or rocks glass," says Karakasevic. It was no small feat to combine the two distinctive worlds -- tea and vodka. Karakasevic spent three years sourcing the teas and perfecting his techniques for extracting and distilling them.

This brought Karakasevic to the big challenge. The Green Tea vodka contains extractions of four tea varieties from China's Anhwei province, a prime source and growing region along China's Silk Route. The result is a blend akin to how perfumes are formulated, with a top-note fragrance, middle structure and long, smooth base finish.

His son and distilling partner, Marko, says: "People can't wait to try it since it's the first Green Tea Vodka produced in the U.S. Our advantage is we have the stills, the know-how and our own bottling line to keep being creative."

Charbay cultivated its own Vodka niche in 1998 with flavored vodkas distilled exclusively from the real fruit-unheard of in the commercial market. Charbay classics are Blood Orange, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Meyer Lemon and Key Lime Vodka.

The Green Tea Vodka is a new style for Charbay -- Marko recommends sipping 2 oz. on the rocks straight, or shaken with ice & served up, or with sparkling mineral water like Pellegrino or a splash of ginger ale. Miles suggests using tonic. Restaurants are creating new cocktails around the Green Tea flavors.

<>P> China Grill Green Tea Martini combines 1 1/2 oz Charbay Green Tea with 1 1/2 oz freshly brewed green tea, 1 1/2 oz unfiltered cloudy sake, and a splash of simple syrup.

"We're starting to hear from bartenders and chefs," says Marko. "The granita/sorbet concept keeps coming up, too," says Marko. "We'll post the recipes on our website as they are approved."

For information on where to buy Charbay Green Tea Vodka call 800-634-7845 (M-DISTILL).

SOURCE Domaine Charbay
Web Site: http://www.charbay.com