Reyka

The Look:A clear, squat bottle festooned with stylized steam (Reyka is the Icelandic word for geothermal steam). The vodka itself was clear and completely sediment free - as much as we wanted to see chunks of lava rock in there.The Nose: Not a huge nose on this guy. Smelled like booze - not much more to it than that, really, but we caught a hint of something sweet there too.The Taste:The biggest flavors here were lemons and pepper, but they didn't get in the way of a nice straightforward vodka flavor with a smooth finish. The lingering taste was the spice of pepper, and we could see Reyka making a kickass Bloody Mary. We guess filtering vodka through lava rocks works - it's a good, solid neutral spirit with some nice character we don't often taste in more conventional distillation methods. The Verdict:We're fans of Reyka's attitude, and we're fans of the vodka too. Definitely worth picking up for a night of mixing up vodka cocktails or even sipping on the rocks, but we'll have to reserve judgment on whether it actually tastes like Iceland until we actually make the trip over there. Don't be afraid of Reyka just because it's from the land of scary creatures like Bjork - take a deep breath, buy the bottle, and thank us later.