REYKA SMALL BATCH VODKA, Iceland 750ml

The Carter Head still gives it a surprisingly clean, velvety mouthfeel, and the lava rock filtration clearly does its job—there’s zero burn going down. I’ve tried a lot of vodkas at this proof, and this one stands out as dangerously smooth on the rocks.

Filtering this through actual lava rock must do something—it pours clean with almost no bite, even sipped neat straight from the freezer. The Carter Head still makes for a denser mouthfeel than most 80-proof vodkas I've tried, and the small-batch process shows in how consistent each pour is.

This stuff is surprisingly smooth for an 80 proof vodka—I’d swear the Carter Head still makes a difference. Neat, it’s got a clean finish that doesn’t burn, and it mixes perfectly in a martini.