Earl Grey Vodka

Kakuzo Earl Grey Vodka with Black Tea from Three Countries

Kakuzo's Earl Grey Vodka is a Berlin-made tea-infused vodka with 40 percent alcohol, in which a custom Earl Grey blend is macerated in rye vodka. This isn't just flavored vodka from a bottle, but real tea that imparts color, spice, and citrus fragrance to the spirit.

Earl Grey Vodka is the first spirit from Berlin-based Kakuzo and the very reason the brand exists. Paul Meinert and Marc Bergmann released it in 2018 after tasting over 60 black teas at a Hamburg tea trading house until they finally perfected their own blend.

Its reddish-brown hue comes solely from the tea, which releases both its aroma and its color into the vodka during the maceration process. Bergamot leads the profile, while notes of honey and a touch of malt wait for the second sip.

Sencha, Keemun, and Assam in one bottle

The blend brings together three origins: Sencha from Japan, Keemun from China, and Assam from India, accompanied by essential oils of bergamot, grapefruit, and lime.

It is the bergamot that makes black tea an Earl Grey in the first place, and in this bottle, it is allowed to stand out more prominently than you are used to from your cup.

The underlying rye brings its own slightly bready sweetness, and because it is quintuple-filtered and distilled multiple times, it remains smooth enough to let the tea take center stage. Kakuzo consciously avoids adding any sugar.

The secret lies in the dosage and steeping time, because if the tea steeps for too long, it becomes bitter; if it steeps for too short a time, the alcohol remains too harsh.

Served warm, the tea reveals its depth

Only a few spirits handle heat well, but this one actually thrives on it. Gently warmed, the tea aroma opens up just as it would in a teapot.

Poured cold over a large ice cube, however, it remains tighter and distinctly more citrusy. With bitter lemon and a grapefruit wedge, it becomes an Earl Grey Lemon; with ginger beer and lime, it turns into a Mule that tastes like a winter evening.

Behind the bar, it also works as an Old Fashioned with walnut syrup, as tea and nut pair surprisingly well. If you are hosting a round of drinks, one bottle has you covered for several different types of evenings.

It all started in a Berlin bathtub

Paul and Marc were familiar with tea infusions from the Berlin bar scene, where bartenders have been making their own for years. They wanted to bottle the final result, and that was something that simply didn't exist for purchase at the time.

After years of tinkering, the recipe was finally perfected, and shortly thereafter, the vodka was featured at the Bar Convent Berlin. It is distilled at Schladerer in the Black Forest, where fruit brandies have been produced since 1844, while the recipe, blend, and design originate in Berlin.

The label features a samurai made of tea leaves, in which the cunning fox Kitsune and the combative Tengu merge. If you'd like to explore further, you can find the Organic Dry Gin featuring the same tea base, the complete assortment in the Kakuzo Collection, and related items on the spirits shelf. Calm and storm in one bottle.