Ukraine is a country that has been associated with the production of vodka for a long time. The clear spirit is consumed at home and imported throughout the world. The vodka keeps flowing even as Russia continues to wage war against Ukraine.
A vodka brand with a 20-year history, XDar is a vodka brand with a 20-year history, produced from what is billed as a modern, high-tech distillery in the area of Cherkasy, a city in central Ukraine. At the outbreak earlier this year, production was stopped to keep employees and their families safe, says Natalya Kolosok, chief executive of Liquorum Imports, the company that brings XDar to the U.S.
There is a demand for XDar, the name means gift in English The brand sold 9.2 million cases last year — an increase of 30% compared to sales in 2017. Kolosok describes the grain-based vodka as ecologically pure artesian well water and points to the fertile black soil used in growing the grain as another differentiating point.
Ukrainian vodka has attracted a lot of attention during this wartime period, as you might expect. And Russian vodka? Many U.S. bars and retailers — and some entire states — have decided to ban Russian-made spirits as a gesture of support for the Ukrainian people.
At a time when there are more than a handful of luxury vodkas on the market, it is nice to taste one that delivers everything you like about the spirit at a very modest price. This vodka is defined by a certain freshness and clean taste, with a hint of vanilla to give it a little depth. It is also a sheer delight to drink chilled, the colder the better the way to enjoy it.
Have it chilled for an inviting pre-dinner drink. But it's the kind of vodka that would work in most vodka-based cocktails — say, a screwdriver or bloody Mary.