Heritage & Distillery
Broken Clock vodka arrives from Shandy Hall in North Yorkshire — a location whose literary associations (it was the home of Laurence Sterne, author of Tristram Shandy) lend the brand a distinctly English eccentricity that is entirely in keeping with the spirit of craft distilling at its most idiosyncratic. Distilled in traditional copper pot stills, this is a vodka that eschews the industrial efficiency of column distillation in favour of the richer, more characterful spirit that pot stills produce.
The choice of production method is significant. Copper pot distillation is slower, less efficient, and more expensive than column distillation, but it produces a spirit with greater depth and complexity — qualities that are clearly evident in the finished product.
Production & Tasting
On the nose, Broken Clock is clean and approachable, with gentle grain aromas, subtle floral notes, and what one can only describe as a hint of Yorkshire meadow — a fresh, green, faintly honeyed quality that lends the spirit a sense of place. Mineral character provides an underpinning that adds interest without complexity.
The palate is smooth and rounded, with wheaten sweetness providing the primary flavour note, soft herbal elements adding complexity, and a characterful, slightly rustic texture that betrays the pot still origins. This is not the surgically precise vodka of a modern industrial distillery but something more handmade and honest. The finish is medium in length, with gentle warmth and clean grain fading to a pleasantly dry close.
Verdict
Broken Clock is a charming, well-made English vodka that wears its provenance and production methods openly. The pot still character is its most distinctive quality, lending it a warmth and personality that more conventionally produced vodkas often lack. It falls marginally short of the very best craft vodkas in terms of refinement, but as an expression of English distilling character, it is thoroughly enjoyable.
