Heritage & Distillery
Portobello Road Distillery has never been a producer content to follow the crowd, and this asparagus vodka — claimed, with apparent justification, as a world first — represents perhaps the most audacious expression of the distillery's experimental philosophy. The idea of distilling asparagus with vodka may strike the uninitiated as eccentric, but the logic is sound: asparagus has a complex flavour profile that includes green, grassy, and subtly sulphurous elements that can, in skilled hands, produce a spirit of genuine gastronomic interest.
Production
Fresh English asparagus is distilled together with Portobello Road's potato vodka base, creating a spirit that captures the vegetable's essential character — its greenness, its grassy quality, and its subtle earthy depth — without the cooked or tinned quality that afflicts lesser approaches to vegetable-flavoured spirits. The potato base, richer and more textured than wheat, provides the structural foundation necessary to support asparagus's delicate and unusual flavour profile.
Tasting Notes
The nose is green and grassy — fresh asparagus is immediately identifiable, accompanied by garden herbs and a subtle earthy quality from the potato base. On the palate, the vodka is savoury and distinctive, with green asparagus, buttered vegetables, white pepper, and a slightly mineral edge. The potato base provides excellent weight, preventing the vegetable character from becoming thin or ethereal. The finish is medium, clean and green with a gentle herbal bitterness and warming close.
The Serve
This is a Bloody Mary vodka par excellence — the savoury, green character harmonises brilliantly with tomato juice and Worcestershire sauce. It also makes a remarkable Dirty Martini, where the vegetable notes complement the olive brine in unexpected fashion.
Verdict
Portobello Road's asparagus vodka is a spirit that demands an open mind and rewards it handsomely. It is not for every palate, but for those who appreciate savoury spirits and creative cocktail-making, it represents a genuine innovation at a very fair price. Another feather in Portobello Road's increasingly impressive cap.
