Salute American Vodka

We occasionally get offers to review products on Iowa Foodie, but we rarely go for it. But when asked to sample Salute American Vodka, I was so impressed with their pay-it-forward philosophy that I was happy to feature it on our blog, and here's why - Salute American Vodka donates $1 from every bottle sold to approved veterans' charities, a declaration imprinted on every bottle. Since it's launch in May 2014, Better Brands Beverage Co. has donated more than $60,000 to veterans' charities, pretty impressive.

We have lots of veterans in our families - my dad was in the Air Force, my grandpa in the Navy, uncles in the Army, Grant's uncle also in the Air Force, and our son-in-law served in Iraq with his National Guard unit - lots of reasons to appreciate this brand.

The fine folks at Ro-Bro Marketing and Public Relations sent us a bottle to sample and this American-made premium vodka is pretty impressive, too. Made with corn and wheat from the heartland, Salute American Vodka is distilled four times for a smooth, clean taste. The canteen-shaped bottle is unique and easy to find on the shelf.

We decided to invite some friends over (who also have lots of vets in the family!) for a vodka tasting. We tasted the vodka neat first, then added an ice cube to slightly chill the spirit. We each wrote down our opinions of Salute American vodka (so as not to sway anyone one way or the other, of course) and here are a few of our comments:

"crisp"

"clean"

"almost sweet"

"a peppery finish"

"smooth"

"no harsh aftertaste"

"very drinkable"

I guess you could say we liked it!

We also tasted the vodka with a couple of mixers - this is what we had on hand, cranberry juice and lemonade - and it makes for a very pleasant cocktail. You'll find some very cool drink recipes on the Salute American website too, some of which I will be trying in the very near future!

The suggested retail price for a 750-ml bottle is $19.99, a very nice price point. Iowa was one of the first states to launch Salute American Vodka, so if you don't see it at your liquor store, put in a request! The brand received a Silver Medal and an 87-point "highly recommended" rating from the Beverage Tasting Institute in the category of "Best Value Vodka $20 and under." And we would definitely agree.

Here's a tiny picture of my Dad in his dress uniform (I have no idea why it's so little and no ambition to find out) - he was so proud to be in the Air Force. And just as an interesting side note, I was born on an Air Force base - Keesler AFB in Mississippi! Well, not exactly sure how interesting that is...

  

We had fun hosting our first vodka tasting! Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to do a spirit tasting again sometime. We thank Aaron at Ro-Bro Marketing and PR for contacting us, and the Better Brands Beverage Co. for the sample bottle of Salute American Vodka - we really enjoyed it. 

So the next time you're picking up a bottle of vodka and want to try something new, try Salute American Vodka and join us in supporting the heroes who protected our country - and enjoy a great tasting American-made vodka, too!

Visit the Salute American Vodka website for more information and those awesome drink recipes, plus they're on Facebook, too. Cheers!