We first “discovered” Smugglers’ Notch Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka during a recent trip to Manchester, Vermont when we visited the Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Tasting Room and fell in love with this excellent vodka. Owned by father and son Ron Elliot and Jeremy Elliot, the distillery was founded in 2006, and has been winning awards ever since they launched their first vodka in 2010. The result is a delicious vodka with subtle, underlying notes of rose and grapefruit that we found to be perfect when used in a diverse selection of cocktail and culinary recipes. Cheers and Bon Appetit!
Smugglers’ Notch Distillery is a dream team that was inspired by Jeremy’s desire to create the best vodka he could, and Ron, to use his knowledge as a retired business executive. Jeremy had worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a research chemist, and after learning about the distilling process, set about to a create a formula for a very smooth and flavorful vodka. They earned high awards only 9 months after the release of the vodka in 2010, and the brand continues to excel in spirits’ industry competitions.
Their Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka is gorgeous and made from American grain distilled with natural flavors and botanicals. What we especially liked about this vodka is that it has subtle natural sweetness without artificial sweeteners. The rose and grapefruit notes are well-crafted and balanced, and this flavored vodka is a delicious alternative to plain vodka and spices up classic cocktail recipes. We also used it to create very tasty culinary recipes to great success.
Product Information: Smugglers’ Notch Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka
35% alcohol by volume, 70 proof. $29.99/750 ml bottle.
Bottle Notes: “The R Series. Hand bottled by Smugglers’ Notch Distillery, Jeffersonville, Vermont. The alchemy of a father/son dream brings you our first release of the Smugglers’ Notch Reserve Series. Moroccan Rose and Grapefruit accentuates our award-winning vodka to create an exceptional taste experience. Using natural flavors, Vermont spring water, and no artificial sweeteners we have created a truly unique flavored vodka. Enjoy Vermont’s Mountain Spirit with a twist and soda water. Please drink responsibly. Distilled from American Grain. Jeremy and Ron Elliot.”
Tasting Notes: This vodka excels at bringing the subtleness of Moroccan rose and deftly blends it with grapefruit to create a totally delicious spirit. Aromatic citrus notes on the nose with essence of rose and grapefruit on the palate, with a clean and refreshing finish.
Luxury Experience was “In The Kitchen and Behind The Bar®” creating two delicious cocktails and two culinary recipes with Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka to show its versatility. The only limitation is your imagination. Cheers!
Luxury Experience Recipes
The Cocktail Menu
Luxury Experience – The Passionate Greyhound
Luxury Experience – Rose Martini
The Culinary Menu
Luxury Experience – Seared Sea Scallops with SN MR& G Vodka, Grapefruit Juice,
Seaweed, and Salmon Caviar
Luxury Experience – Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Sorbet
The Cocktail Recipes
Luxury Experience – The Passionate Greyhound
Luxury Experience – The Passionate Greyhound
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Glass Used: Rocks Glass
The Greyhound is a classic cocktail made with vodka and grapefruit juice. Luxury Experience – The Passionate Greyhound is our playful reference to the ingredients used in our cocktail: Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, Goya Passionfruit Cocktail, and homemade grapefruit simple syrup. We added a touch of whimsy with our grapefruit peel lips as a garnish.
Homemade Grapefruit Simple Syrup Ingredients:
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0.50
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Cup
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Water
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0.50
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Cup
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Sugar
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0.50
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Large
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Grapefruit, peeled
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Method for the Homemade Grapefruit Simple Syrup: Add water and sugar to a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add grapefruit peels and boil until liquid is clear. Let cool. Strain simple syrup into a jar and refrigerate until ready to use. Reserve peels and follow Pro-Tip instruction below.
Pro-Tip: We never discard our citrus peels after making simple syrup. They can easily be dried in the oven to use in cocktails, or once dried can be ground up and added to sugar or salt to create unique flavors to rim cocktails or use in culinary recipes.
Here’s how we create the dried peels: Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit to 93 degrees Celsius. Place the reserved peels from the simple syrup on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for a few hours or until peels are dry. Take care not to burn them.
Cocktail Ingredients:
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2
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Ounces
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|
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1
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Ounce
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Grapefruit Juice, freshly squeezed
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1
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Ounce
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Goya Passionfruit Cocktail
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0.25
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Ounce
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Homemade Grapefruit Simple Syrup (see recipe)
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Grapefruit Peel, garnish
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Method for the Cocktail: Mix all ingredients in a mixing glass. Pour into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a grapefruit peel. To add a touch of whimsy, we cut a grapefruit peel into the shape of lips and inserted a metal straw through the center.
Luxury Experience – Rose Martini
Luxury Experience Rose Martini
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Glass Used: Martini Glass
We expanded on the rose flavor of Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka in our Luxury Experience Rose Martini, which incorporates the vodka with Wild Moon Liqueurs Rose, and finished it with Lustau Fino Jarana Jerez-Xérès-Sherry in place of Vermouth. Garnished with fresh, edible rose petals, this is a gorgeous, elegant Martini.
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1.5
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Ounces
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|
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1
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Ounce
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|
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0.50
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Ounce
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|
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Fresh Rose Petals, garnish
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Method for the Cocktail: Chill Martini glass and set aside. Add all ingredients and 4 ice cubes to a metal shaker. Shake until ice is dissolved. Pour into Martini glass and garnish with fresh rose petals.
Note: Only use non-treated roses.
The Culinary Recipes
Luxury Experience – Seared Sea Scallops
Luxury Experience – Seared Sea Scallops with Vodka, Grapefruit, Seaweed, and Caviar
Serves: 2 as a first course, or 4 as an hors d’oeuvre
Luxury Experience – Seared Sea Scallops with Vodka, Grapefruit, Seaweed, and Caviar brings on the decadence with this delectable recipe. We seared sea scallops in melted butter, then finished them with Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice to create a sauce. We nestled the scallops on seaweed salad and crowned them with Whole Foods Salmon Caviar for an elegant and decadently delicious presentation. “Easy to make, easy to love.”
Ingredients:
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4
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Large
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Sea Scallops, patted dry
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1
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Teaspoon
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Butter
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0.25
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Pound
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Seaweed Salad, purchased
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0.5
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Ounce
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|
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0.50
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Ounce
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Grapefruit Juice, freshly squeezed
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0.5
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Teaspoon
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Whole Foods Salmon Caviar, each scallop
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Method for the Scallops: Heat a small sauté pan. Add butter. Once melted, add scallops and sear for approximately 3 minutes to create a crust on them. Turn the scallops over. Add the grapefruit juice and Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka, cover pan, and poach scallops, and reduce the sauce.
Plating: Swirl seaweed salad onto 4 plates (we like to use small (purchased) scallop shells for an attractive presentation. Top each with a scallop. Brush pan reduction sauce on top of each of the scallops. Finish with the Salmon Caviar.
Luxury Experience – Moroccan Rose Grapefruit Sorbet
Luxury Experience – Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Sorbet
Yield: 1 Quart
Luxury Experience – Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Sorbet expands upon the flavors of the Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka to create a gorgeous sorbet that works well as a palate cleanser, or to serve as a light and refreshing dessert with fresh fruit and berries.
We created the sorbet using a rose “tea” made from Marhaba Moroccan Rose Buds & Petals, along with grapefruit zest and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, sugar, water, Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka, and Fee Brothers Grapefruit Bitters.
Note: While we used an ice cream maker to process the sorbet, you can easily make this using a food processor if desired. We have included directions for both methods below.
Marhaba Moroccan Rose Buds & Petals Tea Ingredients:
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2
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Teaspoons
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Marhaba Moroccan Rose Buds & Petals
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8
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Ounces
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Water
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Method for the Rose Tea: Place Marhaba Moroccan Rose Buds & Petals in a mug. Bring water to a boil. Pour water over dried roses. Cover and let steep for 4 minutes. Strain to yield 6 ounces of tea.
Note: Marhaba Moroccan Rose Buds & Petals is available in Indian specialty stores and online. We purchased ours at Kalustyan’s.
Sorbet Ingredients:
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1
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Large
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Grapefruit, zested
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0.50
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Cup
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Sugar
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6
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Ounces
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Marhaba Moroccan Rose Buds & Petals Tea
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1
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Large
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Grapefruit, juiced
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14
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Ounces
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Water
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4
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Ounces
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|
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10
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Dashes
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Method for the sorbet: Use a micro-plane to zest the grapefruit onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Scrape zest into a blender, add sugar and process until sugar and zest are very fine powdery. Add the rose tea and liquefy the mixture. Add mixture to a saucepan and bring liquid to a boil until the liquid is clear and the sugar has dissolved. Let cool.
Add 14-ounces of water, grapefruit juice, 4 ounces of Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Moroccan Rose & Grapefruit Flavored Vodka, and 10 dashes of Fee Brothers Grapefruit Bitters.
Ice Cream Machine Method: Pour into a glass or plastic container and refrigerate mixture for several hours or overnight. Add mixture to ice cream machine and process according to machine’s directions.
Food Processor Method: Pour into a plastic container and freeze for several hours or overnight. Once frozen, remove from the container, place in a food processor to give the sorbet a light and fluffy consistency. Place the mixture back in the plastic container and freeze until ready to serve.
Presentation: We brushed a small coupe glass with homemade grapefruit simple syrup, then pressed fresh rose petals against the syrup to create a rose “fringe” to frame a scoop of sorbet.
Smugglers’ Notch Moroccan Rose and Grapefruit Vodka is the perfect cocktail and culinary companion. We hope that you have fun making your own discovery.
Until next time, cheers, its cocktail time!
Smuggler’s Notch Distillery Line Of Excellent Spirits Include:
Vodkas: Smugglers’ Notch Vodka, Smugglers’ Notch Gluten Free Organic Vodka, and Smugglers’ Notch Moroccan Rose and Grapefruit Vodka.
Bourbons: Smugglers’ Notch Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Smugglers’ Notch Maple Bourbon, and Smugglers’ Notch Maple Bourbon Maple Cream Liqueur.
Gins: Smugglers’ Notch Gin Blend 802, Smugglers’ Notch Hopped Gin, and Smugglers’ Notch Maple Gin.
Rye, Rum, and More: Smugglers’ Notch Rye, Smugglers’ Notch Rum, Smugglers’ Notch Maple Cream Liqueur.
Distillery and Tasting Rooms: If you are planning a trip to Vermont, you might like to visit the Smugglers’ Notch Distillery in Jeffersonville, or one of their other Vermont Tasting Rooms in Manchester, Waterbury Center, Burlington, Stowe, and Williston.
Smugglers’ Notch Distillery and Tasting Room – Jeffersonville, Vermont Hours: Open daily from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm.
Please visit their website for more information on Smugglers’ Notch Distillery: https://smugglersnotchdistillery.com/
Read about our visit to the Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Tasting Room in Manchester, Vermont in the Destinations section: Postcards from a Summer Weekend in Manchester VT USA
Smugglers’ Notch Distillery & Tasting Room
5087 Vermont Rte. 15
Jeffersonville, Vermont 05464
United States
Telephone: +1-802-760-0619
Email: info@smugglersnotchdistillery.com
Website: https://smugglersnotchdistillery.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SND_Spirits/
@SND_Spirits
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smugglersnotchdistillery
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