Nemiroff Honey Pepper

Ukraine

Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka

an infusion can make the difference

This is a review of Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka from Ukraine. I sampled it in Germany in 2012. It’s a golden infusion, 40% alcohol, and I thought its aftertaste was a riot.

After having tried the Nemiroff Original vodka and finding it good but not awesome, I wasn’t overly excited to go into any of its infused varieties. But then the lady at the Russian shop where I do most of my vodka shopping put it down in front of me and said: “Give this one a try, believe me!”

I was shocked. The shop owners had never recommended anything before. Ever since Vysota Luxe we all knew that they really liked cognac, not vodka. So what was it with this mysterious honey-pepper infused stuff?

There could not be any hesitation. I threw a few bills on the counter, grabbed the bottle, and ran home with it.

new old things

It’s 2021 now, and I’m browsing nemiroff.vodka looking to read up a bit on Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka.

Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka page
from nemiroff.vodka on October 11th 2021

Seems as though the general rebrand is also impacting this edition. I like the new design, though.

One thing that I found interesting was the statement about the 600-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN RECIPE:

Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka page
from nemiroff.vodka on October 11th 2021

On Wikipedia it says that Nemiroff came up with this “unusual” Honey Pepper vodka in 1998. So no one else had ever thought about producing vodka according to an ancient Ukrainian recipe before? Hm…

There wasn’t much else in terms of information about this vodka:

Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka page
from nemiroff.vodka on October 11th 2021

But I was glad about the rebrand. It just looked better.

Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka is very interesting

Okay, let’s get back to 2012, when I was reviewing this vodka. I was not disappointed.

Remember how Nemiroff Original tasted pretty smooth but not very special? Well, Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka is just as smooth, but the honey gives it a balmy feeling on the tongue. And then the pepper kicks in, leaving a burning sensation in the throat. And this is not the burn you get from an aggressive vodka. It’s an herbal burn. Very nice.

There is something about this combination of sweet and spicy flavors, of balmy and fiery working at the same time (against each other and with each other), that makes this vodka very interesting in the aftertaste.

About the bottle design: I thought it looked about as okay as the original. And the price of about 15€ for 700ml was pretty good as well.

my recommendation

All in all, I think the lady in the Russian shop was right: Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka is definitely worth recommending. Especially if you’re looking for an infused vodka. I drank mine neat and at room temperature, but it would be interesting to hear which kinds of mixed drinks this might be good for.

Cheers!