Lazy Eye Distillery

I know. You’re saying to yourself, “I thought this was a blog about New Jersey Wines?” Like most folks who travel the wine trails, I occasionally take a detour. Today I want to share a recent discovery near my home in New Jersey. A distillery that makes Vodka. Lazy Eye Distillery is the first distillery in NJ making Vodka since Prohibition. Did I mention they make it from grapes? Unlike many vodkas made from potatoes or grains, their vodka starts off as wine! As you can see already, the detour was not so far off the wine trail.

Lazy Eye Distillery is located in Richland and much to my surprise it has been here for two years. They have received glowing reviews from local media (“Lazy Eye Distillery is the vodka world’s small wonder”- At the Shore Magazine; voted “Best of the Shore.” They also recently won a Gold Medal at the New York International Spirits Competition and New Jersey Distillery of the year.

Who are these spirit world upstarts? They are a family with Greek origins, who make spirits reflecting their heritage. In addition to their flagship, Lazy Eye Vodka (80 Proof), they make five other related products: a Barrel Aged Vodka (80 Proof) with a little browning and barrel-imparted complexity and smoothness (though not as deep in hue as the whiskeys and rums undergoing a similar process, usually for a longer period of time); Lazy Eye Special (a 58 Proof cocktail created with their vodka and Triple Sec – just add the rocks); Rakii, a Greek version of Grappa (85 Proof, but smoother than most I have tasted); Barrel Aged Rakii (85 Proof) and Rakii flavored with Anise and also 85 Proof (think Ouzo – awesome).

It should be noted that all of the Lazy Eye products are certified gluten-free (another bonus due to their choice of grapes over corn, which is used by many of their competitors). The grapes also yield a subtle sweetness.

A fascinating tour and tasting of three of their products costs $10 per person. You can sip from your partner’s to sample all six products or get a smaller taste of all six. Bottles of their products cost $35 each for those unoaked and $45 for the barrel-aged products. On the day of our tasting we purchased a couple of bottles and were delighted to receive a refund for our tour and tasting thanks to our purchase.

I heartily recommend you try this detour for yourself. Lazy Eye products are also available at many large retail outlets like Total Wine, Canals and Hops and Grapes. Check them out. It’s unlikely you will find Rakii or barrel aged vodka anywhere else right now.

Tried a New Jersey wine lately? Visited a NJ winery recently? Share your experiences here.

Cheers!