Cinco Vodka hails from San Antonio and is billed as “the five star vodka.” It’s actually crafted from amber wheat shipped in from Idaho, but it reclaims its Tex-centricity by using water that’s filtered through the Cordova Creme limestone found beneath San Antonio. In keeping with the cinco theme, the vodka is distilled five times and then blended and filtered in small batches.
The Cinco website claims that it’s a “martini lovers vodka”, but we all know martinis are made with gin, so we’ll just dive in, sans mixer.
Cinco has the slightest top note of alcohol, but beneath that is a light, pleasant aroma of grain. Take a sip and the flavors are mostly neutral, with hints of wheat and some vanilla. It’s very drinkable, maintaining a soft, lush and smooth mouthfeel from entry to mid palate. Toward the end it exhibits a peppery, lightly astringent bite that fades into a dry, clean finish.
Overall, Cinco Vodka is clean and smooth; it neglects the harsh, overly alcoholic characteristics present in many vodkas, even many in its price range. Right now it’s only available in Texas, but if you can get your hands on a bottle, Cinco is a solid buy.
Stats:
– 40% Alcohol by Volume
– $27
CE Rating: ★★★
IMO… Titos is much smoother than Dripping Springs, no comparison. Am going in search of Cinco this weekend but it’s hard to beat Titos, especially for the price.
I heard the CEO and his girlfriend have run the company into the ground. Is the product even still around? where?
5 Stars? Meh…..
I just had my first Cinco martini and I was a bit disappointed. If Cinco is interested in becoming the King of the low end vodkas, then it’s on the way. Otherwise, compared to higher end vodkas, it’s far inferior.
You are correct CE, Cinco does distill from Idaho wheat, and you can taste the difference.
Cinco is far, far smoother than the other Texas vodkas…. which are made from ADM corn. In fact, I can’t think of any domestically made vodkas (other than Cinco) that are made from wheat in the European tradition.
Mr. Bones – Cinco claims that they distill their vodka from wheat, and multiple sources back that up. If you have information to the contrary, please be useful and share it.
C’mon, CE. A LITTLE more research would be nice! If you want your vodka, martini or otherwise, to be made from bulk corn distilled by Archer Daniels Midland, then go right ahead. Not for me though, thank you very much!
VE – Yes, vodka is slipped into lots of martinis. But go to any decent bar and you’ll find tons of people who wouldn’t dare put vodka in their martini. There is only one true martini, and it’s made with gin. This isn’t the early 90s.
I will forego taking your opinion considering I don’t know anybody who drinks gin maritinis anymore and that their is nothing but parity when it comes to bloggers and holes in the ground.
I do agree with you though — I am on my second bottle of Cinco, and it is indeed, a solid buy.
Micky – it’s hard to say given the parity among vodkas. All three are fairly good. Cinco and DS are maybe a bit smoother than Tito’s, but Tito’s is cheaper.
Sounds good. How do you think it compares to other Texas vodka like tito’s or dripping springs?
Gotta love Texas booze.. I recently discovered republic tequila and like that pretty well. Dripping spring vodka is okay too, but I’ll have to try this Cinco one soon.