Local Vodkas Show Their Tastes

By OWEN MORRIS

Carrie Nation eat your heart out. Kansas has not one, but two distilleries of note. Most Wanted Vodka, made by High Plains Distillery on a farm in Atchison, Kansas, has won accolades from around the nation, including Eric Asimov of the New York Times. Now it has to compete with another local up and comer — Honor Vodka — distilled in Lawrence, Kansas (across from the county jail no less) by two KU graduates and former bar employees.

The two vodkas look as if they’re here to stay. Most Wanted is widely available throughout the metro area, and Honor Vodka recently won approval to sell in the state of Missouri and is starting the move into liquor stores across the state line. In addition, McCormick Distillery in Weston, Missouri, makes some high-end vodkas such as Vodka 360 but is better known for its plastic bottle of eponymous vodka, a well-drink favorite nation-wide.

I bought a bottle of Most Wanted, Honor and McCormick and asked some co-workers at The Pitch to give me their honest thoughts about each one.