If wine is the intersection of art and science, vodka is a hairy man with a mean uppercut.
At least, that’s what I believed until last Monday. After a couple hours and a couple more drinks at The City Foundry in Sunset Park, David Kyrejko and Zachary Bruner managed to convince me otherwise.
Kyrejko and Bruner are the entrepreneurial duo behind Industry Standard Vodka, a small-batch spirit distilled from sugar beets and fermented using sugar beet yeast. While convention holds that the ideal vodka is an odorless, flavorless substance, most vodkas — in my experience — smell like nothing and taste like self-loathing.
“The definition of vodka,” Kyrejko clarified, “is not a colorless, odorless, flavorless alcohol — it’s just a spirit that doesn’t taste like its source material.”
True to this definition, Industry Standard tastes nothing like sugar beets. There’s a rich herbal aroma, a subtle touch of sweetness, and a smooth, lingering finish. Best of all: the ethanol-meets-motor oil gut punch of its mass-produced counterparts is noticeably absent from this hand-blended spirit. Industry Standard’s exceptional taste is the product of thorough research, innovative technology, and rigorous experimentation.
Though artists by education, Kyrejko and Bruner are scientists by trade. The equipment these two use looks more at home in a biology lab than a vodka distillery: among their inventions are heat exchangers, bioreactors, and a steam-heated column still fueled by its own alcoholic waste product — all designed to be as urban sustainable, economically viable, and energy efficient as possible.
For this clear liquor skeptic, knowing that Kyrejko and Bruner are doing what they do redeems vodka as a spirit. Check out Industry Standard online or book a distillery tour at http://drinkicd.com/
Hey, mister. If you want a birthday card you should send me an address.