Van Gogh has long been the gold standard in flavored vodka, outperforming many competitors in a crowded field. I had the opportunity last week to chat with Tim Vos, their master distiller. Over the past few years, Van Gogh’s flavor lineup has been reduced from 22 down to 15. The last time we spoke, he was about to release his latest creation, PB & J---about as far as the company would go in the realm of what Tim refers to as “craziness.” There’s more emphasis now on their regular, unflavored vodka, a blend of wheat from France, Germany and The Netherlands. Tim and I discussed the cocktail market, the differences between the European and American consumers, and his plans for the future.

In Glass Half Full, our roundup of the most interesting food, wine and spirits stories on the web, truth was once again stranger than fiction. We reported on the Pennsylvania man who wanted to be buried with two Philly cheese steaks, the Charles Manson doughnut, and the Florida Waffle House that served a dead frog in a water glass (if you lived here, you wouldn’t be surprised).

Here are last week’s posts:

The Maestro of Vodka

Glass Half Full: 11/24/2017