Between fruit infusions and charcoal filtering, we'd almost forgotten the pure smell of unadulterated vodka. Uncapping a bottle of St. Petersburg, however, proved a potent reminder (and provoked a sudden craving for caviar). They've been drinking this stuff in Mother Russia since Catherine the Great mounted her first horse, but it's only arriving on these shores come summer. And, as you'd glean from the label, it hails from St. Petersburg, the old Imperial capital where they firmly believe everything went to hell in 1918. That's why they still make it the old-fashioned way, with early-sprouting winter wheat and a touch of lemon blossom, almond, mint and honey. Works for us.
$20, available nationwide in June