Liquor of the Week

Deep Eddy Ruby Red Vodka

Typically, my least favorite tastings involve fruit-flavored liquors. In general, the category is filled with headache-inducing levels of high-fructose corn syrup blended with the kind of fruit flavors and aromas you're more likely to find in a laboratory than an orchard. As for the vodka most use, well, it's likely a slightly distilled version of ADM's industrial potable alcohol. Sounds yummy!

That's why I was so amazed, stunned even, when Deep Eddy's Ruby Red Grapefruit Infused Vodka ($18) came to the rescue of grapefruit aficionados. See if this describes you. When you find a perfect, ruby red grapefruit at the market, do you lovingly inhale all of its aromas? Do your fellow customers think you are just a little too obsessed with grapefruits? Have you graduated from plain ruby reds to the more exotic star rubys because you want them even redder and sweeter? Are you already worried that the season is over and you now have to wait for October for a perfect Rio Red? If you are nodding your head right now, Deep Eddy's Ruby Red is your liquor. It looks and smells just like a perfect grapefruit.

Here is my favorite Ruby Red drink: Fill a highball glass with ice cubes, fill the glass about half full with the Deep Eddy Ruby Red then fill it the rest of the way with sparkling water like Topo Chico. If you have a moment to clean a Serrano of its seeds and pith, then float a tiny slice of pepper on top and eat it at your leisure. Deep Eddy's Ruby Red is available all over town, though demand has outstripped supply for several weeks. So if you see it, grab it. Don't be tempted by other brands. Deep Eddy's only competition is the Charbay Ruby Red, and it's $36 a bottle. Between their main product, Sweet Tea, and the new Ruby Red, Deep Eddy may have cornered the market on summer fun.