When I think of Austin, Texas, my thoughts turn to blues music and good barbeque. It's a fun city with plenty of sunshine, a happening music scene, and a lot of places that serve delicious beef brisket. It was also the last place I would have looked for maker of vodka.

But, my perception completely changed when I was introduced to Tito's Vodka. This particular spirit is handmade in small batches at the Mockingbird Distillery in Austin, Texas. They are new vodka distiller and they rely almost exclusively on word of mouth for advertising. It's a bold strategy from a company that has already challenged conventions and defied the odds. Tito Beveridge is the founder of this unique brand. He got his start making what is essentially Moonshine Vodka in his kitchen in the early 90's. He built a homemade still and through a process of trial-and-error he was able to perfect his recipe. Tito would give away bottles to friends at Christmas and slowly his reputation grew. Despite the fact that he was distilling great Vodka, investors were scarce and skittish of the permitting process for a new distillery, especially in a state where one had never existed. He ended up self-financing his entire operation through credit cards and his life savings. It was a risky proposition that has paid off.

My criteria for good Vodka is a bit different than with other spirits. The flavor is less of a factor, I'm more concerned with its smoothness, drinkability, and how complimentary it works with other tastes. I'm happy to say that Tito's excels in all of these categories. I experimented with a few different cocktails but settled on one that I felt was the perfect compliment to the Vodka. It's my interpretation of a lemon drop. I combined 2 ounces of Tito's with one ounce of simple syrup and one ounce of lemon juice into shaker, poured that over a chilled glass filled with ice and garnished it with a lime and a sprig of mint. It was sublime; the sugar in the syrup neutralizes the tartness of the lemon juice resulting in an amazingly smooth cocktail.

Check out the Tito's Lemon Drop Recipe Here.