Serving the Public...Drinks

One week ago today, our ongoing investigation into odd food shit led us to ISCO Spirits' Pizza Vodka. I suggested that the next of us to visit Providence, RI should pick up a bottle or three for sampling purposes.

A few hours after that post dropped, our man Marls texted me a picture of a receipt - that lunatic went out and ordered a bottle. And so our investigation began. 

I had a nice block of Parmesan cheese in my fridge, and went to the market and purchased a jar of pepperoncini. Marls commenced to making tomato water - tastes like summer. My wife bought new glassware - any excuse to buy stuff. All we needed was an occasion. Turns out we'd already made plans to have dinner because FOG:TB Cricket was in town, and the stars aligned Friday evening.

We tried two of the recipes from ISCO's website: the Caprese Martini, and the Italian Stallion shot. Here's Marls pouring the former:

The Caprese Martini includes the aforementioned tomato water and a couple of dashes of balsamic vinegar. Which gave us an excellent excuse to break out the vinegar my wife and I bought at Poggio ai Laghi, a winery in Monteriggiano, Italy we visited in December. It's spectacular. 

I digress.

Marls garnished the martinis with some seasoned mozzarella balls and served us. The verdict: a darn tasty savory sip, with notes of oregano and a bit of a briny flavor. Even a non-vodka fan like me enjoyed it.

We finished our pre-dinner tasting with a shot. The Italian Stallion is simple. It's a shot of pizza vodka. The accoutrements make the drink. Start by loading your hand with grated Parm, in the manner of salt for a tequila shot. Make sure you've got a pepperoncini close at hand. Eat the cheese, down the shot, eat the pepperoncini. It's a pretty cool combination - the spicy little pepper makes it.

So in the final analysis, this particular Food is Dumb episode ends with a nod to the purveyor. Well done, ISCO - we'll see you again.