Spodee (photo from their website)

Sometimes my redneck heritage gets the better of me.  I don’t have a “sophisticated” palate by any means, pretty much liking what I like.  And I like Spodee, all the red-neck, prohibition shine runner, Whiskey Rebellion (right at home in western PA) silliness of it all.  My dad was given a jar of moonshine from one of his customers.  Mom promptly put a Mr. Yuk sticker on the pickle jar of clear liquid. 

I suppose it’s appropriate to have Spodee on a website that fancies itself based on a club of the 30s and 40s.  That’s my excuse anyway 🙂

Spodee is in the fortified wine category, like port, sherry, marsala, etc.  Regular wine is upped in proof by the addition of spirit and is preserved by that at the same time.  However, with us using champagne yeast, we usually get awfully close to 15% even without adding any hooch. 

Number one thing,  it has the most freakin’ annoying bottle ever.  Not big enough for someone who likes her wine, and that damned cork is a pain in the ass.  Makers of Spodee, we get it. It’s a milk bottle, how “rustic” &) .  Now put the stuff in a 750 ml and be done with it. That said, the website does have a video on the best way to get that cork out without harming yourself….too much

After wrestling with the bottle, it better be worth it.  Well, it is.  Spodee  tastes good.  The flavor is similar to the various chocolate flavored wines out there, like Chocovin (basically tasting like Yoohoo and wine) and  Chocolate Shop wines.  As you might guess, it’s sweet and thus goes with things that work with sweet alcohols. Good in OJ since it picks up the chocolate flavor.  Also is palatable in their version of kalimoxto, the Spanish mix of red wine and cola (which is pretty much all over the world in some version or other).