Lots of spirits companies market to Southerners, and that’s nice and all. However, most of these spirits aren’t really made in the South, by real Southern folks.

So you can imagine my surprise when I first discovered Cathead Vodka. Mississippi’s first legal distillery was a labor of love to create, and it took five years of fighting with the government to even produce their first bottle.

Vodka is a neutrally-flavored, clear spirit usually distilled multiple times from grain—or in Cathead’s case—mostly corn. I find their vodka not only affordable, but also interesting be cause you can taste the base distillate in a smooth subtle creamy finish.  

Why Corn? Because corn is a unique grain native to America, fitting the company’s desire to make a definitively American product.  

The name Cathead comes from their other love, blues music. Cathead comes from the handmade clay cats a member of Muddy Water’s band would make in the Mississippi River and sell to supplement his meager income. You can still see them hanging in windows to this day.

In this spirit a portion of every sale goes to support live music. So how to best mix it? For the vodka use it to add some kick to this lovely funky cocktail.

Moody Blues

1 ½ oz Cathead Vodka

¾ oz Cruzan Coconut Rum

1/3 oz Blue Curacao

1/3 oz lemon juice

1 oz Ginger beer

1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake and Strain into an ice filled rocks glass and gently stir in ginger beer. Honeysuckle vodka works in place of regular, should your mood change. So does an extra half ounce of ginger beer (We Recommend Reed’s), but do it as it fits your own mood.

Even more interesting is Cathead’s somewhat-recently released Honeysuckle Vodka. Most of the time I despise flavored Vodkas because they use artificial extracts to gain unnatural sweetness. So you’ll imagine my surprise and delight to find that their flavor is 100% natural made with real honeysuckle infused into the vodka.

The result is a earthy subtle honey sweetness that brings back images of my days getting honeysuckle from the vines in my back yard. Great to sip or have with tonic, Even better in my Hobo Honey Cocktail, but like in nature, fresh juices are a must. To make the honey mix just pour one part hot water into one part of Clover honey. Stir and bottle and it will keep for months in the fridge.

Hobo’s Honey

2 oz Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka

1/3 oz fresh pineapple Juice

¼ fresh lime juice

½ honey mix (see above)

1 Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain up into a coupe or goblet.

What intrigued me the most and sucked me in, however, was Cathead’s new limited release Bristow Gin. Named for one of the founder’s in-laws. Made with 11 botanicals including juniper, lemon verbena, cinnamon, clove, and sweet orange peel, it’s an extremely herbaceous gin with lovely spice and sweet citrus notes. This limited gin is hard to come by and not available by the bottle at the ABC. But it might be found at bottle shops and your favorite high-end bar.

Hot Jive

2 oz gin

¾ oz lime

1 oz jalapeno syrup (see below)

½ oz dry vermouth

2 dashes orange bitters

Shake with ice and strain up into a coupe or goblet. Garnish with a lime wedge

Jalapeno Syrup

3 jalapeno slices, 2 deseeded

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for two minutes. Cool and bottle.

It may be a state away, but quality southern spirits is a cause to celebrate. I never have a problem ripping into a spirit I find lacking, So when I discover one worth boasting about in my own back yard, I do the same. Keep your eye on these folks, as they have plans to focus on the whiskey game soon. Also check your local ABC store for their vodka line.

Joey Schmidt,or ‘JFL,’ is a Certified Sommelier, Birmingham Bar Menu Consultant, and local Culinary Graduate. He is also the Head Mixologist for Rated R Cocktails, which updates weekly with drink recipes and news. Look for Rated R Cocktails on Twitter, Facebook, and the Internet.