USA TODAY 10Best
Raise a glass to the 10 best craft vodka distilleries in the US
Best Craft Vodka (2023)
Russia and Poland were distilling vodka as early as 1,200 years ago, and it has since become one of the world's most popular spirits, thanks in large part to its versatility in mixing. But vodka doesn't just belong in cocktails. While some distilleries compete to create the smoothest, clearest and sometimes most flavorless variation, others are embracing vodka by making it with local, high-quality ingredients (including potatoes, wheat, corn and even grapes) with minimal distillation to allow the natural flavors to shine.
We asked a panel of travel experts and American spirits experts to nominate their top vodka picks, then readers voted for their favorites. These are the 10 best craft vodka distilleries in the U.S.
Photo courtesy of Jenna Rice Creative
No. 10: Vermont Spirits Distilling Co. - Quechee, Vermont
Vermont Spirits is on a mission to share the “Spirit of Vermont” across the United States while striving to become a carbon-negative operation. Their Vermont Gold Vodka is batch-distilled from the sap of maple trees, then blended with pure Vermont distilled water, so the unique quality of the maple fermentation shines through in the finished product.
No. 9: 619 Spirits - San Diego, California
San Diego’s first urban craft distillery makes Six One Nine Vodka from the city’s North Park neighborhood. The spirit is distilled entirely from cane sugar for a clean, smooth texture that’s naturally gluten-free.
Photo courtesy of Photo: RRBC&D
No. 8: Red River Brewing Company & Distillery - Red River, New Mexico
Red River Brewing Company & Distillery is the first and only brewery and distillery in Red River, New Mexico, as well as one of the highest elevation distilleries in the world. Their most popular spirit, the crisp and clean Silver King Vodka, has won multiple industry awards and is named after the nearby historic Silver King Mine.
Photo courtesy of Middle West Spirits
No. 7: Middle West Spirits - Columbus, Ohio
OYO Vodka from Middle West Spirits in Columbus is made from Ohio-grown red winter wheat. The unfiltered vodka has a rich aroma and whiskey-like quality, perfect for sipping. The distillery also makes Honey Vanilla Bean, Barrel-Finished Honey Vanilla Bean and Stone Fruit versions.
Photo courtesy of Cardinal Spirits
No. 6: Cardinal Spirits - Bloomington, Indiana
Cardinal Spirits features an all-in-one distillery, tasting room, cocktail bar and restaurant at their Bloomington location, overlooking a popular bicycle path. Their fruity vodka fermented from grapes has a floral finish that makes it easy to drink straight, and they offer a Bramble Black Raspberry Vodka using agave nectar and black raspberries, one of a handful of fruits native to Indiana.
Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Lombardo // Getty Images
No. 5: Distillery 98 - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
This Florida panhandle distillery is committed to sustainability, recycling leftover water and turning spent grain into livestock feed. Their flagship Dune Laker vodka won the MicroLiquor Spirit Awards Gold Medal in 2020. Meanwhile, their Half Shell vodka is distilled 18 times and passed through a coconut carbon and oyster shell filter. It's the first U.S. spirit to come in a 94% recycled cardboard bottle.
Photo courtesy of Smugglers' Notch Distillery
No. 4: Smugglers' Notch Distillery - Jeffersonville, Vermont
Smugglers’ Notch vodka is made from Idaho-grown grains and water from the Mount Mansfield watershed of Northern Vermont. The grain wash gets distilled in a four-column still and passed through a multi-stage filtration process for a smooth vodka with just a hint of sweetness. Smugglers’ Notch Distillery also makes an organic gluten-free vodka made from corn.
Photo courtesy of Kasey Walker Minnick
No. 3: Six & Twenty Distillery - Greenville, South Carolina
This grains-to-glass upstate South Carolina distillery boasts an Heirloom Rye Vodka that has hints of black pepper and cocoa nibs. Come in to Six & Twenty's tasting room, where you can sip craft cocktails or delve into flatbread pizzas.
Photo courtesy of Heather Lenhart
No. 2: South Fork Vodka - Grass Valley, California
South Fork Vodka is a six-times distilled spirit that is 100% gluten-free and non-GMO. It has become one of the most awarded vodkas in Northern California.
Photo courtesy of High Rock Vodka
No. 1: Sugarlands Distilling Company - Gatlinburg, Tennessee
This Gatlinburg distillery, noted for their craft moonshine, have partnered with auto racing legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife Amy to create High Rock Vodka, a triple filtered corn vodka that is 88 proof, matching Earnhardt's Daytona 500-winning car number. Sugarlands also features a range of sipping cream and moonshines.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Amber Gibson
Amber Gibson spends 350 nights a year in hotels... Read More
Amber Gibson spends 350 nights a year in hotels searching for the latest and greatest in the travel industry. Her writing and photographs have appeared in print, online, and on the radio for outlets including Forbes, National Geographic Traveler, Departures, Four Seasons Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, NPR, Saveur, Departures, Rhapsody, Hemispheres, American Way, Private Air, and Serious Eats. She graduated as valedictorian from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and received a fellowship to attend the 2017 Wine Writers Symposium at Meadowood Napa Valley. Champagne, dark chocolate and gelato are her biggest weaknesses.
Amber Gibson
Amber Gibson spends 350 nights a year in hotels searching for the latest and greatest in the travel industry. Her writing and photographs have appeared in print, online, and on the radio for outlets including Forbes, National Geographic Traveler, Departures, Four Seasons Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, NPR, Saveur, Departures, Rhapsody, Hemispheres, American Way, Private Air, and Serious Eats. She graduated as valedictorian from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and received a fellowship to attend the 2017 Wine Writers Symposium at Meadowood Napa Valley. Champagne, dark chocolate and gelato are her biggest weaknesses.
Amber Love Bond
Amber Love Bond is a Miami-based food + beverage... Read More
Amber Love Bond is a Miami-based food + beverage and travel writer, who is always on the go and looking for her next adventure. After a decade-long career in corporate finance, she stumbled upon her passion for writing about the world around and hasn't looked back. Amber contributes to over a dozen print and digital publications including Travel & Leisure, Thrillist, Forbes, Eater, Southern Living, Miami New Times, HelloGiggles, Men’s Health, Fodor’s Travel Guide, and more. Typically you can find her at the opening of every restaurant, sipping cocktails at the coolest bars, or hanging out under a palm tree with her laptop (and a cocktail) in tow. Follow her adventures on Instagram at @amber__love.
Amber Love Bond
Amber Love Bond is a Miami-based food + beverage and travel writer, who is always on the go and looking for her next adventure. After a decade-long career in corporate finance, she stumbled upon her passion for writing about the world around and hasn't looked back. Amber contributes to over a dozen print and digital publications including Travel & Leisure, Thrillist, Forbes, Eater, Southern Living, Miami New Times, HelloGiggles, Men’s Health, Fodor’s Travel Guide, and more. Typically you can find her at the opening of every restaurant, sipping cocktails at the coolest bars, or hanging out under a palm tree with her laptop (and a cocktail) in tow. Follow her adventures on Instagram at @amber__love.
Carrie Honaker
Carrie Honaker is a Florida-based food and travel... Read More
Carrie Honaker is a Florida-based food and travel writer who is not sure where she will land next, but it will involve messy eating, a spicy Tempranillo, and finding the local farmers market. She has hauled oyster cages off the Forgotten Coast of Florida, harvested indigenous crops with the Abenaki Tribe in Vermont, learned to make beef patties from a Jamaican auntie, made Guavaberry Liqueur with a 7th generation distiller on St. Maarten, and stomped cacao pods in Grenada. She writes about food, drink, travel, and culture for Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Wine Enthusiast, Fodor’s Travel, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and many more. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.
Carrie Honaker
Carrie Honaker is a Florida-based food and travel writer who is not sure where she will land next, but it will involve messy eating, a spicy Tempranillo, and finding the local farmers market. She has hauled oyster cages off the Forgotten Coast of Florida, harvested indigenous crops with the Abenaki Tribe in Vermont, learned to make beef patties from a Jamaican auntie, made Guavaberry Liqueur with a 7th generation distiller on St. Maarten, and stomped cacao pods in Grenada. She writes about food, drink, travel, and culture for Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Wine Enthusiast, Fodor’s Travel, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and many more. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.
Dave Stamboulis
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer... Read More
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer based in Bangkok. Born in Athens, Greece and growing up in the U.S., Dave first discovered Bangkok while on a 45,000-kilometer bicycle trip and moved there for good in 2005. Dave's photos have appeared in publications around the world. He's the author of Odysseus' Last Stand, which received the Silver Medal for Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers. In addition to working for Fodor's Guidebook to Thailand, he is the author of 500 Hidden Secrets to Bangkok, and his travel stories and photography appear in publications around the globe.
Dave Stamboulis
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer based in Bangkok. Born in Athens, Greece and growing up in the U.S., Dave first discovered Bangkok while on a 45,000-kilometer bicycle trip and moved there for good in 2005. Dave's photos have appeared in publications around the world. He's the author of Odysseus' Last Stand, which received the Silver Medal for Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers. In addition to working for Fodor's Guidebook to Thailand, he is the author of 500 Hidden Secrets to Bangkok, and his travel stories and photography appear in publications around the globe.
Jacky Runice
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home... Read More
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home safety choice and not a coffee order, Jacky Runice has been knocking around Chicago as a professional print, online and broadcast journalist and editor specializing in separating the riff from the raff in culture, entertainment, food, travel and pure unadulterated fun. Jacky is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).
In her best Chicagoese, Jacky asks, "Who has the time or money to blow on hotels, attractions, restaurants, exhibits and activities that blow?"
Jacky Runice
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home safety choice and not a coffee order, Jacky Runice has been knocking around Chicago as a professional print, online and broadcast journalist and editor specializing in separating the riff from the raff in culture, entertainment, food, travel and pure unadulterated fun. Jacky is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).
In her best Chicagoese, Jacky asks, "Who has the time or money to blow on hotels, attractions, restaurants, exhibits and activities that blow?"
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.