Republic Restoratives Civic Vodka 750ml

Republic Restoratives is a women- and LGBT-owned distillery based in Washington, DC, built on principles of community funding and an outspoken, boundary-pushing approach to American spirits production. The company describes its civic duty as women owned and led, funded by its community, and unafraid of challenging norms in an industry long dominated by more traditional players. Civic Vodka was the distillery's first offering, and the company also donates a portion of its proceeds to GIFFORDS, a nonprofit focused on gun violence prevention.

Civic is distilled exclusively from North American Eastern Sweet Corn, using a 100 percent corn mash bill rather than the wheat, rye, or potato bases common to many vodkas. Following distillation, the spirit undergoes a proprietary filtration process, charcoal polished roughly 2,300 times through a meter of activated charcoal, a step the distillery credits with leaving the finished vodka notably smooth and lean. Every bottle is produced and bottled entirely on-site at the DC distillery.

The nose carries a light doughy character alongside a touch of industrial spirit-forward intensity. On the palate, the corn base lends a creamy, slightly sweet quality, with underlying notes of lemon, rosemary, and a faint hint of camphor giving it more complexity than a typical corn vodka. It finishes dry, with lingering baking spice that carries through to a clean, crisp close.