Kástra Elión vodka is made from a blend of olives and wheat.

Vodka has a reputation for being flavorless and neutral, and yet its popularity persists. Much of the marketing that drives the category is focused on lifestyle cachet, rather than aroma and taste. But this reputation is mostly outdated. Because while some brands, even a few of the best regarded, are distilled to the point of flavorlessness and lean into their neutrality, others are packing flavor and texture into each bottle. Some are even experimenting with base ingredients that go beyond the usual grains and potatoes.

Kástra Elión falls into this new crop of vodkas. It hails from Greece, where it’s made from a blend of Greek olives and wheat. It’s named for the ancient castle that stands guard over the hills and olive groves of Nafpaktos, the ancestral home to the vodka and the family that created it.

The brand was founded by master blender and certified flavor chemist Frank Mihalopoulos, who’s spent nearly four decades in product development for companies like Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts and Kahlua, and has also consulted for spirits brands including Absolut and Stoli. He’s joined by co-founder and son-in-law, Mike Camello, who serves as the company’s president.

“We were vodka drinkers and interested in some of the European vodkas made using malted barley and rye, and those who were getting good texture in their vodkas,” says Camello. They thought: Why not try making a vodka from olives?

It took about a year for Mihalopoulos to make it work. He set up a lab and acquired distillation equipment, and began testing olive varieties from all over the world. “I didn’t want to be sentimentally attached to the story, but we settled on a three-variety blend that happens to come from the same region in Greece that I’m from.”

Kástra Martini |

It’s a craft process, and the yield loss is much higher than what most vodka distillers see, but Mihalopoulos explains that tight distillation cuts are necessary to eliminate all the heads and volatile compounds introduced by the olives.

Olives contain little sugar, hence the ethanol is sourced from the grains. Mihalopoulos explains that the olives enhance the inherent qualities of the grain rather than contributing to the flavor. The role of the olives is to give the vodka its distinctive smooth texture and mouthfeel. Prior to bottling, the distilled spirit is combined with spring water from Mount Taygetus in Greece, renowned for its mineral-rich quality.

The aroma of Kástra Elión vodka is exceptionally pure, devoid of any off-putting synthetic smells or excessive alcohol sting. The scents are a delightful blend of sweet and savory, with predominant notes of vanilla and butterscotch. The palate is subtly fruity, with traces of citrus and a hint of pepper. It rests on the tongue, its impact lingering, stimulating the salivary glands as the flavors evolve into a more dominant butterscotch and vanilla taste along with a hint of toasted bread.

Camello prefers his Kástra Elión on the rocks with olives, but he realizes that not everyone enjoys sipping vodka. Luckily, this vodka is ideal for Martinis. In introducing this vodka to bartenders, the brand encourages them to allow the spirit to be the star of the drink and not to overdo the sugar. “We want the character and mouthfeel of the vodka to stand out,” Camello comments.

Recently, Kástra Elión introduced its own olive brine and cocktail olives, available separately or in a kit that includes a bottle of vodka, intended to craft the ultimate Dirty Martini. Both the brine and the olives are sourced from the same Nafpaktos region in Greece where the vodka is distilled, offering one the opportunity to summon the complete trio for a distinctively Greek, olive-centric rendition of the classic cocktail.