Three Olives Vodka was born in 1998. It's a United Kingdom vodka, made there from UK wheat in a distillation and filtration process that includes being distilled four times, and filtered after each distillation. It's gluten free, nut free and lactose free. And that's about all I can find out, frankly, other than that Three Olives Vodka isn't available in the U.K. in any of its seventeen or so flavors, at 80 Proof or 40% ABV.

The particular Three Olives Vodka I'm interested in is Three Olives Chocolate. It's a clear vodka; infused with chocolate flavoring after distillation, but I can't find anything at all about what flavoring is used, whether it is actually an essence derived from chocolate, or an artificial chocolate additive or some alternative to either.

My interest in Three Olives Chocolate Vodka is primarily in the context of making chocolate martinis; but I'm not putting vodka in a cocktail without tasting it first. So we stashed the bottle in the freezer, along with a shot glass for a sample. The first thing you notice is the intense chocolate aroma; it really is everything any chocolate lover loves about the scent of chocolate. That intense chooclate quality is there in the taste as well, though it's a trifle sweeter than I'd like. Unfortunately, there's a noticeable ethyl bite in the finish, an almost chemical aftertaste. It's less noticeable in a martini, but I won't be trying Three Olives Chocolate Vodka in the future. At the recommendation of a bartender friend, I have moved on to trying Godiva Chocolate Vodka. Thus far, I am very favorably impressed.