Crafted from estate-grown winter wheat and mountain aquifer water, Double Cross Vodka blends centuries-old distilling traditions with a modern revival

BY WILL HARRIS

Double Cross Vodka has a name that gets attention, but the real story is in the bottle. The Slovak vodka begins with 100% organic estate-grown winter wheat and water drawn from natural aquifers 200 feet below the Tatra Mountains. It then undergoes a seven-step distillation process before passing through a proprietary filtration system that uses genuine diamond crystals, producing exceptional clarity, a silky texture, and a remarkably clean finish.

Malcolm “Dr. Vodka” Lloyd and his godfather, John Gellner, founded the brand in 2004, after a four-year search across Europe to find the right boutique distillery. They found it in Stará Ľubovňa, a 13th-century town in northern Slovakia, where old-world distilling traditions and local ingredients laid the foundation for a vodka that remains true to its origins today. Double Cross is not a vodka designed to vanish, and someone trying the spirit for the first time will find it has a quiet aroma, soft citrus, a round mouthfeel, and enough body to stand on its own or hold its place in a proper martini.

The spirit has earned well-deserved recognition. When entered into the International Wine & Spirit Competition, where it nabbed the coveted “Gold Outstanding” designation in 2021, judges noted its minerality, creamy mouthfeel, and clean finish, the same qualities that have long separated Double Cross from vodkas that taste neutral but feel thin.

Wine Enthusiast offered similar praise, rating Double Cross 90 to 95 and calling out its dry, delicate nose, peppery palate, creamy texture, and citrus finish. For a category often judged by what is absent, Double Cross keeps the clean finish people expect from a premium vodka, but it has a weight and texture you can actually feel in the glass.

After the brand changed hands in 2024, the new owners approached Harry McKaig, who had been part of the Double Cross team in the early 2010s, about returning to help revive the brand. “They said, ‘You knew the founder and you know the brand, so let’s develop a plan to relaunch this spirit,’” McKaig told INDUSTRY earlier this year. “We just built a full team for the first time in ten years, so I’m most excited to give this brand the time and attention it’s deserved for many years.”

That may be the best way to understand Double Cross today: it is not a new vodka trying to invent a story. It is a serious vodka with an established history, now getting the focus and attention it has always deserved.

Double Cross Vodka — doublecrossvodka.com