Willa is an Illinois wheat vodka, a relatively new product with a very limited reach right now. Willa is a certified organic craft vodka in beautiful bottle with a long, slender neck. Vodka is a busy spirits category and Willa has labeled itself as an active lifestyle vodka – according to their website: “…[the creators] expressed their desire for a organic, lower calorie, clean tasting spirit.”

I found Willa very pleasant to drink on the rocks, and because it’s 70 proof (as opposed to “normal” 80-proof vodka), it’s a lighter vodka in both flavor and alcohol. My vodka tasting expert is Mrs. Simple Cocktails, who loves Grey Goose (another wheat vodka). She said that while Willa tastes good, it loses some flavor it it’s light-ness. After 2 dirty martinis with Willa, she said the alcohol effect was noticeably lower, too.

Willa will run you about $30 a bottle, and because it’s lighter, I found it a good fit for warm-weather outdoor drinking, like in a Bloody Mary at brunch, or in a fruity punch at a garden party. Try it in this refreshing cocktail with crushed ice:

Vodka Swizzle

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1 tsp superfine sugar
• 1 dash bitters
• shake and strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice and stir
• top with 3 oz club soda
• stir and garnish with a swizzle stick