I'm writing an advertorial for a new premium vodka brand and as I was researching the subject came to the conclusion that there's various opinions on the subject. Anyway, to all of you Absolut drinkers: you've fallen for a marketing trick and are likely to also favour Heineken beer, as most conoisseurs hate the stuff! I'm personally a Stolichnaya drinker but that too doesn't really get the conoisseur going, even though it's considered miles better than Absolut. An exception is made for Stolychnaya Elit, their premium brand which will cost you a shedload. The best vodkas apparently are Armadale and Chopin. What's your favourite vodka then?
When it comes to readily available vodkas I tend to go with any of the following three, in no particular order: Grey Goose, Chopin, and Kettle One. I have, however had several Russian and Polish vodkas (the names of which I cannot recall, if I could read them), that put the above three to shame. If you want a really smooth vodka for a good price, try French-made Vertical. I wouldn't say it is great, but definitely good.
I received a bottle of Grey Goose as a gift. Nothing wrong with it, I just don't see the point in paying premium prices for liquor that doesn't have much of a taste. Am I missing something here?
My Polish friends tell me Chopin is the best, but I don't really taste much of a difference to be honest. I thought the point of drinking plain vodka is to get drunk without any taste, apart from the gherkins you should eat on the side. There is a funny book about this actually: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Borders-Up-Vitalii-Vitalev/dp/0684851806 A vodka with a taste I like is Zubrovka, Polish vodka with Bison grass in it. http://www.zubrowka.pl/eng/prod_17.php
It's simply the best vodka on the market. I used to give people a little half-shot of Luksusowa when they'd order a higher priced vodka just to let them compare. They always, always, always were impressed with how wonderful that stuff is - and then I'd tell them how much cheaper it is than whatever it was that they were drinking. This, Grey Goose, and Ketel 1 are a giant leap ahead of everything else out there no matter of the cost.
And, in my opinion, the best vodka value around. There might be better vodkas, but I don't think there are better vodkas for the money.
I personally like Van Gogh the most, but that may just be due to the image/bottle. Kettle One and Grey Goose are good. Any vodka is great as a mixer as long as it costs more than $10. However, when I was a freshman I was quite fond of even $10 bottles Dont rant at me, but what do you find to be the best vodka mixes (yes, you dont always have to drink it straight). I really think its about keeping it simple. OJ and/or Cranberry and red bull is where it is at. I have also had some very good flavored waters with vodka.
My top three in order/grain catagory: Svedka 42 Below Ketel One (it's a tie between 2 and three) In the potato catagory: Teton Glacier Potato Vodka Blue Ice
Luksusowa here too, thanks to a tip from MikeLasort several years ago. The price really can't be beat. They don't distro. here in Missouri, though, so I try to remember to pick up a fifth or a handle when I'm in Texas or Kansas.
People also pay ridiculous amounts of money for bottled water even when the quality of drinking water in their country is superior! It's partly a marketing ploy, of course, but there is a (massive) difference between low quality and superior quality vodka. It's the purity that counts, for starters, as the more expensive vodkas are distilled more often than the cheaper ones. Also, the cheaper ones have (much) more sugar added to cover up the impurity. Overall, the general rule is that if you can stomach the taste of a specific vodka when you drink it straight and not chilled, there's every chance that said vodka is quality. Drink Absolut and Smirnoff, for example, that way and you'll find that they taste vile and heavily perfumed. But if you only buy vodka to make screwdrivers with, I agree that there's no point in buying a more expensive brand.
Also, I'm surprised at the popularity of Ketel in the US, as they're a Dutch family business. I don't even think they're in the top 3 of best selling vodkas in Holland!
You also can infuse vodka with fruit. My wife purchased a vodka infuser for me several Christmases ago. It's great with Pineapple.
Recently - and without benefit of an "infuser", whatever that is - I've done some really nice infusions. I did an orange cinnamon that was delicious but the best infusion I've ever done was chili lime, which was just some chili peppers and limes and lime zest. It was delicious in bloody marys. During the summer I do berry infusions. All I did was put the fruit and flavorings in the bottles of vodka, put it away for three or four days and voila, delicous flavored vodka. Oh, each day I would gently shake the bottles to get the flavors distributed evenly. After a day or two, I tested them and when the flavors were to my liking, I strained out the solids and put the bottles in the freezer.
That's exactly what an infuser is Barbara, the difference being that it has a large lid with a seal to permit placement of large fruit into the infuser along with the vodka. The infuser also has a spigot at it's base to drain the vodka. Generally marbles are placed at the bottom of the infuser to help filter the fruit and permit the proper flow of the vodka throught the spigot. Here's a link. http://www.infused-vodka.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=16 It's a great present and works great.
Grey Goose is the way to go. Stoli is OK, not great (Absolut is badly overrated). Stoli makes a ton of lines of vodka from their Crystal factory (including Crystal), although I happen to be a fan of Gzhelka for doing shots, which you can't really find anywhere. Its relatively cheap in Russia and it has a very tiny hint of citrus. Goes down really smooth for shots.
