Opinions on Crystal Head Vodka?

[Scumpup]

Crystal Head Vodka. I got a bottle as a gift on Saturday. The bottle is indisputably the coolest liquor bottle I have ever seen. I tried a single shot of it straight. It tasted like vodka. I'm not sure what the triple-filtering through quartz crystals (Herkimer diamonds) accomplishes, if anything. Basically, I am coming away with an overall impression of marketing-as-art-form. The bottle really is great, though.

[silenus]

That's what it is...marketing. People will buy it for the bottle, but will they ever buy a second one?

I doubt it.

[MPB in Salt Lake]

I don't want to have this come off as rude or snarky, but rather as how two people can see the same thing and have two totally opposite reactions.

To me, the skull bottle itself seems so trailer-trashy and such an obvious marketing gimmick that even if the actual vodka itself was on par with Ketel One, Finlandia or Tito's (a few of my favorites) and sold for $10 I will still be hesitant to buy it for fear of someone seeing me in line at the liquor store with such an adolescent looking product.

[Scumpup]

However you meant it, I cannot help but come away with the impression that you just called me both trailer trash and adolescent.

[phreesh]

I don't get the whole vodka 'taste' thing. Vodka is LITERALLY defined as a tasteless spirit.

I get comparing flavoured vodkas (vanilla, mandarin, etc), but pure Vodkas like Chrystal Head, Absolut, Grey Goose, etc taste exactly the same. By definition.

[drastic_quench]

Originally Posted by phreesh

I don't get the whole vodka 'taste' thing. Vodka is LITERALLY defined as a tasteless spirit.

I get comparing flavoured vodkas (vanilla, mandarin, etc), but pure Vodkas like Chrystal Head, Absolut, Grey Goose, etc taste exactly the same. By definition.

There's mouthfeel and smoothness to factor in, and I think that's what people lump into "taste."

Isn't this the vodka Aykroyd was shilling for? What a nut.

[LawMonkey]

My recollection is (and wikipedia confirms) that Dan Aykroyd, hilarious comedian and apparently credulous Spiritualist, is behind the vodka. It's referencing the crystal skulls of paranormal fame, and the quartz "filtration" is more woo. I can't say definitively whether filtering through quartz would have any real, measurable effect on the vodka, but my (admittedly limited) knowledge of how filtration works suggests that it would not.

[kevja]

Originally Posted by Scumpup

However you meant it, I cannot help but come away with the impression that you just called me both trailer trash and adolescent.

The poster's comment was about the botttle, not you.

[Scumpup]

Right, and I noted twice in my OP that I like the bottle very much.

[billfish678]

I wonder if the cardboard box it comes in is made from the bone marrow of orphans from Peru?

I do like the bottle. I think I may get it just for that. My homemade hotter than shit hotsauce would be a great thing to fill that bottle with.

[LawMonkey]

I should add that, while the inspiration for the bottle is rubbish, it's still a cool looking bottle. Seems like it'd suck for actually, y'know, pouring vodka out of, though. I think I'll stick to Stoli or, if I happen to be in St. Petersburg, Pyatizvestnaya, for my very limited vodka needs.

[drastic_quench]

Originally Posted by Scumpup

Right, and I noted twice in my OP that I like the bottle very much.

In the Venn Diagram of Trashy People and People Who Like the Crystal Head Skull Vodka Bottle, there's a huge area of non-overlap where you can safely live without being trashy by correlation.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by billfish678

I do like the bottle. I think I may get it just for that. My homemade hotter than shit hot sauce would be a great thing to fill that bottle with.

Now that's an idea. Much more fitting.

[PlainJain]

Originally Posted by phreesh

I don't get the whole vodka 'taste' thing. Vodka is LITERALLY defined as a tasteless spirit.

On an episode of Mythbusters they brought in a vodka expert who was able to discern quite easily between cheap, middle and upper shelf vodka. That said, it all tastes like vodka to me.

[MPB in Salt Lake]

Originally Posted by Scumpup

However you meant it, I cannot help but come away with the impression that you just called me both trailer trash and adolescent.

I honestly, sincerely didn't mean it like that and I am sure you are neither trashy or juvenile for enjoying this product.

As I said, my impression of Crystal Head Vodka is obviously very different from yours, but my opinion should hold no weight for you if you enjoy it.

(I really like both Budweiser and Pabst Blue Ribbon, and will often choose them over the various award winning microbrews that everyone around me is drinking.)

[pulykamell]

It just strikes me as "novelty gift." My mom collects weird liquor bottles of all sorts, but never drinks the liquor within. There's a market for this sort of thing. I'd be surprised if the vodka it contains was anything worth drinking. If you had really good vodka, why would you bother spending god-knows-how-much on that sort of packaging? To me, when you do that, you're selling the bottle, not the liquor.

HOWEVER, supposedly, this is really supposed to be a good vodka. According to this and some other ratings I've seen on the web, the impression for Crystal Head vodka is very positive. Consider me very surprised.

Originally Posted by phreesh

I don't get the whole vodka 'taste' thing. Vodka is LITERALLY defined as a tasteless spirit.

I get comparing flavoured vodkas (vanilla, mandarin, etc), but pure Vodkas like Chrystal Head, Absolut, Grey Goose, etc taste exactly the same. By definition.

I'm not a big vodka drinker (despite growing up in a Polish family, where it was the drink of choice), but all vodkas do not taste alike. Not by a longshot. Buy a bottle of, say, Povov's or Gordon's. Compare it to Chopin vodka. Or Stolichnaya. Despite the definition of these spirits as being tasteless, all sorts of little impurities get into them that change their flavor.

[Scumpup]

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

I honestly, sincerely didn't mean it like that and I am sure you are neither trashy or juvenile for enjoying this product.

As I said, my impression of Crystal Head Vodka is obviously very different from yours, but my opinion should hold no weight for you if you enjoy it.

(I really like both Budweiser and Pabst Blue Ribbon, and will often choose them over the various award winning microbrews that everyone around me is drinking.)

No worries.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

I honestly, sincerely didn't mean it like that and I am sure you are neither trashy or juvenile for enjoying this product.

No comment about other reasons.

[Scumpup]

I looked around on ebay Saturday evening and saw empty Crystal Head bottles selling there for $20 to $25. Crystal Head sells for around $50 a bottle. I'd say this is a pretty good indicator that the bottle is a major attraction.

I plan on refilling mine some of my MIL's moonshine, if I can get her to cook me a batch on her next visit.

[billfish678]

Damnit. 50 dollars? Shit, I'll just have go down to Peru and dig up some real crystal skulls for that kinda mula.

My paw told me you were only trailer trash if you used all your empty Crystal Skull bottles to hold up your double wide trailer because you had sold the trailer's tires and rims for bingo money.

[Czarcasm]

Are there any definitive blind taste tests for referral?

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Czarcasm

Are there any definitive blind taste tests for referral?

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition I linked to is a blind tasting event.

[typoink]

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

I don't want to have this come off as rude or snarky, but rather as how two people can see the same thing and have two totally opposite reactions.

To me, the skull bottle itself seems so trailer-trashy and such an obvious marketing gimmick that even if the actual vodka itself was on par with Ketel One, Finlandia or Tito's (a few of my favorites) and sold for $10 I will still be hesitant to buy it for fear of someone seeing me in line at the liquor store with such an adolescent looking product.

I'm very close to agreeing, but the mitigating factor is that the bottles for this are pretty well-designed. It's still cheesy, but it has more of a "spiritualist" vibe than a "Hot Topic" vibe.

Still gimmicky as heck, but...vodka is.

[Czarcasm]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition I linked to is a blind tasting event.

Is that a single run-through event? A good double-blind test would have multiple run-throughs to see if the same vodkas are popping up on top each time.

[LawMonkey]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

If you had really good vodka, why would you bother spending god-knows-how-much on that sort of packaging? To me, when you do that, you're selling the bottle, not the liquor.

Have you seen vodka bottles lately?

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Czarcasm

Is that a single run-through event? A good double-blind test would have multiple run-throughs to see if the same vodkas are popping up on top each time.

You didn't say anything about it being double blind or with multiple run-throughs. You can read more about it here.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Originally Posted by LawMonkey

My recollection is (and wikipedia confirms) that Dan Aykroyd, hilarious comedian and apparently credulous Spiritualist, is behind the vodka. It's referencing the crystal skulls of paranormal fame, and the quartz "filtration" is more woo. I can't say definitively whether filtering through quartz would have any real, measurable effect on the vodka, but my (admittedly limited) knowledge of how filtration works suggests that it would not.

Pretty sure it works by filtering money out of people's wallets into Dan Aykroyd's pockets. Good for him, I guess.

I won't be buying a bottle until it comes with a usable mouth-hole, if you know what I mean.

[Czarcasm]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

You didn't say anything about it being double blind or with multiple run-throughs. You can read more about it here.

I'll see your link and raise you one.