Blast it! I’m trying to remember a Wall Street Journal article that appeared years ago that would address the OP.
I remember a part being…the taste could be influenced by the water used to cut the alcohol. Is it from a particular spring and is it iron-free?
In any case people paying a premium to drink “Pure Russian Vodka” from Stolichnaya might be getting ripped off. At least if they buy it outside of Russia.
If I remember correctly (someone will come along soon enough with a cite) the Stoli sold in the West does NOT come from Russia. It comes from a distillery in Latvia. The firm that owns the rights to the Stolichnaya name and distribution here is forbidden from selling their vodka in Russia.
I think this is a hold-over idea from prohibition days when the homemade stuff had a milky-white to yellowish tint due to incomplete distillation (usually from fermented sugar, no grain)
But undoubtedly not as nice as my homemade method. Unless one has an odd goal, mine will “get you where you are going.” Presuming one drinks vodka for effect, not for some ephemerous “goal,” mine will take you there and leave you asking, “did I really drink THAT MUCH?”
I assume NOBODY drinks vodka, versus, say, wine, for any reason other than effect.