What's a good vodka?

[Troy_McClure_SF]

There’s always Boravic, too. It’s so evil, it doesn’t show up on Google at all.

My friend worked at a Rite Aid, and he was showing off the fact that he had masterminded a plan to leave a bottle of this great vodka out back, so that he could pick it up after work and bring it back (we were underage, if you couldn’t have guessed).

He brings it back and shows it off, much like a cat bats around its latest kill, until someone spotted the price tag on the 750 mL bottle of booze: $5.99.

Perhaps it was a lesson- don’t steal.

We ended up daring people to shoot it. Some vomiting ensued… I think we have pictures somewhere.

[k61]

RealityChuck wrote: The point of vodka is that it’s flavorless. All you taste is the alcohol.
obviously if you’re only drinking it in a mixed drink then what brand you use is not so important, but I only drink vodka neat and straight out of the freezer. and with that in mind even if you’re drinking an unflavoured brand - there’s a definite difference in taste/consistency/smoothness between a quality vodka like zubrowka and cheap shite like smirnoff.

Cervaise wrote: Anybody had Black Death vodka? I like the bottle, but I hear the actual stuff is pretty vile.
never judge a book by its cover…
I liked the bottle too - and decided to buy one - and it was vile!

Dinsdale wrote: For good or bad, my years of having a bottle in the freezer are well behind me.
for good or bad I will always have at least 1 bottle of vodka in my freezer…

[KidCharlemagne]

*Originally posted by Velma *
**The flavored Smirnoff is better than the regular, but for a good all-around vodka I would go with Stoli. I like vodka martinis (I don’t like gin) and for a martini, the smoother the better. I would use Smirnoff or Absolut for mixed drinks or shots, Stoli or Ketel for martinis or drinks where you sip. There are better vodkas, but after a while the price gets ridiculous.

Right now I have raspberry Smirnoff in my freezer that I like with tonic. The vanilla flavor is good with coke.

Horror story: Once, in college, by roommate convinced a bunch of us to do lemon drop shots with Popov’s. If you want to know what that is like, take a swig of rubbing alcohol and then suck on a lemon. One girl was in tears after that one. **

A marketing textbook I read in college explained that Popov and Smirnoff were the exact same vodka poured from the exact same vats. Popov was sold for $1 per fifth cheaper to downscale markets.

[KidCharlemagne]

*Originally posted by RealityChuck *
**Vodka snobbery is like the emporor running around talking about his great new outfit.

The point of vodka is that it’s flavorless. All you taste is the alcohol. Once you add a mixer, there’s no way in hell anyone can tell one from another.

Now some vodkas are smoother to drink straight; this usually means the alcohol is distilled a little bit better. Russian and Polish vodka are designed to be drunk straight; others are to be used in mixed drinks, so they aren’t as concerned on the smoothness.
**

I don’t know what you call the difference in flavor between a good distillation and a bad one, but it sure tastes like flavor.

[Timchik]

*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne *
**I don’t know what you call the difference in flavor between a good distillation and a bad one, but it sure tastes like flavor. **

Damn right. There’s a world of difference between cheap vodka and decent vodka (especially in Russia), and a substantial difference between decent vodka and really good vodka.

Don’t know if it’s being exported or not, but the best Russian vodka currently made is Yuri Dolgoruky. It costs a lot ($12 for a half-liter bottle in Moscow, where Stolichnaya goes for $5 for the same size, and rotgut of questionable origin goes for $3), but it is perfect for shots - incredibly smooth but not flavorless.

If you’re mixing, though, it really doesn’t matter a whole lot as long as it’s better than Popov’s…

[voguevixen]

*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne *
**A marketing textbook I read in college explained that Popov and Smirnoff were the exact same vodka poured from the exact same vats. Popov was sold for $1 per fifth cheaper to downscale markets. **

Interesting. Here’s a really interesting article I found from Beverage Business.com which features interviews with several different distillers.

http://www.beveragebusiness.com/art-arch/bradfd08.html

The director of UDV Spirits states:

Stoli, Smirnoff, Gordon’s and Popov are our major entrants in white spirits. It creates a lot of kissing cousins. And, in fact, it does offer an impressive product range for the total vodka market, where you’re looking at basically three price point plateaus with Stoli as the super premium, Smirnoff as the premium, and Gordon’s and Popov at more of a value-price point level.

I’m not buying that they’re all from the same vat though. Does anyone have a bottle of each handy? Take a couple swigs and tell us what you think. (Have a soft pillow handy to land on!)