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| They took vodka to task. Six people age 21-40 tried six different vodkas blind, all at varying prices. Results? They were tried neat at room temperature. Prior to the tasting, they all said they preferred Grey Goose. It finished in last place. Second test -- same vodkas in the Cosmopolitan mixed drink. This time they couldn't pick a favorite. Their conclusion -- save your bucks and buy cheaper vodka. Anyone have any comments, other than it was a small group of tasters who are not professionals or in the trade? Bucko | |||
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| I'm not really much for vodka these days, and when I do have it, I have it seriously chilled. Room-temperature vodka sounds like a gross idea. But back when I did occasionally drink vokda, which was before the expensive-vodka era, I certainly noticed some differences. Smirnoff had a medicinal taste that I really disliked. Regular Stoly had it to a lesser extent. The fancy (meaning $24/750ml then) black-label Stoly didn't have it, nor did Absolut. So I mostly picked Absolut. The real issue for me was not so much whether one could notice differences (yes), but whether even the best imaginable vodka would be all that exciting. Maybe with caviar... -- Bryan | |||
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| I can detect only minute differences, if any, between vodkas in blind tastings, and have always believed that the vodka wars were little more than media hype. Maybe I just have an insensitive palate, but I can sure tell differences between wines, scotches, or even gins. | |||
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| While I was in grad school, I tended bar at a country club. We served a lot of scotch and a lot of vodka marts. The scotch was almost exclusively ordered by brand; the vodka marts were generally not. Consequently, most were made with the house vodka, White Tavern. No one complained. This was in an era before the explosion of vodka brands, but still we had Smirnoff, Borzoi, and Stoli stocked. At that time (late 70s), White Tavern was less than $5 per quart which was very cheap. The other barkeeps, all very good friends, and I were astounded to figure out that we could make punches for parties less expensively using White Tavern than Everclear, the PGA that is about 190 or more proof. In summary, I'm not surprised at the results. Vodka is neutral; gin, scotch, Irish, bourbon, etc. are not. Even with that, I usually avoid name brands in gin and tonics....its kind of a waste. Mike | |||
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| In the early 80s Kamchatka Vodka, a cheap supermarket (at least in California)brand had a similar ad campaign where they bested all of the expensive vodkas. I remember about that time one of the liquor stores in SF got in trouble for putting on their marquee, Back to School Special, Vodka, Cant smell, no tell. | |||
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| Is there someone who just arbitrarily eliminates posts from this site,which are not offensive, simply because they don't like the posts or might disagree, or am I doing something wrong? This is the third time I am posting this. The other 2 times it showed up for a few moments and disappeared. Same thing happened with a post I put up a few days ago about 2004 Bordeaux which several people responded to! Anyway, I do agree about Vodka and think my post of March '05 is relevant to the topic: Definitely, the best vodka tasting and proclamation by a panel of established experts took place in the New York Times about 2 months ago. After tasting through a bunch of entries the panel came up with it's favorite...Smirnoff 80 proof! I found this exquisitly amusing!! Here are all these obscenely expensive vodkas flooding the market, in fact the guy who invented Grey Goose said the reason he came up with it was because people want to pay more for something because they then feel they are getting true quality, And a panel of respected pallets determines that Smirnoff 80 proof is their #1. I was on the lookout and sure enough the very next week Smirnoff took out 2 full pages in the paper, the first one was a blindfolded bottle as I recall and it asked a leading question, and then when you turned the page there was Smirnoff 80 proof in all it's anointed glory! 1.75 litre is selling in my neighborhood on sale for under $20.00! | |||
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| in the beer and spirits discussion is relevant to the topic: Definitely, the best vodka tasting and proclamation by a panel of established experts took place in the New York Times about 2 months ago. After tasting through a bunch of entries the panel came up with it's favorite...Smirnoff 80 proof! I found this exquisitly amusing!! Here are all these obscenely expensive vodkas flooding the market, in fact the guy who invented Grey Goose said the reason he came up with it was because people want to pay more for something because they then feel they are getting true quality, And a panel of respected pallets determines that Smirnoff 80 proof is their #1. I was on the lookout and sure enough the very next week Smirnoff took out 2 full pages in the paper, the first one was a blindfolded bottle as I recall and it asked a leading question, and then when you turned the page there was Smirnoff 80 proof in all it's anointed glory! 1.75 litre is selling in my neighborhood on sale for under $20.00! | |||
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| "Vodka is vodka". He could have bought any vodka on the market at that time, and I think it was "Walgreens" or something that graced his cupboard! | |||
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| ate: 15-Mar-2005 00:03 Author: Tom V Email Subject: The Best Vodka.... View Parent message Well honestly, for me personally, not being a vodka nut, there just isn't enough taste involved to get all that worked up about it...HOWEVER... Definitely, the best vodka tasting and proclamation by a panel of established experts took place in the New York Times about 2 months ago. After tasting through a bunch of entries the panel came up with it's favorite...Smirnoff 80 proof! I found this exquisitly amusing!! Here are all these obscenely expensive vodkas flooding the market, in fact the guy who invented Grey Goose said the reason he came up with it was because people want to pay more for something because they then feel they are getting true quality, And a panel of respected pallets determines that Smirnoff 80 proof is their #1. I was on the lookout and sure enough the very next week Smirnoff took out 2 full pages in the paper, the first one was a blindfolded bottle as I recall and it asked a leading question, and then when you turned the page there was Smirnoff 80 proof in all it's anointed glory! 1.75 litre is selling in my neighborhood on sale for under $20.00...unless of course you simply must pay more! | |||
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| Lost all credibility with me when they did a "story" about 2 buck chuck a couple of years ago. It read like an infomercial for Trader Joes store brand of California wine. I did see it though and found it interesting, I wonder how they chose Smirnoff to be the low priced brand? | |||
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| I think in the general company of non-bar vodka, Smirnoff is low-end these days. Stoli, Grey Goose, Ketl One, etc. are all much more expensive. Mike | |||
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| Since vodka is neutral spirits with very little taste impact the test was hardly suprising. I think it was an error to serve it at room temperature but then quality difference shines thru. I find little quality or taste difference between brands and most are completely pure. But be aware of some of the cheap ones they are awful. Some brands have OK price (not like Grey goose that is expesive) and guarantee quality, these are good enough. Best Fredrik Svensson Barcelona, Spain | |||
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| Definitely, the best vodka tasting and proclamation by a panel of established experts took place in the New York Times about 6 months ago. After tasting through a bunch of entries the panel came up with it's favorite...Smirnoff 80 proof! I found this exquisitly amusing!! Here are all these obscenely expensive vodkas flooding the market, in fact the guy who invented Grey Goose said the reason he came up with it was because people want to pay more for something because they then feel they are getting true quality, And a panel of respected pallets determines that Smirnoff 80 proof is their #1. I was on the lookout and sure enough the very next week Smirnoff took out 2 full pages in the paper, the first one was a blindfolded bottle as I recall and it asked a leading question, and then when you turned the page there was Smirnoff 80 proof in all it's anointed glory! 1.75 litre is selling in my neighborhood on sale for under $20.00! | |||
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| ...nobody I've ever heard of drinks neat vodka at room temperature except alcoholics too desperate to wait for the stuff to get chilled. I used to drink three ounces or more neat before dinner every night, chilled of course, and believe me I could tell the difference. Room temp vodka, though, probably all tastes pretty much alike, which is to say horrible. But vodka does get lost in mixed drinks. No point in spending money on the good stuff for that. Clint | |||
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| including three in our freezer on the off chance she may actually drink some someday -- hasn't for three years though. Except for the three in the freezer, the others are all arranged in a row over our bar -- they make a very interesting show with new designs coming out each year. The vodka gives an incredible crystalline luster to the packaging -- quite beautiful. | |||
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| I certainly am no expert when it comes to vodka -- I rarely drink it. Bucko | |||
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| The Times did an excellent tasting about 4-5 months ago and someone had slipped in a ringer with the Kettle One, Grey Goose and other high end vodkas. I seem to remember Eric Asimov led the tating. The unanimous winner was the ringer...good old Smirnoff. It was funny to read further as they tried to back peddle saying maybe it was the comforting taste that they remembered from raiding their parents cabinets as mid teens. | |||
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| SPIRITS OF THE TIMES; A Humble Old Label Ices Its Rivals By ERIC ASIMOV (NYT) 1889 words Published: January 26, 2005 IT was not exactly a victory for the underdog, but chalk it up as a triumph of the unexpected. The idea for the Dining section's tasting panel was to sample a range of the new high-end unflavored vodkas that have come on the market in the last few years in their beautifully designed bottles and to compare them with a selection of established super-premium brands. To broaden the comparison, or possibly as a bit of mischief, our tasting coordinator, Bernard Kirsch, added to our blind tasting a bottle of Smirnoff, the single best-selling unflavored vodka in the United States, but a definite step down in status, marketing and bottle design. After the 21 vodkas were sipped and the results compiled, the Smirnoff was our hands-down favorite. Shocking? Perhaps. Delving into the world of vodka reveals a spirit unlike almost any other, with standards that make judging it substantially different from evaluating wine, beer, whiskey or even root beer. A malt whiskey should be distinctive, singular. The same goes for a Burgundy or a Belgian ale. But vodka? Vodka is measured by its purity, by an almost Platonic neutrality that makes tasting it more akin to tasting bottled waters, or snowflakes. Yet in just a few decades vodka has become the most popular spirit in the country. It is now the default liquor in cocktails once made with gin, and with its glossy merchandising it has set a marketing standard for high-end spirits that the other liquors are all struggling to emulate. It's quite an achievement for something that the government defines as ''neutral spirits, so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.'' A lack of distinctiveness is a separate matter from a lack of distinction. The vodkas we tasted had character and their own flavors and aromas, even though the differences among them were often subtle and difficult to articulate. ''I'm looking for interest,'' said Eben Klemm, a cocktail expert who joined me for the tasting, along with my colleagues Florence Fabricant and William L. Hamilton, who writes the Shaken and Stirred column for the Sunday Styles section. ''Some were so unique that they stood out,'' he added, ''while others were pure, simple and austere.'' Mr. Klemm, whose heady title is director of cocktail development for B.R. Guest, a restaurant group that includes Dos Caminos, Fiamma and Vento in New York, found himself torn in two directions in assessing the vodkas. Because we tasted them straight, he judged them as solo beverages yet could not help extrapolating how they would taste in cocktails, which are overwhelmingly the vehicle for consuming vodka. Mr. Hamilton, too, wondered whether his perceptions might change. ''When deployed in mixed drinks, these slight flavor profiles that I enjoyed might cause trouble,'' he said. Ms. Fabricant, on the other hand, dismissed such existential issues. ''Go with the flow,'' she suggested, adding that the qualities she sought in the vodkas included elegance, neutrality and balance. ''As a vodka drinker who likes vodka on the rocks, I picked out what I would want to drink,'' she said. I'm not much of a vodka drinker myself, although I do like a good bloody mary. I prefer gin in classic gin drinks like martinis and gimlets that have largely evolved into vodka cocktails. But I appreciate the purity and depth of a fine vodka. Those I liked best were all smooth rather than harsh, and balanced and harmonious rather than burdened by alcoholic heat. They had a presence in the mouth that we sometimes referred to as texture or substance. That being said, at the end of our tasting it was Smirnoff at the top of our list, ahead of many other names that are no doubt of higher status in stylish bars and lounges. Some of those names did not even make our Top 10. Grey Goose from France, one of the most popular vodkas, was felt to lack balance and seemed to have more than a touch of sweetness. Ketel One from the Netherlands, another top name, was felt to be routine and sharp, although Mr. Klemm did describe it as ''a good mixer.'' More than 300 vodkas are on the market now, and of course we could not taste them all. Notable brands that we omitted included Chopin, Finlandia, Rain and Tanqueray Sterling. But our tasting included 5 of the 10 best-selling unflavored vodkas in the United States and the 5 best-selling imported vodkas. What set Smirnoff apart, we agreed, was its aromas and flavors, which we described as classic. Smirnoff of course has a long history. The company was founded in Russia in the 19th century, and after the Russian Revolution the family, then spelling its name Smirnov, left the country and eventually ended up in France. The brand, now owned by Diageo, was introduced in the United States in 1934 and eventually became the best-selling brand with the slogan ''It will leave you breathless.'' Perhaps our description of Smirnoff as classic was nostalgic, possibly a result of the imprinting of its flavors and aromas on our brains in some early quest through our parents' liquor cabinets. But its smooth neutrality and pleasing texture also won it points, and its success illustrates a vital truth about vodka. Unlike most other spirits and certainly unlike beer and wine, vodka does not necessarily benefit from artisanal manufacturing. The bearded bumpkin who minds the barrels in the ad campaigns for bourbon has no place in the production of vodka. In fact most so-called vodka producers do not even distill their own spirits. In the United States almost all vodka producers buy neutral spirits that have already been distilled from grain by one of several big Midwestern companies like Archer Daniels Midland. The neutral spirits, which are 95 percent alcohol or more, are trucked to the producers, where they are filtered, diluted and bottled. In our tasting only one brand, Teton Glacier Potato vodka, was distilled by the producer. Another producer, Hangar 1, distills a portion of its spirits and buys the rest. What sets vodkas apart from one another are essentially the base ingredients used in the distillation and the water. Most spirits can be made only from certain prescribed ingredients, but vodka can be distilled from just about anything that can be fermented into alcohol: grains, vegetables, even fruits. Our tasting included vodkas made from wheat, rye and potatoes, even a couple that used grapes. Hangar 1 is distilled partly from wheat and partly from viognier grapes, which perhaps lend the slight sweetness the panel detected. Possibly the combination results in a complexity, which we all liked. Another vodka, Cīroc Snap Frost from France, is distilled entirely from grapes, but we sensed a disjointedness in it that kept it off our list. Like gin, vodka can be produced just about anywhere, and our tasting included four from the United States; four from Poland; three each from Russia, France and the Netherlands; and one apiece from Switzerland, Estonia, New Zealand and Sweden. Russia and Poland both claim to be the originators of vodka. None of the Russians made our list, but two of our Top 3 were from Poland. The Wyborowa, which comes in a striking bottle designed by the architect Frank Gehry, was elegant and mysterious and seemed to keep drawing us in. The Belvedere was exceptionally pure and smooth. All four entries from the United States made the list. In addition to Smirnoff and Hangar 1 they were Skyy, which Ms. Fabricant suggested would be superb ice cold, and Teton Glacier Potato vodka, which seemed to conform to the government definition of tasteless and odorless. While we chose to focus on unflavored vodkas those blended in the factory with flavorings like lemon, black pepper and even chocolate may be the fastest-growing category of all. Given the government definition of vodka, the success of such flavored vodkas may raise the philosophical question one day of exactly what constitutes a vodka. The prices of these vodkas ranged from a low of $13 for the Smirnoff to a high of $34 for Potocki, a Polish vodka that did not make our cut. The Belvedere also cost $34, but that was for a liter rather than the usual 750 milliliter bottle. Imported vodkas tend to cost more, partly because of taxes levied by various governments, currency exchange rates and, not least, marketing concerns: as has been proved in many industries, wine not least of all, raising the price of a product increases its status among consumers. Possibly with that in mind Stolichnaya has just introduced a new vodka, Elit, for $60 a bottle. Because Elit was not available in New York at our tasting, the panel did not sample it. Its marketers say it is ''carefully crafted using a centuries-old Russian recipe and a revolutionary 'freeze filtration process.''' The bottle is certainly sleek. What's inside may be another matter. Tasting Report: In the Best-Selling Category, a Best Seller Stands Out BEST VALUE Smirnoff United States Grain $13 [Rating: Three Stars] 80 proof Pure, clean and ultrasmooth, with pleasing texture and classic vodka aroma. Wyborowa Poland Single Estate Rye $30 [Rating: Three Stars] 80 proof 1 liter Elegant and intriguing, with mild flavors and great persistence. Belvedere Poland Rye $34 80 proof 1 liter [Rating: Three Stars] Great smoothness and purity, with good texture and body. Absolut Sweden Level Grain $24 80 proof [Rating: Two and a Half Stars] Smooth and substantial, with flavors of flowers, lemon grass or nuts. Hangar 1 United States $30 Straight Wheat and Grain [Rating: Two and a Half Stars] 80 proof Pleasing, with complex flavors and a suggestion of sweetness. Vox Netherlands Wheat $23 80 proof [Rating: Two and a Half Stars] Smooth and neutral, with savory flavors and a touch of alcoholic heat. Olifant Netherlands Grain $17 80 proof [Rating: Two Stars] 1 liter Subtle, yet rich and complex. 42 Below New Zealand Wheat $24 84 proof [Rating: Two Stars] Straightforward, pure and smooth. Skyy United States Grain $16 80 proof [Rating: Two Stars] 1 liter Unusual flavors of mint and lime. Teton Glacier United States Potato $20 80 proof 1 liter [Rating: Two Stars] Clean and light on the palate; odorless and tasteless. WHAT THE STARS MEAN (None) Pass it by * Passable ** Good *** Excellent **** Extraordinary Ratings reflect the panel's reactions to the vodkas, which were tasted with names concealed. The panelists this week are Eric Asimov, Florence Fabricant, William L. Hamilton and Eben Klemm, director of cocktail development for the B.R. Guest restaurants. The tasted vodkas represent a selection generally available in good retail shops and restaurants. Prices are those paid in liquor shops in the New York region. Tasting Coordinator: Bernard Kirsch nytimes.com Recent wine columns from the New York Times are online: nytimes.com/wine. This week, members of the panel discuss their favorite vodkas. Photos: SIPS DON'T LIE -- In a blind tasting of 21 vodkas, Smirnoff was favored over newer brands. (Photo by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)(pg. F1); PRETTY BOTTLES, BUT ... Differences among the vodkas that were tasted were subtle, but each nevertheless had a distinctive flavor and aroma. (Photo by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)(pg. F8) | |||
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| Thanks Bob, I usually cringe after posting here since I try to dig up some pearl of wisdom from my crusted brain that I read long ago....or not too long ago.... and generally muck it up. Interesting to say the least | |||
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| after reading your report, but your report was spot on. | |||