I love the versatility vodka offers when mixing but just like how most people's knowledge of downtown doesn't extend to far past On Broadway and Decos most people are only familiar with the very cheap stuff in plastic bottles like Popov and Grey Goose.As exemplary of a model that Grey Goose is for marketing majors.(Read about the history of Grey Goose Vodka and it's creator Sidney Frank here )
I ABHOR the stuff! It's $25 for a bottle when many mid tier vodkas are a lot smoother in my opinion. (Well I wouldn't turn it down if someone got it as bottle service in the club, but I won't order the stuff myself.)I'd be happy with any of these brands:
Govori - It's rated higher than Belvedere, in fact here are the awards its won according to bevmo.com
Wine Enthusiast: 93 Beverage Tasting Institute: 93
Picault's Spirits Journal: 5STAR
DOUBLE GOLD 2005 SAN FRANCISCO SPIRITS COMPETITION
93 PTS BEST OF SPIRITS WINE ENTHUSIAST
5 STARS SPIRIT JOURNAL
For $20 you get a huge bottle that's also tastefully designed. I call it the official vodka of my 25th Birthday. (You can see video of it below, after we take the limo through the car wash)
Han - I had a friend introduce me to this vodka at a BBQ. He made spiked lemonade with it and was the biggest hit at the party. It's also America's only Asian vodka.
Imperia - This stuff was featured in a bunch of hosted bars recently. I remember this one time where my friends kept going back to the bar for the stuff and then next thing you know someone is in tears and someone else was throwing up. It rates high on sneakability / mixability alongside Han, it just tastes so good you keep drinking it.
Svedka - This vodka takes 40 hours to distill. Insane! Again it also constantly rates among the best. I find it a bit more complex than Han and Imperia. I would pick up a bottle of this if I was making more traditional cocktails instead of the usual sleeper hits.
Skyy - Remember when Skyy was THE vodka back in the early 2000's? It's not one of my first choices anymore but its not a bad fall back.
42 Below - Unremarkable but not bad. Had this bottle at Decos and finished it in no time.
Vodka's I avoid:
Ketel One: It's described as " Dramatic and powerful, dashing and flavorful" but all I remember is it being powerful in all the wrong ways.
Absolut: Its not really bad, in fact I think its just slightly lower than Skyy. It's just that you usually have more choices so reach for something else. Absolut 100 on the other hand is pretty good and its a higher proof.
RSS Feed