Vodka Expensive vs. cheap

[cougar14]

I usually have a vodka martini every evening, outside when the weather permits. I have noticed that there is only a little difference between them to my taste. The cheaper ones taste a little sharp but nowhere like cheap bourbon vs. good stuff. I keep mine in the freezer, so there's no contact with ice. The vermouth ( 5-6 drops) and the olive make more of a difference, good vermouth vs the cheap (Gallo) . Anyone share this, or have different thoughts?

 

[Farmer17]

One of my wife's good friends is Russian and she says Smirnoff is the most common over there, which is what I usually choose and it's pretty cheap. I can't really tell any difference between the more expensive stuff but I don't think Vodka has much of a taste anyway.

 

[Absalom]

Let me quote federal law:

“27 CFR § 5.22 - The standards of identity.
.....
(1) “Vodka” is neutral spirits so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color.”

THAT should explain everything about vodka

The reason that the differences among whiskeys and other brown spirits like brandy and rum are much more pronounced is the barrel aging. The majority of the whiskey flavors are imparted during the time in the wood.

 

[Onomea]

I agree.

While I am not much of a vodka drinker, the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff is much more pronounced with whiskeys and bourbons, the brown liquors in general, but also even among gins, than with vodka, to my palate.

Which is good news for vodka drinkers, right?!

(I am a gin martini man myself. Up, with olives. A couple of years ago I read an article on good gins for martinis, one of which was a gin called Old Raj. So I have been asking for it, off and on, without success, for the past couple of years. But, visiting my third son in San Francisco recently, I saw it on the menu and gave it a try. Very nice indeed! Highly recommended.)

 

[Rudi]

My 2 cents, your liver will thank you for drinking quality booze instead of cheaper stuff.

 

[Absalom]

One of my wife's good friends is Russian and she says Smirnoff is the most common over there, ....

An ironic tidbit about Smirnoff: It hasn’t actually been Russian since the Revolution 1917, but is now produced by the British spirits corporation Diageo (Johnny Walker, George Dickel, Captain Morgan rum, etc.) at various plants all over the world, but not in Russia; it’s imported there.

 

[billwill]

Cheers... to whichever brand you choose. Good tonic, lime and ice and some vodka, a winning combination

 

[JayFramer]

Smirnoff is garbage.

Get some Sobieski. $10 for 750ml and ridiculously smooth. Made in Poland from pure rye. I drink it neat, room temp, with a pickle on the side, just as it’s done all over Eastern Europe.

 

[soFlaNative]

Enjoy, I don't. Vodka makes me stupid(er).

 

[DWalt]

I remember there was a "Taste Test" done of various vodkas some time ago for a Myth Busters episode. There was more to it than just that, but one result was that several tasting "experts" couldn't discern much difference among vodka brands, or even diluted industrial ethanol. The rage now seems to be the various flavored vodkas. As vodka is not aged in barrels as whiskies are, there is nothing in it to give it a distinctive taste or aroma. Essentially like moonshine.

 

[cougar14]

Smirnoff is garbage.

Get some Sobieski. $10 for 750ml and ridiculously smooth. Made in Poland from pure rye. I drink it neat, room temp, with a pickle on the side, just as it’s done all over Eastern Europe.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look for it.

 

[tg4360]

My 2 cents, your liver will thank you for drinking quality booze instead of cheaper stuff.

ETOH Is ETOH.

Your liver will motabolize it the same no matter how much it cost.

Dirty little secret is, just like the majority of whiskeys in the US are made by one distillery, most imported vodkas start as tankers of ETOH and it's simply what they cut it with that makes the difference.

 

[Absalom]

....
Dirty little secret is, just like the majority of whiskeys in the US are made by one distillery, most imported vodkas start as tankers of ETOH and it's simply what they cut it with that makes the difference.

Well, as for US whiskey, not so much; it used to be 14, with all the recent construction it's creeping up to 20 major distilleries. As you can see from the volume chart, the largest producing distilleries are Jack Daniel's in Lynchburg and Heaven Hill in Louisville; Beam achieves second place using two distilleries, in Clermont and Boston, KY.

Imported vodka, like Grey Goose (France) or Stoli (Russia/Latvia) is blended and bottled in the country of origin unless it states something else on the bottle. TTB rules about labeling are quite specific.

Smirnoff and other cheaper foreign-sounding vodkas like Wolfschmidt, however, are actually locally made, including in the US.

And most vodka made in the U.S. comes indeed from grain neutral spirit (GNS) made by one of three producers: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Midwest Grain Products (MGP), or Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), whose distilleries are in Illinois, Kansas/Indiana, and Iowa. Because that's where the grain is.

And because distilling up to the 95% ABV (190 proof) required by law for vodka is hard with a small still, most "craft distillers" buy that stuff too, and just run it through their still again, so they can legally claim they distilled it and charge "craft" prices, like Tito's Vodka; "made in Texas" my patootie.

 

[steveno]

my favorite mixed drink (and only one) is a vodka gimlet

 

[Marshwheeling]

There is no such thing as a vodka martini. A martini is a gin drink. That other thing is a “vodka-based martini-style cocktail”.

The only way I drink vodka is frozen, neat. I tell myself I prefer Russkiy Standart, as I have had some pretty good times drinking it.

 

[OLDSTER]

We enjoy really fine vodka right from the freezer in frozen shot glasses; a tradition during any holiday ( legitimate or dreamed up). Our favorite is Belvedere Polish. We've politely accepted Philips from well-meaning friends; the difference is significant.

 

[ACORN]

Not an expert but this stuff ain’t bad.

 

[max]

About 40 years ago, the Chicago Tribune did a vodka taste test around the holidays. If I remember, first place was pure medicinal alcohol and 2nd was some cheap brand Walgreens sold. There have been a lot of new products since, but that was the results then.

 

[challer61]

If you like, buy it. Vodka is "neutral" to a point but has some flavor. The biggest problem is cheap vendors reduce the lees and tails of distillation leaving bad actors in the finished product. Good vendors distill more than once and extend the lees and tails to reduce the bad actors. But, Vodka connoisseurs can definitely taste differences and often the main ingredient of the mash bill.

 

[Old_Cop]

Grey Goose vodka martini with a twist of lemon, rocks on the side. My mother's favorite drink. She has been gone nine years now. I no longer drink but it was never that classy.