One of the very, very, very high end cocktail bars that I’ve frequented in NYC doesn’t even have Vodka in the building. I used to have Vodka on my personal bar…so I could accommodate some friends. Now I just show them other high end, non-vodka cocktails.
Are you suggesting that Cognac and Armagnac are neutral distilled spirits?
Could not be further from the truth, they are actually quite flavorful, and the upper-end house styles are quite unique. Single malt Scotch even more so, especially the Islay Malts.
Not liking them is another thing.
No, I am just saying I don’t like spirits in general even those which are made with grapes and are sometimes held in high esteem by wine enthusiasts. After visiting a distillery in Scotland and seeing the manufacturing process, it seems to me that whisky is also a neutral distilled spirit which gets its flavor profile from barrels and peat.
And region. And barley. And distillation cut. And still shape and size. And warehouse location. And age. While I agree that the differences among vodkas are subtle, the differences among Scotch malt whiskies are often not, although they are more homogeneous now (to their detriment in my opinion) than they were in the past. Column stills utilized in most spirit distillations, including vodka for the most part, produce a different spirit than pot stills required by law in the distillation of Scotch malt whisky.
Smirnoff red label is fine for me (I use vodka for bloodys); I do prefer it over many more expensive brands. If I absolutely had to drink vodka straight, I’d ask for Belvedere.
I think you’re missing the essential difference between vodka and whiskey/rum/brandy, etc. The latter are never distilled to the point where they lose all the character of the original material.
I like rye vodka, must be something to that, because I really like rye whisky.
Belvedere is made from rye, and it is a favorite for me. There is one from Northern Michigan, Great Lakes Distillery True North Rye, that is also excellent. There are others of course.
For value, I like Tito’s, though not a rye vodka.
I need to try this one, rye based, with Bison Grass. Sounds delish
huh! interesting. I did not know that about Belvedere, Scott. Thanks!
like you, I do enjoy rye whiskey, so maybe you’re on to something here!
Great palates! ![[drinkers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/82916bed5ad74ac8470bc04089d9758b0c80c9fa.gif "drinkers"){kind=small}
FYI, I found this pretty useful, there are more rye vodkas to try. I have a bit of an urge to buy all 3 Chopins (rye, wheat, potato) and compare them.
I agree completely with this. The differences are subtler than with many other spirits, particularly those where a wood aging regimen is involved, but there are clearly differences. Even for a Bloody Mary I want something smooth but also somehow assertive.
Before family vacations we take a decent bottle of vodka and soak some hot peppers in there, slit lengthwise, for a few days. We remove the peppers and the finished product is excellent for a Bloody Mary, but it makes a great thing to just sip on, if you like heat. We chase with homemade bread and butter pickles and the combo is excellent.
Flavored vodkas are obviously a bit different. Zubrowka has more than just bison grass. The number of flavored vodkas exploded back in the 1990s, and most of them I don’t like. Some of them smell interesting, but become tiring rather quickly.
Stolichniya had several classic flavored vodkas including Limonnaya (citrus) which I don’t like, Pertsovka (various peppers) which I like, and Okhotnichya (ginger, cloves, coffee, anise, buffalo grass, and who knows what) which is my favorite flavored vodka. I also recall a somewhat interesting blue tarragon flavored vodka from Georgia called Tarkhuna, but I’ve never seen that since I bought a bottle in the 1990s. Most of the simple fruit flavored vodkas I don’t like.
-Al
hmmm, that Chopin tasting would be interesting, Scott! I’ve tried the Chopin potato and did not like it … of course, it should be noted, I hate potato vodka.
Tito’s is shit. I want to get on the record saying that. I’ve had it in a number of blind tastings, and it is simply not good vodka. That’s blasphemy here in Texas, from where it originates. But it simply isn’t a high quality product. I’d not serve it in mixed drinks for good company, but would definitely use it to make a vodka sauce.
Vodkas do have quite significant taste differences. Like anything, it’s tough to identify that difference if you just drink one or another vodka. But Ketel One has a different profile than Goose. Ciroc is much different than Belvedere. And Chopin is very different than all those others. While neutral spirits, they’re made from different sources and the source imparts a flavor. Potato vodka tastes different than wheat vodka tastes different than grape vodka. Take a 1 oz pour of each, add a little crushed ice, and taste around a few vodkas. Shortly after college, I made a concerted effort to taste through dozens of high-end vodkas available here in the states, at least at high-end bars in Austin. I’ve not had Beluga gold, but I’ve had many others in that band of $25-60 bottles. I now have a bottle of Ketel one at my house at all times. It’s not the best, but it’s very solid quality and I enjoy the profile over crushed ice with a large lime wedge. It’s a very simple, refreshing, and delicious drink.
I drink very little vodka. About the only time I drink it is when we have bloody mary’s at home, in which case I like to mix Belvedere Bloody Mary into some Zing Zang (don’t judge) and I’m pretty happy.
I absolutely hate bloody mary’s. I think I’d rather drink almost anything over a bloody mary.
I’ve been tasting a lot of tails in Tito’s recently. Strong fusel notes Not pleasent
And there’s no drink that I’d rather have with brunch.
At least we can agree on The Nix (still working through it though).
It’s okay, Corey. I still like you very much in spite of your many horrible, glaring, embarrassing, crippling flaws.
Did you talk to Bobby? He says the very same thing to me when we’re spooning.
(now back to vodka)