Vodka
 

...I just thought I'd round out the threads a bit...


:D

is there much difference between cheap vodka and expensive? i hear guys i work with touting Grey Goose..... but i had heard that vodka is vodka.

They did a blind taste test and Smirnoff came out on top - grey goose was a distant fourth. Grey goose is just advertising IMHO. I've tasted a LOT of vodka- Smirnoff is best, Absolut is second.

some like it icy cold but I preferred it straight - straight room temp, straight from the bottle and straight to the ED!

:blush:

srsly, the only Voddie I do NOT recommend is that Kamchatka shite that's watered down and sold in grocery stores. It's pure poison.

dunno but there is most certainly a difference between vodka made for drinking neat (i.e. for the Russian and similar East European markets) and for mixing (i.e. everywhere else!).
I don't know what you can get in the States, but it is worth finding a Russian (or Ukrainian, or Polish ...) delicatessen and buying what they've got. In a Russian shop you might find Kubanskaya, real Russian Stolichnaya or just ask about what they'd recommend for drinking chilled and neat. While you're there get yourself some rye bread and a jar of dill pickles. Take this little lot home and put the voddie in the freezer.
When the vodka is nice and chilled, cut yourself some thin slices of rye bread and butter them (unsalted butter is good), and some slices of dill pickle: arrange on a plate. Take a shot glass (the sort that is the size of an egg cup) and pour a mouthful of vodka into it.
The next bit is a little tricky, but believe me this is the way to do it ...
1 take vodka tot in right hand
2 take bread or pickle in left hand
3 breath out sharply
4 knock back vodka in one gulp
5 hold bread or pickle up to your nose and inhale gently
6 eat said bread or pickle
7 repeat as necessary.
This is best done just before a meal. If you are in company it is usual to make a toast before each shot.
Ah, happy days (daze) ...
[well, you did ask, LJ]
added after Bri's post - Smirnoff!??!?!?!?!? Neat!!!!!!!!!!??????????GAH! Yuck :vomit:

taste test done by some mook

and one by Business week that you actually have to read the article to get his point....

the consensus is that Bri is right. buy the cheap stuff and freeze it.

It's a long time since I was into vodka...and back then we just decided on the basis of whether it was 'Red label' or 'Blue label'.

Probably a fuckin wonder I didn't end up blind or brain damaged...don't say it...no really.

I am not allowed to drink vodka anymore. :( But I love the stuff.

TITCM!!!

Eh, except I love vodka and caviar or a really good smoked salmon in lieu of pickles when I can but, you definately want that salty/sour bite to go with the drink!!!

I don't care what kind of vodka I use in a mixed drink, but I will pay extra for a good Russian vodka to do shots of!! From the freezer so it's really cold and syrupy.... YUMMM

I don't like the taste of vodka. Never got the hang of it. There are so many adult beverages that taste good, I didn't consider it worth wasting my time.

Why, thank you, Siochain! TITCM? This is the correct method?
(Caviare I do with beer, Baltika No 3 has good associations for me).
Oh, and Wolf, the point is NOT to taste it, just knock it back!

Way years a go, before MS. was wet. I bought Taaka by the case in S. La. About 3 bucks a bottle

If you ever get the chance to try a really good Russian vodka, do so. It tastes nothing like the American versions!

If it's going in a glass of orange juice, I buy Heaven Hill by the half-gallon for $12!

If it's for shots I usually buy something upscale, but on sale in my regular liquor store.

Hey, that's a good rule for life: Upscale , but on sale!

I absolutely ADORE Belvedere. It's so damn smooth. I KNOW I can taste the difference with that one. But I guess i've spoiled myself - it ain't cheap, and apparently hard to find in the U.S.

I pretty much agree with the second one, in that vodka is so subtle it hardly makes a difference. That's why I choose mine based on flavor (and if im getting a plain vodka, by what's cheapest). Absolut has a lot of flavors, and most of them are way too sweet which is why I steer clear of it when I can. I can't turn down a free bottle of pear flavored vodka, but i don't think i would pay money for it.

Ketel One Citroen is very good. The flavor is there but not too powerful, and citrus is a much better thing to flavor vodka with than all the fruits and crap that absolut does.

I also like the Grey Goose flavors lemon and orange. Again the citrus isn't very strong and you can still enjoy it for being a vodka and not vodka and juice which is what I feel like when I drink absolut. Still though Grey Goose is overpriced...