Please suggest a good vodka

Hello all,

I'm having some company over on Christmas Eve and need to know what to serve my friends. They are from the outskirts of Russia and I don't want to be embarassed. I've got in the cabinet Smirnoff (which is in a plastic container, obviously classy) and also I have Skyy which I think is descent, but not absolutely sure.

Should I get a potato vodka to honor there tastes?

Also, should vodka be chilled before serving?

How about Stolichnaya? I'm not sure about chilling before serving. I dated a Russian girl in high school and her father had a wine rack he stored all of his vodka in and drank it at room temp.

Here's an interesting article...
An era of opulence in Russian vodka - Los Angeles Times

Are you sure they even drink Vodka?

lol
they might hate it!

i like KettleOne. not too $$$.
but, it is not hangover proof like i have seen sky claim.

just get rum. everyone likes rum. no chance for embarrasment!

good luck

Introduce them to stuff from the U.S. or something. Let them try some tequilla or a Tennessee whiskey. If I was visiting another country I would want to drink what the locals drank.

Thanks for that link to the article ChshreCat. Good information there. I got some ideas for good brands from it. My local liquor store will hopefully have one of those. If I'm not sold on something at the store I at least got a brew that was bottled 11/29.

And by the way they definitely drink vodka (at least the husband does). I was at their daughter's first birthday and the Russian men there were calling toasts and drinking vodka.

Thanks for the replies and Happy Holidays all.

Stoli is a no miss for our Russian friends. Don't chill it. They like it serve in a simple juice glass.

Oh...and make sure to have some good homebrew nearby for a chaser.

DrunkTrucker said:

Introduce them to stuff from the U.S. or something. Let them try some tequilla or a Tennessee whiskey. If I was visiting another country I would want to drink what the locals drank.

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This couple has been in the states for 7 years now. So I think it may be a bit late to introduce the US to them.

I second the offering of some Jack, they may enjoy it more then what they are use to drinking!

SWMBO prefers this vodka:
Great Vodka - Rain
she used to drink Grey Goose and says this is same if not better.

NO on the Bourban, whiskey, etc. I drink two things: Beer and bourban. don't offer me rum, tequila, etc. etc.

Point? People who have a drink, typically don't want to stray too far from thier own beaten path.

If they are vodka drinkers, I second the kettle one. when I used to drink vodka martinis it was my favorite.

Potato vodka is a misnomer. Yes some vodkas are from potatoes but since vodka is a nuetral spirit devoid of color or odor, it can be made from anything. Just sugar and water, can be made into a vodka because it is just the pure alcohol from any fermented liquid. There are some vodkas made from potatoes but the best russian and american vodkas are grain based, and I think they are the better variety.

The micro-distillery movement has started in the States and there are some really good craft distilled spirits on the market, much better than the mass produces. I have heard really good things about Hangar 1 and many others. I would get them one of these craft vodkas from the states to try, depending on your budget.

Kettle One is a yuppie wanna-be. Find a true Russian-born, Russian-distilled vodka.

Stolichnaya is the standard for Russian vodkas. Stay away from the designer labels. You'll just insult your visitors.

If you are trying to impress
Grey goose, Stoly, or Absolute

If they don't know the difference, buy the cheap crap.

Belvidere...

Hangar one or 360 you wont be sorry.

It's not russian, but if it's a sippin vodka you want, Tito's handmade is the way to go!

Hey thanks for the replies everyone. I ended up getting some 360 which is what i saw over the guest's place. I'm extremely new to all hard liquor, but again thanks for the advice. I think hard liquor is one of my new frontiers for exploration.

Happy Holidays.

enderwig said:

It's not russian, but if it's a sippin vodka you want, Tito's handmade is the way to go!

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+1 on Tito's. Some good stuff there, mixes great and is good straight.





no more rhyming, I mean it...

Don't buy Grey Goose. They'll know you're a ********* if you serve them that. Probably 80% of all Grey Goose sales are to frat boys.

Pravda, Belvedere, and Ciroc(Ciroc is one of my favorites, hwmbo doesn't like it because of the slight "off" taste - slightly grapey, but not winey, very complex) are all good vodkas. There's a vodka that's showed up in WA state liquor stores lately called Dry Fly that's priced slightly higher than most of the premium vodkas (like $2 more) that's from a microdistillery in WA that I'm going to buy next time we need vodka.

Don't buy Stoli or something if you're drinking it straight. Stoli's a fine mixing vodka but I don't think I'd ever sip it.

/vodkasnob

LUKSUSOWA, from Poland.

Story here: I had an Irate customer at Lowes 3 yrs ago, I was the Dept. MGR,
and they were screaming about a sub contractor and a former employee. I calmy said, I'm Polish, and I couldn't F%*# things up this bad. They laughed, and in the end, after dealing with the sub that was doing the work, and visiting their home for inspection of problems, they bought me a bottle.
I liked it, and it is now my go to sipping bottle.

Vodka should always be stored in the freezer.

To quote Anthony Dias Blue in The Complete Book of Spirits:

To prepare a tasting, vodka should be placed in the freezer overnight. This brings the liquor to its proper viscosity and flavor

[...]

The practice of drinking vodka straight up and icy cold came from the origins of the drink. Originally called "wine", vodkas were stored in cellars. Because of its alcohol content, the spirit didn't freeze solid and was drinkable even in the dead of winter.

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And for those wondering, 40% alcohol vodka will freeze at -17F (-27C) where as your the ideal temperature of a freezer is 0F (-18C). If your vodka freezes in your freezer, either your freezer is too cold or someone is adding water to your vodka.

I'll give a +1 to the Belvedere. I was on a cruise last spring and we met they had a Grey Goose ambassader on the ship. Gave mixology sessions, bought drinks. He was a very nice guy. Off the record sitting at the bar he said he thinks Belvedere is a great vodka. He also mentioned Chopin. I believe Chopin is one of the few potato vodkas around. I havnt had it enough to remember it standing out, but i think it is one of the top tier Vodkas.

Just to add to the Stoli posts... if you can afford it (and find it), Stolichnaya Gold is a superb vodka. It has a black label with white and red lettering and costs 1.5 times as much as what regular Stoli costs, but it's smooth as a silk sheet on a hot date with a babe... I lost my train of thought (Seinfeld reference). Anyway, it's smooth and with a good complexity for a vodka.

I prefer Hangar One (the white grape version... not the flavored), when I can find it. Alas, my local liquor store stopped carrying it!

Beyond that I drink Belvedere.

As Laurel already mentioned, Ciroc is good (although I hate that P Diddly-******* is advertising for it now). We also like Chopin, which I believe is a Polish potato vodka. Good stuff, very smooth.

Chopin is a GREAT vodka and the one that we currently have in the freezer. It's VERY neutral and really an all-around good vodka. It doesn't have any of the ridiculous advertising like I now hear Ciroc has (I don't think I'll be buying it again JMulligan), and it also doesn't have anything that notably sets it apart in flavor like Ciroc. I'll put a vote in for Chopin. It doesn't have a dumb "look I have shiny **** and fake gems all over the place" bottle either.

Freezeblade said:

+1 on Tito's. Some good stuff there, mixes great and is good straight.

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Another vote for Tito's. And it's made in Austin! :rockin:

Tito's is by far the best vodka out there!

Chopin is a superb potato vodka and Belvedere is also very good. Zubrowka also makes an excellent vodka, great straight up and when mixed. Not all that well known though.

Grey Goose and Crioc are fratboy crap... IMO

Ciroc is low grade vodak with ultra premium advertising.

If you ever get a chance do yourself a favour and try some Iceberg Vodka

Iceberg Vodka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I thought it was all too much hype but it actually tastes great, has won awards and is reasonably priced.

My second choice would be Absolut

BTW Vodka is the simplest concept in the world of distilled drinks. It should have absolutely no taste other than alcohol and water. The more refined it is the better. There really shouldn't be any mumbo jumbo attached to it, the manufacturer should just trot out a chromatography analysis and show you how pure his product is - but the world of commercial alcohol sales is about 80% hype and 20% taste.

Pfft. What ever you get be sure to add the Bacon.

I pretty much only drink Reyka now. I think it is the best for the buck. If you want to save some cash I think Tito's and Russian Standard and Stoli are all good but not ideal.

I like the Chopin too. That's good, I just prefer the Reyka. It has an almost cooling menthol like note to it that I like.

Others I have liked: Christiania and Rehorst

EDIT: Bacon vodka and Porkfelwein FTW

The best Vodka I have ever had is Stoli Elite. It is also by far the most expensive at about $67 per bottle. Other than that regular stoli, and ciroc. Dogfish head makes a vodka too, I havent had but I have heard that its really good. I dont know if it is just distributed around here or not though.

NJTomatoguy said:

LUKSUSOWA, from Poland.

Story here: I had an Irate customer at Lowes 3 yrs ago, I was the Dept. MGR,
and they were screaming about a sub contractor and a former employee. I calmy said, I'm Polish, and I couldn't F%*# things up this bad. They laughed, and in the end, after dealing with the sub that was doing the work, and visiting their home for inspection of problems, they bought me a bottle.
I liked it, and it is now my go to sipping bottle.

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bierhaus15 said:

Tito's is by far the best vodka out there!

Chopin is a superb potato vodka and Belvedere is also very good. Zubrowka also makes an excellent vodka, great straight up and when mixed. Not all that well known though.

Grey Goose and Crioc are fratboy crap... IMO

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Luksusowa and Zubrowka are the two best I have had out of all those mentioned so far. Although these days I stick mainly to beer.

dataz722 said:

Dogfish head makes a vodka too, I havent had but I have heard that its really good. I dont know if it is just distributed around here or not though.

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I have two bottles we picked up at the brewpub in September... Vanilla infused and mango infused.... Good stuff...

Their honey-rum is dee-lish as well...

MikeFlynn74 said:

Ciroc is low grade vodak with ultra premium advertising.

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Sorry, completely disagree. Maybe if you would have said Grey Goose I would agree but, I have drank Ciroc for several years before P. Diddy (or whatever) started advertising for them. I actually died a lil inside when he started doing adds for them. On the other hand Stoli is a classic, Chopin is great, and Smirnoff will do in a pinch. I actually enjoyed Ston as well. Back in my younger days when I "didn't like beer" I drank a vodka version of a Churchill martini aka just Vodka in a Martini glass.

a little late but here is my current favorite.
well till my contract distiller friend 'officially' distributes his.


Kissui
made by the Takara Sake company.

the only Japanese vodka in the states.

giligson said:

My second choice would be Absolut

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Im sorry you could post the cure for cancer and after saying this I wouldnt trust your post.

Absolut is H.S. vodka that we thought was good because we didnt have I.D. to buy good stuff.

Gotta love Tito's