водка Что вам нравится (The Vodka Thread)

Neither does Sobore!

too much sobor rattling in this thread.

or not enough sober people

I can't believe that as a life-long consumer of vodka, I have only now discovered this thread! Still, better late than never.

Before I reveal my personal preferences, I'd like to point out that,

1. It matters very little, if at all what (i.e., grain, potato, etc.) was used to make vodka. Marketing hype. Vodka is made from rectified spirits, a product of repeated distillation or another clever separation technique, either of which removes pretty much all traces of the original product. You can make rectified spirit from wood chips or sugar cane, and it won't be different from grain-based or potato-based alcohol. Now, before you charge me with blasphemy an/or declare me persona non grata, I don't mean to imply that all vodkas taste the same or have no taste. What separates, say Grey Goose from Smirnoff, is filtering and purification, water used to dilute ethanol to 40% a.b.v., and favorings - all of which can make a huge difference in the way vodka tastes, and the way you feel in the morning.

2. A corollary to the above is that all vodkas are flavored. Some are flavored with noticeable flavor of lemon, orange, coffee, etc. Others are flavored to enhance 'neutral' flavor, much like lower-end bottled water is 'enhanced' to taste like ... water. Most common additive is trace amounts of sugar, but there are others. Consider this my petition to reinstate Gargoyle's good standing with the MilePoint community.

As to me personally, much depends on how vodka is served. Cold (or freezer-cold) shots with sumptuous dinner call for Russian Standard, K1, GG or some other higher-end brand. Plain old Stoli or Absolut work fine for Martinis. Sugary mixed drinks aren't my thing.

I have not tried Tito's, but have been planning to. Vodka Tasting DO, anyone?

I'm in. The last one I did was on that "other" forum probably around 2003? Twelve vodkas from twelve different countries (although I think we stretched it to somewhere between 15 and 17 to try a few unique infusions). Held it at some Russian restaurant in Chicago and I'm a bit hazy on other details as that was a LOT of alcohol for one night....

I tried Tito's last month for the first time. Not a big fan....but then again anything beats Smirnoff

Sounds like fun. I can contribute a bottle or two of native stuff, not available for sale around here.

How could anyone that spends a lot of time in the sky drink Kettle?

The idea of unpretentious quality appeals to me; I'll have to pick up a bottle.

For those of you who ever make it to YYZ, I recommend going to Rasputin Vodka Bar on Queen St. E. At least 30 different types to try. You can do a 4 vodka sampler, served with rye bread and pickles.

The Russian Standard Vodka rules!

I prefer brown liquors made in Kentucky to something designed to be colorless, odorless, and tasteless, but I'll leave this recent article on the business of vodka for your consumption.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/vodka-nation_582069.html?nopager=1

Oh, and Olsen in Buenos Aires has a good selection, along with Nordic food. I don't know if it's still open.

I was amazed at the low reference rate for Tito's aslo. I'm not really a vodka drinker (much more a tequila or single malt scotch drinker) but Mrs Sweet Willie LOVES her Tito's vodka. http://titosvodka.com/

A frequent cocktail of hers is to make a dirty martini with Tito's & the juice from a can of Goya anchovy stuffed olives (of course putting a few olives in the drink as well) http://www.goya.com/english/product_subcategory/Condiments/Olives-Capers

This summer we made some cucumber vodka with a fresh cucumber from our garden. Now that was some tasty vodka over rocks which I enjoyed, especially during this hot summer.

A few years ago, after seeing the cheesy ads for Tito's, I bought a bottle as a joke for friends who are pretty hard core vodka lovers.

We were all pleasantly surprised how good it was! iirc, after that Tito's became their vodka of choice.

I knew I was missing something on MP and apparently it's the Vodka thread...personally I am a Grey Goose guy but enjoy my Polish Zubrowka which is Vodka made out of Bison Grass (tasty)...

I just recently gave this a try mixed in Bloody Mary and it was quite tasty...

Smoked Salmon Vodka....what's next.....Malassol Caviar Vodka? Keep it pure, keep it clean!

Well...it would make F pre-dinner service more efficient on some airlines.

I picked up a bottle of Tito's over the weekend because of this thread. That is good stuff!

speaking of filtering. Anyone read the article where super cheap, rot gut vodka was filtered repeatedly through a Brita water filter. 'experts' tasted the resulting liquid and could not tell it apart from mid level vodkas, but the Brita filtered stuff never came up to premium standards.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/01/bison_grass_vodka_spirits.php

Stoletov Original. Ukrainian vodka is far and away the best stuff I've had. A close second is Japanese soba shochu - buckwheat vodka. I have the bottle but I have no idea what it says thus no Google search and pic

I have a couple of these... haven't opened them yet. Anyone tried them?

My vodka 'need to try list' is growing out of control! Thanks for the interesting looking vodkas!

One of my goals of travel is to bring a bottle of the local booze home. Raki - Turkey, Cachaca -Brazil, Becherovka - Czech, Lakka - Finland, Vodka - Ukraine/Japan, Saki - Japan, etc ...

So a question to my fellow drinkers - where do you buy your vodka or other "foreign" spirits? I may make it back to each place but what to do in the interim? [without hijacking the thread too much]

what is the difference between the three bottles of Stoletov in the pic you posted?