[MENTION=112383]MoD[/MENTION]s: Before starting this thread, I did a rudimentary search to see if there were any other semi-recent threads on the same topic, and came up empty, but if I missed any, please feel free to merge away.

The topic is self explanatory. Basically, what vodka brands do you like and why?

About 10 years ago, I watched an IFE segment on the subject. The producers did a blind vodka taste test using (non flavored) products that retailed between $5 and $500 per bottle. Testers were given shots and some common vodka based cocktails (non-vodka ingredients unchanged).

IIRC, the results were: 1. there was no consensus favorite; 2. the stuff in the plastic bottles that supermarkets sell was easy to distinguish as bad; 3. at the Absolut level and above, the results were all over the map...to the extent that many of the experts felt embarrassed when their winners were unmasked.

I have to admit that, while I'm a sucker for fancy bottles and compelling marketing (e.g. "hand made") tactics, I would surely flail similarly in a blind taste test.

That having been said, taste isn't the only relevant variable. For example, if there was compelling evidence that A was purer than B, I'd go for A.