Agreed, Absolut Pear is gross. Grey Goose Pear, on the other hand, is delicious.

For me, I like Grey Goose or Ketel.

Costco's house brand vodka is made by Grey Goose and costs half what Grey Goose does.

I love Absolut, I think it is from Sweden. it is Wheat based, it is smooth and there are lot of flavors like caramel, vanilla, cream, white peppercorn, honey, butter.

hmm. really? I haven't tried Absolut Pear yet.

I used to love Smirnoff green apple... but one time I had too much drink and was in a bad shape for a few hours, ever since then I just can't stand it. Every time I drink that flavor, I feel like I have to puke. Does anyone have such an experience?

+1 I rather like his bank also. Why is it that only in Russia do people who make fortunes with drink immediately start banks?

Vodka=Russia, so if discussing small-batch versions there are some delightful cherry and apple vodkas, but they're very limited distribution. Luckily I'll be there drinking the stuff a week from today.

My preference as well.

I just finished off our bottle of Ciroc Red (it's the berry flavor) tonight! I am not a huge fan of drinking anything straight, but Ciroc and water with a twist of lime is my new standard drink - with no hangover the next morning either!

I don't drink vodka, Tito's is Mrs Sweet Willie's favorite currently. We purchase at Binny's in the Chicagoland area.

and gasoline..... that stuff is nasty.

Heh. The funny thing is that Absolut was the first premium vodka brand in the US. Before that, it was all Gordons and Wolfschmitt-equivalent. Absolut defined the category and has been relegated to middle market status by the success of the market it created.

Personally, I think all premium vodkas taste the same. I mean, it's just 3-5 times distilled spirits. Where's the flavor? Any difference is strictly marketing and bottle shape, says I.

Absolute is certainly better than Gordon's, Mohawk, etc. But that stuff tastes like dirty kerosene!

It goes beyond taste. For me, it's the bite, it's how smoothly it runs down my throat. The finish. And how bad a headache I get afterwards....;) My favorite, Jean Marc XO is just so amazingly smooth.

If you're mixing this stuff with orange juice or some other heavy mixer, I'm not sure it matters too much what you use (although there are limits to that also).

Good point. Vodka for me is pretty much exclusively a mixed drink ingredient. I've never drunk it straight. For that, I prefer bourbon or scotch. :)

I shall let you all know about the headache I have in the AM from the half litre of Ciroc that was consumed this evening :)

Please don't tell that to your Polish and Ukrainian friends. They might be more than a bit upset. ;)

I don't much care for Vodka, but Zubrowka (with bison grass in it) was a really nice drink neat.

Is the formula same? I actually though Grey Goose was contracted out in terms of its production.

I'm with you on this. I think the smoothness can play a role. How is smoothness achieve? Is the way its distill? The grain of choice? Then number of times it's distilled?

McCormick's since I like vodka only for White Russians and Bloody Marys. You don't need anything premium when mixing, imho.