Chopin for me. Either on the rocks or with a little Cranberry juice for that summer fun cocktail. If it's chilled I can drink it neat too. We're hosting some in-laws this Christmas who hail from Russia and I'm suggesting we provide this to them over Ketel One.

www.chopinvodka.com/

I got some of that too, but realized that it's just vodka mixed with a whole lot of sugar.

Interesting takes on how different our tastes are on the vodka. I can see the difference between a quality one and a cheap one, but it seems like each quality vodka each has a very subtle taste difference to them?

Do you think it's the grain used? The number of times it is distilled? The water?

The actual distilling has a huge effect, along with the ingredients (Ciroc is grape, for example and so definitely tastes different than other premium vodkas). I think I have a pretty good taste, but struggle to differentiate based on types of water.

For most vodkas the way it's filtered to remove the less appealing head and tail of the alcohol is important - Sipsmith do a great vodka that isn't filtered at all, they just cut off the beginning and end of every distillation.

I'm actually trying to read up on the actual process of distilling vodka (good vodka). Any good links or informational pieces on it?


Do you think a grain vs. potato vodka have a big difference? What creates the smoothness and if it has a bite (or to the degree)?

GOOSE! of course. At any supermarket this is what I'd go for.

Absolut for the sheer genuinity and price vs performance.

Premium grade vodka like Grey Goose feels just silly too me. For the same price I can get a great scotch or gin.

Ketel One, rocks.

+1

I actually can't tell the difference between Ketel and Goose. I buy Ketel because a friend's family used to be the distillers. His grandmother's last name was Nolet.

Burnett's.

Yum.

Did a blind taste last night after presents opening. It's tough, but I was able to pick them correctly. Very similar tastes.

The two best are

Titos, made in Austin TX

Snow Queen, made in Kazakhstan

One viewpoint is that distillation is to cover up (or remove) the faults in the fermentation process :) See http://www.squareoneorganicspirits.c...tillation.html

As for potato vs. grain, there is a huge difference in flavour and even the cheapest potato vodka is instantly recognizable (and better than most grain vodkas in terms of taste and texture). Monopolowa is a great potato vodka (made in Austria) that is sold by TJ in US (so quite cheap and readily available). It was the highest rated vodka in the 2003 International Review of Spirits, beating all of the other vodkas mentioned on this thread so far, fwiw. That is how much of a difference being potato based makes!

If cost is not a consideration then Grey Goose. Tito's Handmade is a nice lower priced alternative.

In no particular order:

Absolut
Skyy
Pinnacle (which is Grey Goose, only cheaper...I guess that the makers of Grey Goose can only bottle so much as Grey Goose per day, IIRC, and the remainder is bottled as Pinnacle)