These are the vodkas most drinkers expect—alcohol and little else. Gray Duck Media. Complex and delicious. Notice on the back of this vodka label the term “Produced by” as opposed to “Distilled by”, and you’ll know how it came together. Playboy Nightlife's food and spirits writer Jason Horn was challenged to blind taste test and review five popular value brand vodkas, Smirnoff, Svedka, UV, Popov, and Pinnacle. The spirit is meant to be either chilled or diluted a bit. I really had no idea until I saw a video of a so-called vodka expert giving it the best marks in a blind taste test. Or at least, that’s what we learned when we made our spirits writer Jason Horn blind taste … Guests are constantly …, The term “craft” is ambiguous at best. We served the vodkas in flights and ranked them until our favorites emerged. Carver Distillery Lake House Ultra Premium Vodka, Prairie Organic Vodka (by Phillips Distilling), Woody’s Fairly Reliable Reel Good Vodka (by Cantilever Distillery). This is one of those vodkas made on a contract from neutral grain spirit by a huge distillery. Without distinctive taste? It says “6x distilled” on the label (that’s meaningless), but with a splash of tonic, you’ll barely taste it at all. Vegetal, lactic, spicy flavors crept in on the finish. The best cheap vodka I've encountered where almost everyone agreed it was a good vodka has been the Russian version of Moskovskaya. I really had no idea until I saw a video of a so-called vodka expert giving it the best marks in a blind taste test. That light grainy sweetness extends to a very mild finish. } These vodkas are ideal candidates for your vodka-tonics. They could turn one around in weeks, even days. Spirits Close-Up: The Ultimate Hot Toddy Matrix. We wanted to fully taste the vodka in this experiment, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to drink craft vodka at room temperature. They feature interesting esters and complex flavors. To be exact, we served our samples near the standard cellar temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s diluted back down to drinking strength and filtered through charcoal or another medium. var _g1; Only problem is that it's very hard to find around where I live. Winter is coming, so …. While we spirits writers would rather dote on the nuances of a fine bourbon, a great vodka, in truth, can be awfully pleasant: rich and creamy, smooth and balanced, crisp and clean. Several discount brands take that route. Drinking a great vodka should feel like ice skating the length of a perfectly smooth lake. Or at least, that’s what we learned when we made our spirits writer Jason Horn blind taste five different vodkas available for under $12. Anything caustic, bitter, medicinal, or chemical would be marked down. _g1.setAttribute('srcset', _g1.getAttribute('data-srcset')); You might be in the habit of stashing your vodka in the freezer, and that’s probably the best way to drink your standard Smirnoff and the like. Watch Jason suffer through each taste test to learn which bottom-shelf vodka came out on top.”, Random Facts I Totally Knew I’m Just Seeing If You Did Too (50 Pics), Why Buy Another Greeting Card When You Can Fix An Old One Yourself? They tasted like cereal grain, with the sweetness of corn or the grassiness of wheat. They might take that vodka, add some juniper, and make it a gin. var _g1; Vegetal, lactic, spicy flavors crept in on the finish. } catch(e) {}, try { They tasted like cereal grain, with the sweetness of corn or the grassiness of wheat. Having done my own blind taste tests before with multiple people that vodka expert must be insane. We love the labeling of this neutral spirit vodka and it stays pretty characterless throughout the sip. Soft-spoken and harmonious. This is not a bad thing, far from it in fact. Just beautiful. A blind vodka taste test is really the only way to tell what vodka you should drink on the regular, and Tipsy Bartender just did wonders for Smirnoff’s sales. Stash a bottle of this in your tackle box. A fruity aroma that recalls cider or apple brandy, leads into a similarly fruity sip with a palate-coating fuller texture that turns mellow and just a bit spicy by the finish.