vodka

[Brienneoftarth]

does anyone here know of a place in NYC where you could get really good vodka? i'm guessing there is a world of vodkas beyond the regular grey goose and stoli stuff. again, i'm posting this for some info for my girlfiends birthday. she loves vodka and I wanted to get her the cristal of vodka or whatever as a gift. any help would be really appreciated.

[ALVIN]

ive had vox before its pretty good, 5 times distilled. dont really know whats the cristal of vodka though...

[script]

smirnoff's kickin' it.

well, that's just my opinion...

write your own script

[Dave Russ]

It's a toss up between Popov or Georgi

“Isn’t it strange how it’s a fad to bite your idols when the whole reason you liked them is because their shit wasn’t recycled?†- Aesop Rock

[sepia007]

astor wines corner of astor place/8th street & lafayette street. they stock some serious vodka's. the best vodka bars in town are either kgb bar (4th st between bowery and 2nd ave) or pravda bar (lafayette st between houston and prince st. have fun. by the way solarized is a great album.

[My Pal the Crook]

Pravda has their own Vodka made for them and i don't think they have it available for sale outside of getting it at pravda.

You don't really have to drop serious cash to get a good vodka. Try Mezzaluna Vodka, It's an Italian Vodka, really smooth and will run you about $40 a bottle.

[Brienneoftarth]

thanks for everybodies help!

[elsar]

stoli is it, plus the old bottle is the best.

nytimes had a recent article & blind tasting of vodkas. you might want to look at that.

[Yakboy Equals Nurturer]

Armadale, Chopin and Jewel of Russia are all highly rated and don't seem all that well known. None of them are going to break the bank and you might get some mileage out of introducing her to a 'new' vodka. To be honest though, I don't really see any significant difference in quality between these and well known high-end brands like Ketel One, Belvedere or Grey Goose.

The best vodka I have ever had was some no-name Polish stuff that an Austrian guy I used to know had his cousin send to him. Came in all different kinds of bottles with the original labels peeled off and had a couple of sprigs of mint inside for flavoring. Probably full of anti-freeze too. Frozen and served in a small shot glass though, this stuff was amazing. Wish I knew what it was.

You could always go out to Brighton Beach and ask some old Russian guys what their preference is...

[My Pal the Crook]

an old russian guy in brighton is gonna steer you towards some cheap shit or Absolut. Believe that!

[MONIKER]

cleanliness

Edited by MONIKER on Jul 12, 2005 at 02:34 PM

[Ahlvahroe]

ok so one of my friends birthdays is coming up, actually it was today but shes not celebrating till saturday, and i know she likes vodka. ive never really been a big vodka guy myself so i dont know much about anything, are the ones mentioned in this thread any good or is there something else i could check out.

[I<3Bacon]

Another vote for Vox. Cleanest tasting vodka I've had that still tastes like vodka (cleaner than the usual Grey Goose or Belvedere suggestions).

And putting all the P.Diddy hype aside, Ciroc is probably even cleaner than that, but the "distilled from grapes" factor gives it an interesting taste not found in other vodkas. Very good straight up, on the rocks, or in a martini.

[Agent Orange]

vodka not made from potatoes is not vodka. ordinary smirnoff black label is fine, several polish vodkas are also really good. if your cheap just buy absolut.

[Leeacto]

anyone that tells you smirnoff is any good is probably 19 years old (cuz that's when I thought it was good). It has no flavor and sucks

I don't buy in to the Belvidere is the Best idea.

If I'm just drinking a glass on the rocks and chilling out, it's usually Stoli. pretty good for the price

Word on Vox, as well as Pravda and Chopin. I like the potato-ness of the last.I haven't had it, but I actually hear Titos (small batch from Texas) is good.

stay away from flavored vodkas cuz they generally mess w/ the actual alcohol taste and are pretty girly.

Ketel's decent, but a little to "wheaty" for me.

and that's my 2 cents

[polishmike]

smirnoff in europe is better than in us.

pravda is very good. russian standard is cheaper and also very good (that's what i drink)

get your friend hangar one, raspberry infused vodka. great for sipping and shots.

[AcrobaticTenement]

anyone that tells you smirnoff is any good is probably 19 years old (cuz that's when I thought it was good). It has no flavor and sucks

Do you know anything about what a vodka is supposed to be??????????

[I<3Bacon]

vodka not made from potatoes is not vodka.

So vodka made from grains is not vodka? Please.

[n9no]

dude - go to little odessa / Brighton Beach Bklyn and ask around - I'm sure the local swill store can hook you up with the real shit

[avonalliv8]

i always found this article interesting...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/dining/26wine.html

[benz5521]

This is awesome stuff.

http://www.hangarone.com/

[Leeacto]

I remember reading that article back in the day. as said before, i thought it was cool because I drank it then.

Do you know anything about what a vodka is supposed to be??????????

I kinda get what you mean, but what I mean by "no flavor" is "very watery with too much of an alcohol taste"

granted, you could take a shot of any vodka and water it down and there you have a 'tasteless vodka' but by no means does that make it fit the proper description

Try taking vodka, put it on ice in a glass, then swirl it around and watch how the liquid goes from the top of the glass on downward (called legs). If they go pretty fast (like your <$20 vodkas) it means they're kinda watered down. looking at better quality ones will have it go down slower.

better vodkas have a more pleasant aftertaste, as opposed to the bite of cheap vodka (and other liquors i guess)

So Yes, I do know what vodka is supposed to be

[sbbbjm]

anyone that tells you smirnoff is any good is probably 19 years old (cuz that's when I thought it was good). It has no flavor and sucks

I don't buy in to the Belvidere is the Best idea.

If I'm just drinking a glass on the rocks and chilling out, it's usually Stoli. pretty good for the price

Word on Vox, as well as Pravda and Chopin. I like the potato-ness of the last.I haven't had it, but I actually hear Titos (small batch from Texas) is good.

stay away from flavored vodkas cuz they generally mess w/ the actual alcohol taste and are pretty girly.

Ketel's decent, but a little to "wheaty" for me.

and that's my 2 cents

ditto on the Tito's - i live in austin where it's made, and we have it everywhere. its mid shelf but i like it better than belvedere and grey goose. i make dirty martinis with it all the time.

. . . but then again realize austin as a city is very proud of being austin and supporting local homegrown businesses, so i might be biased lol -

[bencap]

I think that buying anything more than absolute or even smirnoff is a waste of your money, the differences are really neglegible and more psychological than anything. As we all know here at sufu, branding is a pretty powerful thing.

Blind taste tests:

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/may2008/bw20080521_901688.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=3201973&page=2

[polishmike]

There are few factors with drinking vodka. I drink shots, vodka soda (seltzer) and mixed drinks and each demands different vodka.

As a rule I always have a bottle of vodka in the freezer. Right now it's Russian Standard, great taste and not ridiculous price (under $20 around me). For shots I can also take Finlandia. I also always have a bottle of Żubrówka in the freezer but that's a polish thing.

I drink Stoli Orange with soda in the summer and Absolut Kurant in the winter. I might try a different flavor of Stoli but I only order these when I'm out. My best friend drinks Grey Goose and soda and I think it's retarded. I never get drinking unflavored vodkas with water.

For mixing I used Luksusowa but now it's Sobieski. Bottle is $10 and in a mixed drink with fresh fruit and juices you can't tell if it's $10 or $30.

When buying a bottle for a gift I always grab something fancy. the lowest I go is Ketel One. I know they are not always worth the money but you can't give a $12 bottle. Hangar One Raspberry is a great gift, it's one of the better flavored vodka out there and it's fantastic for shots.

[chrisbunnington]

co-sign on always having a bottle in the freezer. i have some stoli there myself, although it's almost time for a new bottle.

uluvka's another excellent premium vodka that i haven't seen anybody mention. it's real pricey but very nice, and the bottle's pretty striking too. it'd make a memorable gift for sure. of the easy to find premium brands, i prefer chopin or wyborowa exquisite but usually i'll stick with stoli or plain ol' wyborowa, which is my favorite house choice for sure.

[ndmhxc]

it seems very counter intuitive to me that the best vodka tastes more like nothing... at least it tastes more like nothing to me. especially when compared to all other premium liquor such as wine, whiskey, scotch, etc (with the exception of tequila because too much aging kills it) and the fact that usually the better the liquor, the more complex the flavors the more delicate the structures. just my thoughts

[HBlack]

iceberg is awful

just puttin that out there

despite those tests saying all vodka is the same, i find it much harder to drink than smirnoff.

[nimo112]

when i feel like splurging i drink this:

when i get tired of the clear stuff i take shots of this:

when i feel girly i drink this:

plus this:

[Carl]

a bottle of stoli's in the freezer is a beautiful thing

cape cods until the canker sore gets too much to handle