Who makes the best vodka?

Answer 1

1. The clear (no pun intended) winner is: Iceberg, Canada, $22. Triple distilled using Ontario sweet corn. The sole water source used is from 12,000 year old artic icebergs (perfumed, sweet nose, berry like, orange citrus, smooth, fruity, long finish, aromatic, lots of flavor).

2. Tie: Ciroc, France, $32. 100% wine grapes from southwest France; distilled 5 times. The grapes are left on the vines until the first frost when they are high in sugar content (lime, citrus fruit, oranges, strong nose, pepper, complex, clean on palate, lemon aftertaste, serve it straight up). Ketel One, Holland, $25. Wheat based, named after the original distilling Ketel #1, built in 1864 (Lemon, citrus aroma, easy to drink, spice, long finish, tasteless, round, harsh nose, Vick's vaporub, smooth. Very varied comments).

3. Tie: Citadelle, France, $24. 100% wheat based, distilled 5 times, uses micro-oxygenation (sweet nose, earthy, citrus, vanilla, mine rally, spicy, steely, anise, lots of fruit flavors, smooth, good aftertaste). Stolichnaya, Russia, $24. Winter wheat using glacier water and filtered through quartz and activated charcoal (floral nose, earthy, sweet with a hint of vanilla, licorice, harsh, very flavorful).

4. Tie: Finlandia, Finland, $22. Wheat based from 6 row barley and pure glacial water (no sweetness on the finish, citrus, lacks flavor, clean, herbal and elegant). Zyr, Russia, $32. Distilled & filtered 5 times; winter wheat & rye ( ice water, rough, muted nose, round, smooth, easy to drink, smooth, floral bouquet sweet finish, oily, rubbing alcohol).

5. Three-way Tie: Pearl, Canada, $25. Made from Western Canadian wheat (aromas of butterscotch and maple syrup, caramel, not much taste, clean finish, no nuances, round and smooth). Vincent Van Gogh, Holland, $35. Winter wheat & grains, multiple distillation(?), square shouldered bottles are frosted white, etched & feature some of VVG paintings (refined, harsh, pungent alcohol, round flavors, citrus, clean, minerals, burnt tongue, green apples, unpleasant, different, balanced). Three Olives, Great Britain, $23. Wheat based, triple distilled, and triple charcoal filtered (clean, zesty, lemon grass, citrus, lemon lime, great nose, too alcoholic, harsh, long finish).

6. Tie: Wyborowa, Poland, $18. Rye based, means "exquisite" in Polish (very sweet with vanilla overtones, finishes with a bite, floral, minerals, smooth, burnt, full-bodied). Grey Goose, France, $33. (Finished #1 in 2002 tasting) Five step distillation from a blend of barley, corn, rye & wheat. The water is sourced from Gente Springs in Cognac and filtered through champagne limestone (lemon fresh, floor wax, floral, citrus, smooth, slight sweetness, vanilla, bad cheap rubbing alcohol, steely, rough nose, smells and tastes of licorice with a bit of citrus, caraway & anise, strong nose, clean, crisp, easy to drink). At least 10 of the tasters said they were Grey Goose drinkers, but not one could pick it out and many of them were the most critical.

7. Tie: Absolut, Sweden, $23. Winter wheat based (earthy smell, peppery malt taste, light bodied, licorice and not much character. Are the ads better than the product?). Jewel of Russia, Russia, $30. Wheat & rye based with multiple distillations and a 5 step filtration (sweet, alcohol muted nose, soft on the palate, nondescript, pepper, easy to drink, short finish, Listerine, cherry nose, overpowering, complex).

8. Chopin, Poland, $33. Potato vodka, quadruple distilled; named after Frederic Chopin (earthy, slightly harsh in the mouth, citrus, smooth, wax, bite at the end).

9. Tie: Belvedere, Poland, $33. Made from Rye and quadruple distilled and filtered through diatomaceous earth; Belvedere is the official residence of the Polish President in Warsaw (smells earthy & pungent, sharp, bitter, spice, harsh, vanilla ,sweet taste). Vox, Netherlands, $32. (Finished #13 in 2002 tasting) 100% wheat, demineralized water produced by reverse osmosis. 5 times distilled and filtered (nail polish, rough, harsh, alcoholic, hints of flavor, smooth, strong finish, long & complex, perfumed, undistinguished, licorice).

10. Potocki, Poland, $35. Rye based, 3 distillations, not filtered. Family militarily served the Polish Kings since the 15th Century. Just now being imported into US (pungent, reminded several of whiskey and Gin, not much aroma, flavorless, burnt, pleasant to drink, alcoholic, long finish, aromatic).

11. Turi, Estonia, $31. 100% rye, 4 times distilled (burned edge, harsh on the palate, too sweet, refined, long sweet finish, spicy, burned, cheap, boring, no flavor, short finish, alcoholic, silky texture, smooth). Editors Note: Turi is imported by Bacardi USA.

12. Tie: Fris, Denmark, $21. Wheat based and distilled 6 times; Danish word for frost & ice (flowery, fragrance, alcoholic, poor aftertaste, starts out sweet and finishes savory & salty). Boru, Ireland, $22. Wheat based, filtered through Irish oak charcoal. Named after the first High King of Ireland, Brian Boru in 1014 (delicate, grassy, peppery, perfumed, citrus, not much taste, no nuances of flavor, harsh, rubbing alcohol, mistaken by several people for the grape based vodka, burnt tongue, nasty, smooth fruit flavors, clean, crisp, powerful aftertaste).

13. Tanqueray Sterling, Great Britain, $22. Wheat based and triple distilled (not much aroma, clean but neutral, muted, flavorless, sweet nose & aftertaste, not complex).

14. Ston, Estonia, $21. Distilled 4 times & filtered through limestone. Water is from Artesian wells fed by ancient glaciers (minerals, citrus, hint of vanilla, lemony, slightly sweet, not much character, burnt, no finish, neutral).



I HOPE THIS HELPED, I WANNA DRINK TO MAKE ME ONE

Answer 2

Depends on who has the best water. The alcohol used in distilled and filtered till there is virtually no flavor left. Many companies even use the same source for alcohol. Water makes up the majority of the drink and thus effects any 'flavor' the most. So it really comes down to your preference of the water they use. Which is why I wouldn't put much weight behind professional vodka tasters especially when they use flowery language. Labels of "premium" and "ultra premium" are nothing more than marketing.

That being said, in a blind taste test a year or so ago, done by the NYTimes, found Smirnoff beat out other higher priced vodkas.

Answer 3

Having sampled the best that the West can offer and been to Russia to compare... the Russians make the best vodka. Orders of magnitude better, actually.

Stolichnaya is the Coors of the vodka world. Most Russians won't drink it at all. However it owns the monopoly on Russian vodka exports, so the really good stuff never makes it out of the country except in dribs and drabs in tourists' luggage, but I recommend that you keep your ears open until you hear of a friend or coworker mention that they are going to Russia, and beg them to pick up a bottle of something nice.

Answer 4

Blue Ice Vodka. I’ve tasted nearly all the others and Blue Ice is the smoothest. Made from American potatoes, Blue Ice is filtered five times to create one of the purest products on the market. About $20 a bottle so it's less expensive than other so called top-shelf brands.

http://www.blueicevodka.com/

Answer 5

Grey Goose, Kettle One, Chopin- on the high end.

Cheaper vodkas- Smirnoff, Skyy- which are both very pure.

Absolut has ingredients in their vodka that makes some people ill. You either can drink it or you will get sick on it. I get sick on it.

Zyr is also an excellent vodka.

I don't drink beer. I drink Gin, Vodka, & Tequila. I consider myself a Subject Matter Expert on Gin & Vodka.

Answer 6

Russia and Vodka may be synonymous. But experts opine that the Vodkas from Poland, such as Pravda, Wyborowa, Siwucha
and Żubrówka are the best.

Answer 7

I would have to say the French. I am a fan of Vodka, and after many bad experiences with other kinds I finally found one that is smooth. GREY GOOSE

Answer 8

I usually drink Gordon's because it's cheap.

But last night, I tried a vodka that was vanilla flavored, and it was the smoothest vodka I've ever tried in my life. Even a straight shot of it wasn't bad at all.

I can't remember the brand, but I would suggest you try to find it.

Answer 9

Grey Goose and Cîroc are my favorite vodka's, so I've got to go with the French.

Answer 10

Russians

Answer 11

The Jewel of Russia -- Classic is ranked #1 by Russian Life magazine