urban.one
04-08-2010, 08:30 AM
In the favorite drinks thread there seemed to be a lot of fans.
Its one of my favorites as well and Ive tasted many a brand over the years. I wont name my favorite brand at this point though its in the lower/mid price tier.
Heres a few articles I thought Id share. Vodka snobs can be an amusing bunch.
Does Premium Vodka's Taste Live Up to Its Price Tag?
20/20's Cocktail Taste Test Leads to Some Surprising Results
By ANN VARNEY and BILL RITTER
May 24, 2007 —
Are you a vodka snob? Do you routinely buy a pricey brand over a less expensive one? If so, you're part of a growing trend. "20/20" wanted to see what all the fuss was about & so we conducted a little test.
It's 6:30 p.m. in New York City's Times Square, typically happy hour, but not for our six subjects, who were all part of a little experiment conducted in the summer of 2005. The participants ranged in age from 21 to 40 years old, the prime cocktail-drinking demographic.
The laboratory was a popular restaurant and bar called Blue Fin. But instead of beakers and petri dishes, the chemicals we tested were found inside bottles -- six vodka bottles.
Why Vodka Is King
Why was vodka the drink of choice for our subjects? One participant, Trevor Freeland, responded, "It's simple, it pleases a lot of people." Michael Gurock added: "I never feel like I have a bad hangover the next day whenever I have vodka." And Melanie Weber said she chose it because "it can be mixed with a lot of different juices."
If you've been to a bar recently, you know that once lowly vodka invented on the cheap in Russia is now the most popular hard liquor in America, comprising 27 percent of total volume in 2006, easily outselling rum, gin, whiskey and tequila.
What's most striking about vodka's rise is the huge sales of so-called super-premium brands, up 38 percent in the past year. You'll know them by their remarkable bottles (one -- Wyborowa -- is designed by architect Frank Gehry) and by their even more remarkable prices: $30 to $60 and upward a bottle, up to four times the price of cheaper brands like Smirnoff, which sells for $13 a bottle.
Taste test participant Karen Kay told us she can perceive differences among brands. "With the lower-end vodkas I think I really taste a difference in the drink, like an aftertaste, almost," she said.
What are their favorite brands? Weber preferred Ketel One. Freeland liked Belvedere best. And the remaining four favored Grey Goose.
From 007 to Carrie Bradshaw
Vodka arrived in the United States during World War II, but didn't start really gaining popularity until the 1960s, thanks in part to James Bond. It was 007 in the 1962 movie "Dr. No" who started a trend: "One medium dried vodka martini, shaken, not stirred." Bond insisted his martinis be made with vodka, not gin.
The HBO television show "Sex and the City" propelled vodka to new heights with ubiquitous cosmopolitan cocktails. America's foremost mixologist Dale DeGroff (who tended bar at New York City's famous Rainbow Room) has made mixing cosmos into something of an art form.
"The cocktail is an icon," said DeGroff, "and the vodka cocktail is the top of the pyramid of that icon."
And no vodka brand has made a bigger splash than the $30 a bottle super-premium brand Grey Goose. A Grey Goose commercial says it is "rated the best-tasting vodka in the world."
A little strange, given that the U.S. government's definition of vodka, said DeGroff, is: "Tasteless, odorless, colorless & You are buying the bottle. You're buying the sexiness. You're buying the whole package."
The Taste Test
Which brings us back to our little experiment. Can people really tell the difference in taste between the expensive and cheaper vodkas? Our blind vodka taste tests were conducted by Eben Klemm, the director of cocktail development for B.R. Guest, a chain of upscale restaurants.
Klemm instructed the testers to "sniff through them first to sort of calibrate your nose a little bit."
The taste test included five super-premium vodkas (Ketel One, Belvedere, Hangar One, Stoli Elit and Grey Goose) and one economy brand (Smirnoff).
Most of the testers thought they would be able to recognize their favorite brands, which didn't surprise Klemm. "Everyone's a snob about their brands," he said. "I mean, they've built their whole nightlife identity on which brands they are -- whether they're a 'Belvedere man' or a 'Grey Goose woman.'"
The first test involved tasting the vodkas "neat," which means straight and at room temperature.
Kay thought vodka No. 1 tasted "very spicy. It burns the tongue." Gurock said vodka No. 2 "was very light, it went down beautifully." Gliksman thought vodka No. 3 "has a really nice aroma." And Glenn McGinness said, "I'm guessing that five is the Grey Goose."
After a half hour of sniffing and sipping, five of the six testers agreed on one thing: They all hated vodka No. 1.
Freeland described it as "kind of thick and not smooth at all. Something I would never ever buy." Kay called it her "least favorite one, for sure."
The Surprising Results
Finally, the moment of truth. Klemm revealed that vodka No. 1 -- the group's least favorite -- was Grey Goose. Everyone was flabbergasted.
"No way!!!" said Freeland.
"I can't believe that!" exclaimed Kay. "I mean I'm really very loyal to it. And I just totally dismissed it."
"I'm shocked," said Gliksman. "I really am shocked, because it was bad."
"I guess that says something about the marketing then, doesn't it?" said DeGroff. "They're not relying heavily on their taste buds. They're relying more heavily on the perceived value, or the status."
There wasn't a hands-down favorite vodka for the testers, but two did stand out: Hangar One at $35 a bottle and Belvedere at $32 a bottle.
Mixing It Up
What would happen if we added a mixer to the vodka test? What percentage of people prefer vodka as a mixed drink, rather than straight?
According to DeGroff, everybody drinks it mixed. "How many people do you know that drinks straight vodka? Very, very few," he said.
So we did a second test mixing the same six vodkas into cosmopolitans: 3 parts vodka; 1 part triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice.
Klemm told the testers, "I want you all to see whether you can pick out nuances."
It turns out that the testers had a tough time distinguishing between cosmos made with the $62 Stoli Elit and cosmos made with the $13 Smirnoff.
McGinness said that he "found them very similar," and wasn't able to pick out his beloved Grey Goose.
"The distinctions are not as & definitive," said Freeland. "They're not as obvious."
So will these test subjects change their drink of choice?
Kay said, "I'm going to be experimenting a lot at the bar next time I go, because I came in having one favorite, I chose a different one for the neat, and I chose another one for the cosmopolitan. So & I guess that means I'm not going to be as loyal to the brand as I used to be."
So, if you're looking to save some money the next time you saunter up to the bar, save a few bucks and order the house vodka instead of your favorite super-premium.
Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures
Bloomberg BusinessWeek Business Exchange
Eating and Drinking May 23, 2008, 2:00PM EST text size: TT
World's Best Vodka? It's Anybody's Guess
Vodka's taste notes are so subtle that people make their choices based on bottle and label design, country of origin—and brand story
By David Kiley
French wine and spirits giant Pernod Ricard (PERP) recently acquired Swedens's Vin & Spirits for $8.9 billion, the lion's share of which was for the previously state-owned company's Absolut vodka brand. Meantime, Diageo (DEO) paid $900 million for half the worldwide distribution of Dutch vodka Ketel One. And Stolichnaya is looking for a new distribution partner since Pernod will have to give up its rights to the Russian vodka after its Absolut deal clears. Stoli rights could go for a few billion easy. Grey Goose sold for $2.2 billion in 2004.
I admit that when I see prices for vodka range from $8 per bottle for the lowly Popov to $60 for Gold Flakes Supreme, my bull-hockey antennae go up. Vodka is, as it says on the label, a "neutral spirit." There's no aging involved. No oak barrels. But then I am reminded that good branding counts in this world. The brand imagery, billions of dollars, and hype surrounding Grey Goose, Absolut, Ketel One, and of course even Trump Vodka, have all created very definite preferences for something that is meant to be odorless, colorless, and tasteless. If Perrier and Dasani can do it, why not vodka?
With spirits, especially vodka (because there is so little to distinguish one product from another), the design of the bottle and label is crucially important, along with the country of origin and "brand story." Each vodka I tasted had its own brand story that helps deliver the product as much as a lemon wedge or olive.
A Waste of Money?
For all the money that is changing hands over vodka these days, and a recession in full force that might prompt some drinkers to reevaluate how much thy are spending on spirits, I thought it a good time to take a fresh dive into the crowded world of vodka over the course of a few weeks to see which ones really do taste better, and if drinkers of branded vodka are full of good and discriminating taste or wasting their money.
Before we get to the tasting results, a few anecdotes: A friend of mine, Charles, says he knows his vodka. A confirmed martini drinker who favors Absolut, I had him test his palate. First, I had Charles sample, in a blind taste test, Absolut, Popov, Ketel One, Smirnoff, and Vox. I served them frozen, which, to me, is the best way to drink straight vodka. When asked to pick out Absolut, Charles actually chose Smirnoff. Next, for the martini test. We made martinis the way Charles likes them, with a half-shot of dry vermouth and two olives over ice made from distilled water. In this test, we made the drinks with Skyy, Absolut, Smirnoff, and Belvedere. Again, Charles got it wrong, choosing the martini made with Ketel One as his Absolut martini.
I then assembled three regular vodka drinkers who order by brand when they order at a bar or restaurant. One is a confirmed Ketel One drinker, one orders Grey Goose, and another orders drinks made with Belvedere if the bar has it. His back-up brand is Absolut.
This group orders everything from martinis to vodka and tonics to vodka and cranberry juice.
A Lucky Guess
First I served frozen shots to the group in a blind test. Grey Goose, Absolut, Belevedere, Ketel One, and Popov. One, the Ketel One drinker, successfully picked his brand out of the pack, but only after considerable angst and anguish, so much so that I made the group repeat the exercise. It seemed like he guessed and got lucky. In the second pass, none successfully picked their brand.
Next up was one-to-one mixtures of vodka and cranberry. To be cute, I made all the drinks with Popov. I told the panel that we hadn't changed the lineup of vodka brands.
"I like that," said one, who asked the brand of cranberry juice. By now, the panel of drinkers who thought themselves discerning imbibers were getting antsy, as though they were contestants on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and couldn't remember which planet is closest to the sun or who Ronald Reagan's Vice-President was.
Looking at the tasting cards of the group, it was plain to see they were guessing. There were a couple of right answers, but no one in this round said, "I think these are all the same."
Pure and Clear
It isn't surprising to find such results in a vodka taste test. The goal of vodka distilling, according to the spirits executives and distillers I have spoken with over the years, is to come up with a spirit that is as pure and clear as possible. The taste notes of vodkas can be so slight and subtle, most often depending on the grain used, and the number of times the spirit is distilled, that they really only exist when drunk straight with purified ice, at room temperature, served straight up or frozen straight up. Having drunk every brand of vodka we tested over the course of a few weeks, I can honestly say that drinking it frozen is by far the most pleasant way to drink straight vodka. In this, the Russians are right.
The other conclusion I drew was that when it comes to mixing vodka with fruit juice, or unpurified ice, you might as well as save your money and keep a bottle of Popov around. After mixing with fruit juice, muddled mint, simple syrup, or tap-water ice, the slight subtleties of the vodka in these concoctions go out the window faster than the promise of a contractor who says he'll come to your house every day to work until the job is done.
Check out the BusinessWeek.com slide show to see the results of the tasting when I brought my panel together a second time, participated myself, and had a neutral pourer administer the blind test. All these vodkas are unflavored and 80-proof. Prices reflect 750ml bottles. Price/Value was not a determining factor in judging the best "tasting" vodka, but we do make mention of it in some tasting notes.
©2010 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.
close
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 26, 2005
SPIRITS OF THE TIMES
A Humble Old Label Ices Its Rivals
By ERIC ASIMOV
It was not exactly a victory for the underdog, but chalk it up as a triumph of the unexpected.
The idea for the Dining section's tasting panel was to sample a range of the new high-end unflavored vodkas that have come on the market in the last few years in their beautifully designed bottles and to compare them with a selection of established super-premium brands. To broaden the comparison, or possibly as a bit of mischief, our tasting coordinator, Bernard Kirsch, added to our blind tasting a bottle of Smirnoff, the single best-selling unflavored vodka in the United States, but a definite step down in status, marketing and bottle design.
After the 21 vodkas were sipped and the results compiled, the Smirnoff was our hands-down favorite.
Shocking? Perhaps. Delving into the world of vodka reveals a spirit unlike almost any other, with standards that make judging it substantially different from evaluating wine, beer, whiskey or even root beer. A malt whiskey should be distinctive, singular. The same goes for a Burgundy or a Belgian ale. But vodka? Vodka is measured by its purity, by an almost Platonic neutrality that makes tasting it more akin to tasting bottled waters, or snowflakes.
Yet in just a few decades vodka has become the most popular spirit in the country. It is now the default liquor in cocktails once made with gin, and with its glossy merchandising it has set a marketing standard for high-end spirits that the other liquors are all struggling to emulate. It's quite an achievement for something that the government defines as "neutral spirits, so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color."
A lack of distinctiveness is a separate matter from a lack of distinction. The vodkas we tasted had character and their own flavors and aromas, even though the differences among them were often subtle and difficult to articulate.
"I'm looking for interest," said Eben Klemm, a cocktail expert who joined me for the tasting, along with my colleagues Florence Fabricant and William L. Hamilton, who writes the Shaken and Stirred column for the Sunday Styles section. "Some were so unique that they stood out," he added, "while others were pure, simple and austere."
Mr. Klemm, whose heady title is director of cocktail development for B. R. Guest, a restaurant group that includes Dos Caminos, Fiamma and Vento in New York, found himself torn in two directions in assessing the vodkas. Because we tasted them straight, he judged them as solo beverages yet could not help extrapolating how they would taste in cocktails, which are overwhelmingly the vehicle for consuming vodka.
Mr. Hamilton, too, wondered whether his perceptions might change. "When deployed in mixed drinks, these slight flavor profiles that I enjoyed might cause trouble," he said.
Ms. Fabricant, on the other hand, dismissed such existential issues. "Go with the flow," she suggested, adding that the qualities she sought in the vodkas included elegance, neutrality and balance. "As a vodka drinker who likes vodka on the rocks, I picked out what I would want to drink," she said.
I'm not much of a vodka drinker myself, although I do like a good bloody mary. I prefer gin in classic gin drinks like martinis and gimlets that have largely evolved into vodka cocktails. But I appreciate the purity and depth of a fine vodka. Those I liked best were all smooth rather than harsh, and balanced and harmonious rather than burdened by alcoholic heat. They had a presence in the mouth that we sometimes referred to as texture or substance.
That being said, at the end of our tasting it was Smirnoff at the top of our list, ahead of many other names that are no doubt of higher status in stylish bars and lounges. Some of those names did not even make our Top 10. Grey Goose from France, one of the most popular vodkas, was felt to lack balance and seemed to have more than a touch of sweetness. Ketel One from the Netherlands, another top name, was felt to be routine and sharp, although Mr. Klemm did describe it as "a good mixer."
More than 300 vodkas are on the market now, and of course we could not taste them all. Notable brands that we omitted included Chopin, Finlandia, Rain and Tanqueray Sterling. But our tasting included 5 of the 10 best-selling unflavored vodkas in the United States and the 5 best-selling imported vodkas.
What set Smirnoff apart, we agreed, was its aromas and flavors, which we described as classic. Smirnoff of course has a long history. The company was founded in Russia in the 19th century, and after the Russian Revolution the family, then spelling its name Smirnov, left the country and eventually ended up in France. The brand, now owned by Diageo, was introduced in the United States in 1934 and eventually became the best-selling brand with the slogan "It will leave you breathless."
Perhaps our description of Smirnoff as classic was nostalgic, possibly a result of the imprinting of its flavors and aromas on our brains in some early quest through our parents' liquor cabinets. But its smooth neutrality and pleasing texture also won it points, and its success illustrates a vital truth about vodka.
Unlike most other spirits and certainly unlike beer and wine, vodka does not necessarily benefit from artisanal manufacturing. The bearded bumpkin who minds the barrels in the ad campaigns for bourbon has no place in the production of vodka. In fact most so-called vodka producers do not even distill their own spirits.
In the United States almost all vodka producers buy neutral spirits that have already been distilled from grain by one of several big Midwestern companies like Archer Daniels Midland. The neutral spirits, which are 95 percent alcohol or more, are trucked to the producers, where they are filtered, diluted and bottled. In our tasting only one brand, Teton Glacier Potato vodka, was distilled by the producer. Another producer, Hangar 1, distills a portion of its spirits and buys the rest.
What sets vodkas apart from one another are essentially the base ingredients used in the distillation and the water. Most spirits can be made only from certain prescribed ingredients, but vodka can be distilled from just about anything that can be fermented into alcohol: grains, vegetables, even fruits.
Our tasting included vodkas made from wheat, rye and potatoes, even a couple that used grapes. Hangar 1 is distilled partly from wheat and partly from viognier grapes, which perhaps lend the slight sweetness the panel detected. Possibly the combination results in a complexity, which we all liked. Another vodka, Cîroc Snap Frost from France, is distilled entirely from grapes, but we sensed a disjointedness in it that kept it off our list.
Like gin, vodka can be produced just about anywhere, and our tasting included four from the United States; four from Poland; three each from Russia, France and the Netherlands; and one apiece from Switzerland, Estonia, New Zealand and Sweden. Russia and Poland both claim to be the originators of vodka. None of the Russians made our list, but two of our Top 3 were from Poland. The Wyborowa, which comes in a striking bottle designed by the architect Frank Gehry, was elegant and mysterious and seemed to keep drawing us in. The Belvedere was exceptionally pure and smooth.
All four entries from the United States made the list. In addition to Smirnoff and Hangar 1 they were Skyy, which Ms. Fabricant suggested would be superb ice cold, and Teton Glacier Potato vodka, which seemed to conform to the government definition of tasteless and odorless.
While we chose to focus on unflavored vodkas those blended in the factory with flavorings like lemon, black pepper and even chocolate may be the fastest-growing category of all. Given the government definition of vodka, the success of such flavored vodkas may raise the philosophical question one day of exactly what constitutes a vodka.
The prices of these vodkas ranged from a low of $13 for the Smirnoff to a high of $34 for Potocki, a Polish vodka that did not make our cut. The Belvedere also cost $34, but that was for a liter rather than the usual 750 milliliter bottle. Imported vodkas tend to cost more, partly because of taxes levied by various governments, currency exchange rates and, not least, marketing concerns: as has been proved in many industries, wine not least of all, raising the price of a product increases its status among consumers.
Possibly with that in mind Stolichnaya has just introduced a new vodka, Elit, for $60 a bottle. Because Elit was not available in New York at our tasting, the panel did not sample it. Its marketers say it is "carefully crafted using a centuries-old Russian recipe and a revolutionary 'freeze filtration process.' " The bottle is certainly sleek. What's inside may be another matter.
Tasting Report: In the Best-Selling Category, a Best Seller Stands Out
BEST VALUE
Smirnoff United States Grain
80 proof
$13
***
Pure, clean and ultrasmooth, with pleasing texture and classic vodka aroma.
Wyborowa Poland Single Estate Rye
80 proof 1 liter
$30
***
Elegant and intriguing, with mild flavors and great persistence.
Belvedere Poland Rye
80 proof 1 liter
$34
***
Great smoothness and purity, with good texture and body.
Absolut Sweden Level Grain
80 proof
$24
** 1/2
Smooth and substantial, with flavors of flowers, lemon grass or nuts.
Hangar 1 United States Straight Wheat and Grain
80 proof
$30
** 1/2
Pleasing, with complex flavors and a suggestion of sweetness.
Vox Netherlands Wheat
80 proof
$23
** 1/2
Smooth and neutral, with savory flavors and a touch of alcoholic heat.
Olifant Netherlands Grain
80 proof 1 liter
$17
**
Subtle, yet rich and complex.
42 Below New Zealand Wheat
84 proof
$24
**
Straightforward, pure and smooth.
Skyy United States Grain
80 proof 1 liter
$16
**
Unusual flavors of mint and lime.
Teton Glacier United States Potato
80 proof 1 liter
$20
**
Clean and light on the palate; odorless and tasteless.
Its one of my favorites as well and Ive tasted many a brand over the years. I wont name my favorite brand at this point though its in the lower/mid price tier.
Heres a few articles I thought Id share. Vodka snobs can be an amusing bunch.
Does Premium Vodka's Taste Live Up to Its Price Tag?
20/20's Cocktail Taste Test Leads to Some Surprising Results
By ANN VARNEY and BILL RITTER
May 24, 2007 —
Are you a vodka snob? Do you routinely buy a pricey brand over a less expensive one? If so, you're part of a growing trend. "20/20" wanted to see what all the fuss was about & so we conducted a little test.
It's 6:30 p.m. in New York City's Times Square, typically happy hour, but not for our six subjects, who were all part of a little experiment conducted in the summer of 2005. The participants ranged in age from 21 to 40 years old, the prime cocktail-drinking demographic.
The laboratory was a popular restaurant and bar called Blue Fin. But instead of beakers and petri dishes, the chemicals we tested were found inside bottles -- six vodka bottles.
Why Vodka Is King
Why was vodka the drink of choice for our subjects? One participant, Trevor Freeland, responded, "It's simple, it pleases a lot of people." Michael Gurock added: "I never feel like I have a bad hangover the next day whenever I have vodka." And Melanie Weber said she chose it because "it can be mixed with a lot of different juices."
If you've been to a bar recently, you know that once lowly vodka invented on the cheap in Russia is now the most popular hard liquor in America, comprising 27 percent of total volume in 2006, easily outselling rum, gin, whiskey and tequila.
What's most striking about vodka's rise is the huge sales of so-called super-premium brands, up 38 percent in the past year. You'll know them by their remarkable bottles (one -- Wyborowa -- is designed by architect Frank Gehry) and by their even more remarkable prices: $30 to $60 and upward a bottle, up to four times the price of cheaper brands like Smirnoff, which sells for $13 a bottle.
Taste test participant Karen Kay told us she can perceive differences among brands. "With the lower-end vodkas I think I really taste a difference in the drink, like an aftertaste, almost," she said.
What are their favorite brands? Weber preferred Ketel One. Freeland liked Belvedere best. And the remaining four favored Grey Goose.
From 007 to Carrie Bradshaw
Vodka arrived in the United States during World War II, but didn't start really gaining popularity until the 1960s, thanks in part to James Bond. It was 007 in the 1962 movie "Dr. No" who started a trend: "One medium dried vodka martini, shaken, not stirred." Bond insisted his martinis be made with vodka, not gin.
The HBO television show "Sex and the City" propelled vodka to new heights with ubiquitous cosmopolitan cocktails. America's foremost mixologist Dale DeGroff (who tended bar at New York City's famous Rainbow Room) has made mixing cosmos into something of an art form.
"The cocktail is an icon," said DeGroff, "and the vodka cocktail is the top of the pyramid of that icon."
And no vodka brand has made a bigger splash than the $30 a bottle super-premium brand Grey Goose. A Grey Goose commercial says it is "rated the best-tasting vodka in the world."
A little strange, given that the U.S. government's definition of vodka, said DeGroff, is: "Tasteless, odorless, colorless & You are buying the bottle. You're buying the sexiness. You're buying the whole package."
The Taste Test
Which brings us back to our little experiment. Can people really tell the difference in taste between the expensive and cheaper vodkas? Our blind vodka taste tests were conducted by Eben Klemm, the director of cocktail development for B.R. Guest, a chain of upscale restaurants.
Klemm instructed the testers to "sniff through them first to sort of calibrate your nose a little bit."
The taste test included five super-premium vodkas (Ketel One, Belvedere, Hangar One, Stoli Elit and Grey Goose) and one economy brand (Smirnoff).
Most of the testers thought they would be able to recognize their favorite brands, which didn't surprise Klemm. "Everyone's a snob about their brands," he said. "I mean, they've built their whole nightlife identity on which brands they are -- whether they're a 'Belvedere man' or a 'Grey Goose woman.'"
The first test involved tasting the vodkas "neat," which means straight and at room temperature.
Kay thought vodka No. 1 tasted "very spicy. It burns the tongue." Gurock said vodka No. 2 "was very light, it went down beautifully." Gliksman thought vodka No. 3 "has a really nice aroma." And Glenn McGinness said, "I'm guessing that five is the Grey Goose."
After a half hour of sniffing and sipping, five of the six testers agreed on one thing: They all hated vodka No. 1.
Freeland described it as "kind of thick and not smooth at all. Something I would never ever buy." Kay called it her "least favorite one, for sure."
The Surprising Results
Finally, the moment of truth. Klemm revealed that vodka No. 1 -- the group's least favorite -- was Grey Goose. Everyone was flabbergasted.
"No way!!!" said Freeland.
"I can't believe that!" exclaimed Kay. "I mean I'm really very loyal to it. And I just totally dismissed it."
"I'm shocked," said Gliksman. "I really am shocked, because it was bad."
"I guess that says something about the marketing then, doesn't it?" said DeGroff. "They're not relying heavily on their taste buds. They're relying more heavily on the perceived value, or the status."
There wasn't a hands-down favorite vodka for the testers, but two did stand out: Hangar One at $35 a bottle and Belvedere at $32 a bottle.
Mixing It Up
What would happen if we added a mixer to the vodka test? What percentage of people prefer vodka as a mixed drink, rather than straight?
According to DeGroff, everybody drinks it mixed. "How many people do you know that drinks straight vodka? Very, very few," he said.
So we did a second test mixing the same six vodkas into cosmopolitans: 3 parts vodka; 1 part triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice.
Klemm told the testers, "I want you all to see whether you can pick out nuances."
It turns out that the testers had a tough time distinguishing between cosmos made with the $62 Stoli Elit and cosmos made with the $13 Smirnoff.
McGinness said that he "found them very similar," and wasn't able to pick out his beloved Grey Goose.
"The distinctions are not as & definitive," said Freeland. "They're not as obvious."
So will these test subjects change their drink of choice?
Kay said, "I'm going to be experimenting a lot at the bar next time I go, because I came in having one favorite, I chose a different one for the neat, and I chose another one for the cosmopolitan. So & I guess that means I'm not going to be as loyal to the brand as I used to be."
So, if you're looking to save some money the next time you saunter up to the bar, save a few bucks and order the house vodka instead of your favorite super-premium.
Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures
Bloomberg BusinessWeek Business Exchange
Eating and Drinking May 23, 2008, 2:00PM EST text size: TT
World's Best Vodka? It's Anybody's Guess
Vodka's taste notes are so subtle that people make their choices based on bottle and label design, country of origin—and brand story
By David Kiley
French wine and spirits giant Pernod Ricard (PERP) recently acquired Swedens's Vin & Spirits for $8.9 billion, the lion's share of which was for the previously state-owned company's Absolut vodka brand. Meantime, Diageo (DEO) paid $900 million for half the worldwide distribution of Dutch vodka Ketel One. And Stolichnaya is looking for a new distribution partner since Pernod will have to give up its rights to the Russian vodka after its Absolut deal clears. Stoli rights could go for a few billion easy. Grey Goose sold for $2.2 billion in 2004.
I admit that when I see prices for vodka range from $8 per bottle for the lowly Popov to $60 for Gold Flakes Supreme, my bull-hockey antennae go up. Vodka is, as it says on the label, a "neutral spirit." There's no aging involved. No oak barrels. But then I am reminded that good branding counts in this world. The brand imagery, billions of dollars, and hype surrounding Grey Goose, Absolut, Ketel One, and of course even Trump Vodka, have all created very definite preferences for something that is meant to be odorless, colorless, and tasteless. If Perrier and Dasani can do it, why not vodka?
With spirits, especially vodka (because there is so little to distinguish one product from another), the design of the bottle and label is crucially important, along with the country of origin and "brand story." Each vodka I tasted had its own brand story that helps deliver the product as much as a lemon wedge or olive.
A Waste of Money?
For all the money that is changing hands over vodka these days, and a recession in full force that might prompt some drinkers to reevaluate how much thy are spending on spirits, I thought it a good time to take a fresh dive into the crowded world of vodka over the course of a few weeks to see which ones really do taste better, and if drinkers of branded vodka are full of good and discriminating taste or wasting their money.
Before we get to the tasting results, a few anecdotes: A friend of mine, Charles, says he knows his vodka. A confirmed martini drinker who favors Absolut, I had him test his palate. First, I had Charles sample, in a blind taste test, Absolut, Popov, Ketel One, Smirnoff, and Vox. I served them frozen, which, to me, is the best way to drink straight vodka. When asked to pick out Absolut, Charles actually chose Smirnoff. Next, for the martini test. We made martinis the way Charles likes them, with a half-shot of dry vermouth and two olives over ice made from distilled water. In this test, we made the drinks with Skyy, Absolut, Smirnoff, and Belvedere. Again, Charles got it wrong, choosing the martini made with Ketel One as his Absolut martini.
I then assembled three regular vodka drinkers who order by brand when they order at a bar or restaurant. One is a confirmed Ketel One drinker, one orders Grey Goose, and another orders drinks made with Belvedere if the bar has it. His back-up brand is Absolut.
This group orders everything from martinis to vodka and tonics to vodka and cranberry juice.
A Lucky Guess
First I served frozen shots to the group in a blind test. Grey Goose, Absolut, Belevedere, Ketel One, and Popov. One, the Ketel One drinker, successfully picked his brand out of the pack, but only after considerable angst and anguish, so much so that I made the group repeat the exercise. It seemed like he guessed and got lucky. In the second pass, none successfully picked their brand.
Next up was one-to-one mixtures of vodka and cranberry. To be cute, I made all the drinks with Popov. I told the panel that we hadn't changed the lineup of vodka brands.
"I like that," said one, who asked the brand of cranberry juice. By now, the panel of drinkers who thought themselves discerning imbibers were getting antsy, as though they were contestants on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and couldn't remember which planet is closest to the sun or who Ronald Reagan's Vice-President was.
Looking at the tasting cards of the group, it was plain to see they were guessing. There were a couple of right answers, but no one in this round said, "I think these are all the same."
Pure and Clear
It isn't surprising to find such results in a vodka taste test. The goal of vodka distilling, according to the spirits executives and distillers I have spoken with over the years, is to come up with a spirit that is as pure and clear as possible. The taste notes of vodkas can be so slight and subtle, most often depending on the grain used, and the number of times the spirit is distilled, that they really only exist when drunk straight with purified ice, at room temperature, served straight up or frozen straight up. Having drunk every brand of vodka we tested over the course of a few weeks, I can honestly say that drinking it frozen is by far the most pleasant way to drink straight vodka. In this, the Russians are right.
The other conclusion I drew was that when it comes to mixing vodka with fruit juice, or unpurified ice, you might as well as save your money and keep a bottle of Popov around. After mixing with fruit juice, muddled mint, simple syrup, or tap-water ice, the slight subtleties of the vodka in these concoctions go out the window faster than the promise of a contractor who says he'll come to your house every day to work until the job is done.
Check out the BusinessWeek.com slide show to see the results of the tasting when I brought my panel together a second time, participated myself, and had a neutral pourer administer the blind test. All these vodkas are unflavored and 80-proof. Prices reflect 750ml bottles. Price/Value was not a determining factor in judging the best "tasting" vodka, but we do make mention of it in some tasting notes.
©2010 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.
close
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 26, 2005
SPIRITS OF THE TIMES
A Humble Old Label Ices Its Rivals
By ERIC ASIMOV
It was not exactly a victory for the underdog, but chalk it up as a triumph of the unexpected.
The idea for the Dining section's tasting panel was to sample a range of the new high-end unflavored vodkas that have come on the market in the last few years in their beautifully designed bottles and to compare them with a selection of established super-premium brands. To broaden the comparison, or possibly as a bit of mischief, our tasting coordinator, Bernard Kirsch, added to our blind tasting a bottle of Smirnoff, the single best-selling unflavored vodka in the United States, but a definite step down in status, marketing and bottle design.
After the 21 vodkas were sipped and the results compiled, the Smirnoff was our hands-down favorite.
Shocking? Perhaps. Delving into the world of vodka reveals a spirit unlike almost any other, with standards that make judging it substantially different from evaluating wine, beer, whiskey or even root beer. A malt whiskey should be distinctive, singular. The same goes for a Burgundy or a Belgian ale. But vodka? Vodka is measured by its purity, by an almost Platonic neutrality that makes tasting it more akin to tasting bottled waters, or snowflakes.
Yet in just a few decades vodka has become the most popular spirit in the country. It is now the default liquor in cocktails once made with gin, and with its glossy merchandising it has set a marketing standard for high-end spirits that the other liquors are all struggling to emulate. It's quite an achievement for something that the government defines as "neutral spirits, so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color."
A lack of distinctiveness is a separate matter from a lack of distinction. The vodkas we tasted had character and their own flavors and aromas, even though the differences among them were often subtle and difficult to articulate.
"I'm looking for interest," said Eben Klemm, a cocktail expert who joined me for the tasting, along with my colleagues Florence Fabricant and William L. Hamilton, who writes the Shaken and Stirred column for the Sunday Styles section. "Some were so unique that they stood out," he added, "while others were pure, simple and austere."
Mr. Klemm, whose heady title is director of cocktail development for B. R. Guest, a restaurant group that includes Dos Caminos, Fiamma and Vento in New York, found himself torn in two directions in assessing the vodkas. Because we tasted them straight, he judged them as solo beverages yet could not help extrapolating how they would taste in cocktails, which are overwhelmingly the vehicle for consuming vodka.
Mr. Hamilton, too, wondered whether his perceptions might change. "When deployed in mixed drinks, these slight flavor profiles that I enjoyed might cause trouble," he said.
Ms. Fabricant, on the other hand, dismissed such existential issues. "Go with the flow," she suggested, adding that the qualities she sought in the vodkas included elegance, neutrality and balance. "As a vodka drinker who likes vodka on the rocks, I picked out what I would want to drink," she said.
I'm not much of a vodka drinker myself, although I do like a good bloody mary. I prefer gin in classic gin drinks like martinis and gimlets that have largely evolved into vodka cocktails. But I appreciate the purity and depth of a fine vodka. Those I liked best were all smooth rather than harsh, and balanced and harmonious rather than burdened by alcoholic heat. They had a presence in the mouth that we sometimes referred to as texture or substance.
That being said, at the end of our tasting it was Smirnoff at the top of our list, ahead of many other names that are no doubt of higher status in stylish bars and lounges. Some of those names did not even make our Top 10. Grey Goose from France, one of the most popular vodkas, was felt to lack balance and seemed to have more than a touch of sweetness. Ketel One from the Netherlands, another top name, was felt to be routine and sharp, although Mr. Klemm did describe it as "a good mixer."
More than 300 vodkas are on the market now, and of course we could not taste them all. Notable brands that we omitted included Chopin, Finlandia, Rain and Tanqueray Sterling. But our tasting included 5 of the 10 best-selling unflavored vodkas in the United States and the 5 best-selling imported vodkas.
What set Smirnoff apart, we agreed, was its aromas and flavors, which we described as classic. Smirnoff of course has a long history. The company was founded in Russia in the 19th century, and after the Russian Revolution the family, then spelling its name Smirnov, left the country and eventually ended up in France. The brand, now owned by Diageo, was introduced in the United States in 1934 and eventually became the best-selling brand with the slogan "It will leave you breathless."
Perhaps our description of Smirnoff as classic was nostalgic, possibly a result of the imprinting of its flavors and aromas on our brains in some early quest through our parents' liquor cabinets. But its smooth neutrality and pleasing texture also won it points, and its success illustrates a vital truth about vodka.
Unlike most other spirits and certainly unlike beer and wine, vodka does not necessarily benefit from artisanal manufacturing. The bearded bumpkin who minds the barrels in the ad campaigns for bourbon has no place in the production of vodka. In fact most so-called vodka producers do not even distill their own spirits.
In the United States almost all vodka producers buy neutral spirits that have already been distilled from grain by one of several big Midwestern companies like Archer Daniels Midland. The neutral spirits, which are 95 percent alcohol or more, are trucked to the producers, where they are filtered, diluted and bottled. In our tasting only one brand, Teton Glacier Potato vodka, was distilled by the producer. Another producer, Hangar 1, distills a portion of its spirits and buys the rest.
What sets vodkas apart from one another are essentially the base ingredients used in the distillation and the water. Most spirits can be made only from certain prescribed ingredients, but vodka can be distilled from just about anything that can be fermented into alcohol: grains, vegetables, even fruits.
Our tasting included vodkas made from wheat, rye and potatoes, even a couple that used grapes. Hangar 1 is distilled partly from wheat and partly from viognier grapes, which perhaps lend the slight sweetness the panel detected. Possibly the combination results in a complexity, which we all liked. Another vodka, Cîroc Snap Frost from France, is distilled entirely from grapes, but we sensed a disjointedness in it that kept it off our list.
Like gin, vodka can be produced just about anywhere, and our tasting included four from the United States; four from Poland; three each from Russia, France and the Netherlands; and one apiece from Switzerland, Estonia, New Zealand and Sweden. Russia and Poland both claim to be the originators of vodka. None of the Russians made our list, but two of our Top 3 were from Poland. The Wyborowa, which comes in a striking bottle designed by the architect Frank Gehry, was elegant and mysterious and seemed to keep drawing us in. The Belvedere was exceptionally pure and smooth.
All four entries from the United States made the list. In addition to Smirnoff and Hangar 1 they were Skyy, which Ms. Fabricant suggested would be superb ice cold, and Teton Glacier Potato vodka, which seemed to conform to the government definition of tasteless and odorless.
While we chose to focus on unflavored vodkas those blended in the factory with flavorings like lemon, black pepper and even chocolate may be the fastest-growing category of all. Given the government definition of vodka, the success of such flavored vodkas may raise the philosophical question one day of exactly what constitutes a vodka.
The prices of these vodkas ranged from a low of $13 for the Smirnoff to a high of $34 for Potocki, a Polish vodka that did not make our cut. The Belvedere also cost $34, but that was for a liter rather than the usual 750 milliliter bottle. Imported vodkas tend to cost more, partly because of taxes levied by various governments, currency exchange rates and, not least, marketing concerns: as has been proved in many industries, wine not least of all, raising the price of a product increases its status among consumers.
Possibly with that in mind Stolichnaya has just introduced a new vodka, Elit, for $60 a bottle. Because Elit was not available in New York at our tasting, the panel did not sample it. Its marketers say it is "carefully crafted using a centuries-old Russian recipe and a revolutionary 'freeze filtration process.' " The bottle is certainly sleek. What's inside may be another matter.
Tasting Report: In the Best-Selling Category, a Best Seller Stands Out
BEST VALUE
Smirnoff United States Grain
80 proof
$13
***
Pure, clean and ultrasmooth, with pleasing texture and classic vodka aroma.
Wyborowa Poland Single Estate Rye
80 proof 1 liter
$30
***
Elegant and intriguing, with mild flavors and great persistence.
Belvedere Poland Rye
80 proof 1 liter
$34
***
Great smoothness and purity, with good texture and body.
Absolut Sweden Level Grain
80 proof
$24
** 1/2
Smooth and substantial, with flavors of flowers, lemon grass or nuts.
Hangar 1 United States Straight Wheat and Grain
80 proof
$30
** 1/2
Pleasing, with complex flavors and a suggestion of sweetness.
Vox Netherlands Wheat
80 proof
$23
** 1/2
Smooth and neutral, with savory flavors and a touch of alcoholic heat.
Olifant Netherlands Grain
80 proof 1 liter
$17
**
Subtle, yet rich and complex.
42 Below New Zealand Wheat
84 proof
$24
**
Straightforward, pure and smooth.
Skyy United States Grain
80 proof 1 liter
$16
**
Unusual flavors of mint and lime.
Teton Glacier United States Potato
80 proof 1 liter
$20
**
Clean and light on the palate; odorless and tasteless.