Vodka suggestions?

[StarvingStudent47]

I'm starting to experiment a bit more with the hard stuff, after being "just a beer guy" for a while. I've got my bottles of Maker's Mark bourbon and Crown Royal whisky, and both make me happy. But since my mother's family is from Russia, I figure I should let vodka represent too. But there's so much foul vodka out there. Anyone have a favorite brand?

[Guttorm]

I'm starting to experiment a bit more with the hard stuff, after being "just a beer guy" for a while. I've got my bottles of Maker's Mark bourbon and Crown Royal whisky, and both make me happy. But since my mother's family is from Russia, I figure I should let vodka represent too. But there's so much foul vodka out there. Anyone have a favorite brand?

Well, the swedish Absolut is great. Clean crisp flavour. And the fact that they are one of the leading brands should make it easy to find. :)

[Dmitri]

Stolichnaya (that's if you want some russian stuff), Absolut is good too

[ibstolidude]

ahh now a subject true to my heart...


I would agree with Guttorm
ABSOLUT is very clean....too clean for me..it sits in your head, so to speak. I like absolut but drink type dependant. The Citron they offer is out of this world.

FOr straight drinking shots I am partial to pepperovka style vodka...the burn goes well with cigs...as I don't smoke anymore ;) I don't often drink this.

and finally my personal champion:
Stolichnaya Gold. When I seek to imbibe a quality alcoholic libation concocted with the finest ingredients, I turn to Stoli; Stoli Gold to be exact.

Grey gouse, Kettle one, sky, aristocrap :cantbeli: , absolut, whatever!!

[California Joe]

Grey Goose and Kettle one are supposed to be the **** these days but I believe ibstoli has you squared away.

[Midtown]

**** it, cowboy up and get some Everclear.

[UkrainianAmerican]

Stoli and smirnoff is where its at

[Dennis G]

Vox is good vodka now Crown Royal that nasty stuff :|

[ßå$tĮТHÏ¿ð]

There is some stuff out there its like vodka but apparently cause's you to trip out n halucinate and its legal (no im not talking about bong water). Its called Abstenece or something? Anyone ever drink that? Its pretty expensive coming in around a $100 bucks for a 26' but hey if it makes you halucinate why not.

[California Joe]

There is some stuff out there its like vodka but apparently cause's you to trip out n halucinate and its legal (no im not talking about bong water). Its called Abstenece or something? Anyone ever drink that? Its pretty expensive coming in around a $100 bucks for a 26' but hey if it makes you halucinate why not.

Absinthe. It has wormwood in it. Which is a poison. Thus the hallucinations. French painters like Toulouse Lautrec and those cats used to drink it.

[Scrim]

The real Absinth is not legal in the US. The **** they have here does not have the wormwood in it. My local bar sells it, its awfull, with none of the good/bad(?) hallucinations. I believe its legal in parts of Europe though.

[He219]

StarvingStudent47, to me the preferred brand of Vodka depends on my disposition.

For Martinis I use only the High Grade/High Octane stuff - straight up:

Belvedere
Chopin
Grey Goose
Precis (hard to get)

For mixed drinks, generally Kettle One.

If you have an upset stomach, or after a large meal, or if you think you just can't manage another drink .......... go for a Stoli & Soda.

The best part about good Vodka is that you'll never feel it the next day, unlike some other forms of liquor.


Skol!
:D

[gaz]

Absinthe is famous for reportedly being the stuff that Vincent Van Gogh was drinking when he went nuts and cut off his ear.

It's legal to buy in bars in Britain (I've never seen it for sale in shops) but is ridiculously expensive, working out to £4 a shot (Approx $6.50 US), I was recently in Central/Eastern Europe (Specifically Prague when I bought it) and brought home 2 bottles, each was half a litre and in total it cost me around £14 (22 USD). The stuff I brought back was 80% ABV, whereas the stuff I've seen in Britain is generally 60%. The odd thing is that nobody over there drinks it because it tastes like ****, they just sell it to gullible tourists. Admittedly I've never drank a lot of it,i t was for my brothe, but neither he or myself have ever had any hallucinogenic experiences, it just got me rat-arsed,I would however like to point out I've got no clue if the stuff I bought was good quality stuff or cheap ****e.

[Marxist203]

I'm starting to experiment a bit more with the hard stuff, after being "just a beer guy" for a while. I've got my bottles of Maker's Mark bourbon and Crown Royal whisky, and both make me happy. But since my mother's family is from Russia, I figure I should let vodka represent too. But there's so much foul vodka out there. Anyone have a favorite brand?

You can never go wrong with Smirnoff...though Polar Ice is cheaper and it tastes about the same, that and its made in Canada so you dont have to worry about supporting Communism ;)

[Salty Dog]

ahh now a subject true to my heart...


I would agree with Guttorm
ABSOLUT is very clean....too clean for me..it sits in your head, so to speak. I like absolut but drink type dependant. The Citron they offer is out of this world.

FOr straight drinking shots I am partial to pepperovka style vodka...the burn goes well with cigs...as I don't smoke anymore ;) I don't often drink this.

and finally my personal champion:
Stolichnaya Gold. When I seek to imbibe a quality alcoholic libation concocted with the finest ingredients, I turn to Stoli; Stoli Gold to be exact.

Grey gouse, Kettle one, sky, aristocrap :cantbeli: , absolut, whatever!!

is that your screen name on here...does "ibstolidude" mean "I Be Stoli Dude"?.........i don't know what i'm talkin about.

[StarvingStudent47]

So what's up with flavored vodka? Does anyone besides high school students actually drink that? And is "Stoli Gold" a higher grade of vodka, their name for unflavored vodka, or what?

I'll pick up some Aboslut or Stoli sometime this weekend.

[ßå$tĮТHÏ¿ð]

Absinthe sounds right up my alley, who cares a lil bit of posion here and there can be good for ya. If it doesnt kill you it will only make you stronger ;) besides if people are cutting off ears when there drinking it it sounds kinda fun. Besides you can never go wrong with stuff that makes you hallucinate woot

[He219]

So what's up with flavored vodka? Does anyone besides high school students actually drink that?

Good for Girls and Mixed Drinks.....

;)

[Beowulf]

Tito's vodka...no seriously
http://www.titos-vodka.com/
Won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Competition...it's pretty good...but more importantly not expensive: 750Ml for 20 bucks.

[Ichhabe]

The Lebanese has some crazy liquire called Arak. It is similare to the Greek Ouzo and the French Pernod.
But belive me, that Arak makes you go through the roof, with your soul on fire when it hit you like an anvil glued to a semi truck.
Man!!! I tell you that you never experienced the feeling of **** Drunk untill you've tasted Arak. And it's good too. :D

[ibstolidude]

Try any of the following for great local flavor:

grappa,

Sake or sucky (for Jack),

Greek uzo,

the wine from orahovac

Slivovitz = slivovic = slivowitz ( I can't write cryllic in latinic sorry) homemade plum brandy

Roodeberg wine from SA or KWV (if you prefer)

and good ol'e west virginia moonshine.
a spoon full of mash will get you flowing.

[Haiw]

Greek Uzo is great...it's one of the main reasons to go to a Greek restaurant. :D

[gaz]

Just to alter one thing on my earlier post, it seems that the stuff I've brought wasn't as strong as I thought it was, it was actually 70%ABV (140 Proof) rather than 80% ABV (160 Proof). For anyone interested it was this stuff Click here (http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=691&name=STAROPLZENECKY) but I still got it for about a quarter of the price I'd have paid in the UK.

[usa320]

I usually drink Stolichnaya, Smirnoff or Absolut

[StarvingStudent47]

All right, tomorrow I track down a bottle of Stolichnaya. I'm sure Smirnoff and Absolut are good as well, but I wanna start with the Russian stuff (I just wanted to make sure that I didn't buy a crap brand just because of where it was bottled).

I've had a bit of Grey Goose before, and that wasn't bad, but there's just something NOT RIGHT about vodka made in France. It's like drinking bourbon distilled in Israel instead of Kentucky. Even if it tastes good, it still ain't right.


If you have an upset stomach, or after a large meal, or if you think you just can't manage another drink .......... go for a Stoli & Soda.

The best part about good Vodka is that you'll never feel it the next day, unlike some other forms of liquor.

Werd. Sounds nice.

[EvanL]

All right, tomorrow I track down a bottle of Stolichnaya. I'm sure Smirnoff and Absolut are good as well, but I wanna start with the Russian stuff (I just wanted to make sure that I didn't buy a crap brand just because of where it was bottled).

I've had a bit of Grey Goose before, and that wasn't bad, but there's just something NOT RIGHT about vodka made in France. It's like drinking bourbon distilled in Israel instead of Kentucky. Even if it tastes good, it still ain't right.


If you have an upset stomach, or after a large meal, or if you think you just can't manage another drink .......... go for a Stoli & Soda.

The best part about good Vodka is that you'll never feel it the next day, unlike some other forms of liquor.

Werd. Sounds nice.
Its a french company but its all made in Canada.

[StarvingStudent47]

Its a french company but its all made in Canada.

I've got a 50ml Grey Goose bottle right here that says "distilled and bottled in France" right on the front.

[EvanL]

Its a french company but its all made in Canada.

I've got a 50ml Grey Goose bottle right here that says "distilled and bottled in France" right on the front.
Well im pretty sure most of it is made in Canada. Ive talked to one of the regional managers for distribution in NYC and he said most of it is made in Canada.

[StarvingStudent47]

Well im pretty sure most of it is made in Canada. Ive talked to one of the regional managers for distribution in NYC and he said most of it is made in Canada.

That's odd. This is from the Grey Goose webpage:

http://www.greygoosevodka.com/gg/popad_lg.jpg

[duck]

For a taste of the original stuff, the Russian Vodka museum in St. Petersburg.

http://www.vodkamuseum.ru/english

[perdurabo]

ok the best of the best is finish vodka Finlandia (i dont know how is caled outside of poland)
next is Smirnoff
Luksusowa (made from potatoes :D )
Chopin and Belvedere are ok but to high prices
Bols is cheap and good
Żołądkowa Gorzka it has yellow/brown colour and is very tasty but prabably you cant buy it outside poland :)
Beherovka from Czech
Absolut ok
but NEVER EVER drink vodkas like Lodowa afther that i where sick for whole week brrr
but if you want to do it in siberian way buy pure alcochol (i dont know how it is caled in english in polish its spirytus 99,9% of Alk.) mix it in half with water.....

[Argo AdAm]

"The three most astonishing things in the past half-century have been the blues, cubism and Polish vodka..." - Pablo Picasso

Some of the best Polish vodkas (I've drunk most of them and... what can I say... they are good ;) :

Żubrówka - Bison Brand Vodka - unique Polish vodka, very good in drinks with an apple juice
http://store4.yimg.com/I/vodkaguide_1774_97137426

Unique, very aromatic dry vodka prepared on the basis of rectified luxury spirit and a tincture of bison grass, which grows only in Białowieża Primaeval Forest, Poland. Demineralized water, from the own deep water intakes of "Polmos" Białystok, situated in the ecologically cleanest region of Poland, complete the top quality raw materials of which the vodka is produced. Its particular feature is a blade of bison grass placed in every bottle. This 'bison grass' is that favoured by the European bison which graze on the borders of Poland and Russia.
Sobieski Vodka
http://www.sobieskivodka.pl/grafika/sobzaw5a[1].jpg

Wyborowa (ang. "excellent")
http://store4.yimg.com/I/vodkaguide_1774_97895727

Belvedere (The Premier Luxury Vodka)
http://store4.yimg.com/I/vodkaguide_1776_8032297

Polonaise
http://store4.yimg.com/I/vodkaguide_1776_3124706

Chopin
http://www.chopinvodka.com.pl/g/chopamerd.jpg
-------------------------

From other I very like Finlandia, especially Finlandia Cranberry

http://www.finlandia-vodka.com/images/img_cranberrypullo.jpg

Finlandia Cranberry is uniquely smooth, with a delicious flavour and aroma of fresh cranberries. Enjoy it straight, on the rocks, or with a mixer of your choice – or use it to add flavour to traditional cocktails.

[NcDeuce]

I like my beer.

Occasionally, I'll feel special...

http://www.greensbeverages.com/spirits/JACK-O.jpg

http://www.cocktailtimes.com/tasting/bottle/baileys.jpg

http://www.pinkiesonline.com/images/crown.jpg

http://images.send.com/104110_big.jpg

http://images.send.com/104109_big.jpg

http://www.bishoku.org/report/image01/b0068_01.jpg usually is a good mixer-upper

[ORold]

Absolute is the best vodka you can ever drink!!!!

U guys, try to drink Red Wine+coke (40% wine, 60% coke, and drink it very cold).We call it Calimotxo, and we use to drink it in Spain.

[Fargin]

x 2 on Bison Vodka.

[James]

You should try 3 Star or Gordon's vodka. Those or anything else that comes in a plastic bottle. :P

[StarvingStudent47]

Mother Russia rain down down down...

Stolichnaya vodka is now my favorite hard liquor. What a clean, crisp, mellow flavor. I mean, stuff like Crown Royal and Maker's Mark is good too, but this is just FANTASTIC. It's like every drop of Russian blood in my veins is rejoicing woot woot woot

I haven't had a chance to track down stuff like Finlandia, but now that I've decided that I love vodka, I'll make an effort. Comparing vodka to vodka, I do like Stolichnaya more than Grey Goose, even though the latter is more expensive.

[StarvingStudent47]

2:45 am update: Not only does Stolichnaya taste great going down, but Stolichnaya-drunk actually feels better than Crown-Royal-drunk or Maker's-Mark-drunk. Even though I'm plastered, my head feels clear. It's an amazing feeling.

Hooray for the Russkies woot

[perdurabo]

BTW there was a big arguing in warsaw packt days who invented vodka :)
Poles, Russians or other ... We tryied to make vodka as an oryginal produckt from poland (like oryginal champaigne is from champaigne prowince...) rusia trryied to do that also finaly they(rusians) found some historian who made reserch and said that rusian invented vodka few years erlier than poles .... he died sudenly in 2001 in his apartment in moscow :P there is even a joke in moscow that says that we killed him :P ofcourse reserches where sponsored by rusians so history of vodkas invention will remain clouded :)

[Upfrontreporting]

The real Absinth is not legal in the US. The **** they have here does not have the wormwood in it. My local bar sells it, its awfull, with none of the good/bad(?) hallucinations. I believe its legal in parts of Europe though.


You can get Absinth at a couple of bars in Copenhagen/Denmark, it tastes like **** though.

[cut]

-vanilla coke is rank! foul stuff!
-absynth is strong, but the strongest I had was 95% ABV, effectively paint stripper, in bolivia. It's what the miners drink (first bit is pure then mixed with fizzy drinks) I then went down this mine and it's understandable scariest place I've ever been to, they also coke leaves to help them deal with the conditions. The street shop we got that stuff from was a miners shop, they have to by their own stuff because the mined is owned by the miners. As well as the 95% alcohol they had there we bought dynamite, fuses and amfo (diesel soaked foam for the bomb), all for a couple of dollars.

[farmgirl]

I'm an Absolut girl..... that or Finlandia..... good stuff.

[scoone]

Pernod = absynth? it's 70%, quite strong, it's legal in Spain.

[DE_Six]

I like Moskovskaya. The green label. Give it a try.

http://cr.middlebury.edu/public/russian/Bulgakov/public_html/Images/Moskovskaya2.jpg

http://cr.middlebury.edu/public/russian/Bulgakov/public_html/Images/MoskovskayaLabel.jpg

The polish Wyborowa is also excellent. It's made from potato, not rye, IIRC.

[He219]

Vodka connoisseurs:

http://www.precisvodka.com/images/bottle01.jpg

Skål!