Favorite Vodka?

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Bangbang

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I have been drinking Five O'Clock vodka because I drink a lot of it and it is inexpensive. I just ordered some Russian Potato Vodka for drinking straight on ice.
 
Right now my favorite is Grey Goose, but I can't always afford that. For a less expensive alternative I usually go with Kettle One, but last night I picked up a bottle of 3 Olives. I made bloody Marys last night, so I can't really tell you what I thought of the 3 Olives. Tonight I will drink it straight to see how I like the taste.
 
I like absolut :)

Like to make bloody mary and white russians! Of course, just stright is good too!
 
I like Absolut and Stolichnya - but prefer a gin and tonic, made with Bombay Sapphhire gin and a slice of lime 8)
 
SierraCook said:
Ketel One or Stolichnya

Here is one of my favorite drinks:

White Russian

2 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
1/2 oz. Cream

Pour Vodka and Coffee liqueur over ice into an old fashioned glass. Float cream on top.
My favorite drink!!! I like to personally use Vanilla Vodka...and Fat-Free French Vanilla Liquid Coffee Creamer.

Also...If you add Cola to the White Russian mix...you'll have a Colorado Bulldog!!!
 
Not the world's biggest vodka fan, but here are a few thoughts...

"Vodka" is distilled grain alcohol, with "water", to give it a 40% or better mix, according to the law of the country its processed in, unless we transfer over to "moonshine" that is illegally distilled (I've "tasted" this, too...make sure you "burn the cork" to get blue flame instead of yellow, or it may be "deadly")

Anyways, if you have a pot of 100% "pure" alcohol, you can make vodka by diluting it to 40% strength, which is pretty much what the distilleries do, using water...

So the "premium" you are paying for is the water...be this "tap water" out of Saskatoon Saskatchewan, the "Natural Springs" of Guelph Ontario, the ecoli infected waters of Walkerton Ontario, the primeval "ice" of the glaciers off Newfoundland, or the "everyone from Thunder Bay, through Chicago and Detroit, but not yet Buffalo has pissed into this" offering of Lake Erie...(okay, all right already! the alcohol is sterilising it!)(just note the "flavour")

Very few of us drink vodka "straight" without ice...and being non-smokers with a clear palate...so as to give a rendition of what a "brand" tastes like...

And after two, if not three, drinks, your tongue is pretty much gone to bed for the night on terms of "taste", so you'd have to pick up on this with both a "clear palate" (sp?) (likewise with the really "good" scotches, the Irish "Heresies", the "designer" rums...

Like unto vodka, Gin is a "chemical formula"...its an alcohol infused with juniper berries or something, made today, bottled tomorrow and sold the next day...

So the "form" of the "bottle" may have a lot to do with the price of the final offering, as the fancy shaped bottle is amongst the distiller's costs,...before the government begins taxing it...

"aged" brandy, rye, Scotch, Rum, or even, God forgive me! "bourbon" loses mass and volume and locks down the "investment" in a given yar's production, and tastes "different" according to its age...

"CC", aka "Canadian Club" tastes like it is... a 5 year old. "aged" in a steel can, but with the world's most expensive marketing...Glenn Fiddich may be the best selling Scotch, but by no means is the best tasting...Johnnie Walker might cater to NA taste, but "sucks" when compared to really good Scots whiskies...and some tried and "aged" rums, say 8 years or older, give both "value" and "taste"..

Though if you mix ANY of them with "Coke", you lose my "vote" to have an "opinion" (LOL, of course not,. we all do these things our own way!)

Anyways, I'm getting off topic here, but "vodka's" can be confused in any number of ways...

"Absolut" would indeed be the "best brand", along with "Polar Ice", if you can find it outside of Canada, and "Smirnoff's" would be the biggest rip off, as they charge the buyer for the brand recognition thing, and their BIG advertising...(much like Cdn Club!)...

Lifter
 
OK I tried the 3 Olives straight last night (from the freezer) and was very disappointed. I couldn't drink it. I had to add some olive brine to make it palatable. I think I will stick to Grey Goose and Ketal One. If I am mixing it with something then I would use 3 Olives or Absolute or just about any of the other vodkas, but for drinking straight or in a vodka martini, I will continue the above. Oh I forgot about Belvedere. I really like that too, but for the same price I would go with Grey Goose.
 
I'm not much of a whisky drinker (Scottish celebrations, like Burns' Suppers and St Andrews Night nothwithstanding!) But my husband IS... his favourites are Bowmore (2 or 3 different ones) an Islay malt and Highland Park from Orkney. I quite like GlenKinchie and The MacAllan. I'm not too keen on cheap, blended whiskies like Bells, or Whyte and MacKays and don't like Johnny Walker at all - whether black or red label!
 
No "whiskey" from Scotland is "cheap" in North America!

I once received a bottle of "The MacAllan" as a gift (its hard to find in stores; priced around $100 Cdn$ for a 25 oz bottle...and agree its excellent...

I Lucked into a bottle of Bell's 32 Year Old umpteen years ago, and while I agree with your comment on their "standard" offering, the 32 year old stuff was so fantastic, I couldn't believe it!

Johnny Walker is allegedly made to suit a North American "taste", (or lack thereof!) as opposed those in Scotland...

"Famous Grouse" (as it is marketed here, perhaps just "Grouse" over there?) is formulated to taste exactly the same, each and every time, and the qc people over there seem to have an excellent "tongue" in ensuring the blend is exactly the same...and have a number of friends that swear by it, right down to the "two aspirin before bedtime" after a "night on the "Bird"", and wake up free from any issues...

Lifter
 
Whiskey is not Scots - that's Irish or American bourbons!

Our whisky collections are amazing! Another that my husband is keen on is Strathisla. Now that one I find almost undrinkable 8)

Famous Grouse is still famous on its home patch. Another well-respected one is Glenmorangie (pronounced Glen morronjee - emphasis on the 'on', rather than the English pronounciation of Glen moh ranji (emphasis on the moh)...
 
SierraCook Sorry I overlooked your recipe. Sounds so good. Another one I have to try. Does it sound like everyone who likes to cook wants to drink too? You are all so educated about different kinds of drinks. I wonder where I have been all my life? Guess it helps to know what drinks goes with right meal. Getting different perspective here. White Russian never did hear of it till now.
 
Ishbel, I understood that the Scots referred to the Irish Whiskies and Bourbon as "heresies"...was I wrong in this, or was it a different generation speaking?

Lifter
 
Certainly never heard them referred to as heresies, but we don't think of them as the same as our whisky! 8)
 
Vodka is the only hard stuff I drink. Been a fan of it for many years. I only drink it straight.

There was a time I liked Stoli Crystal, but it was quickly replaced by Chopin potato vodka a few years back. Then Chopin was replaced by Belvedere, which was quickly replaced by Grey Goose.

At present, Ciroq is my favorite. The French really know how to make a great vodka.

Mezzaluna, an Italian vodka is good, but not worth the money.

Kettle One and Absolut are not even on my list of drinkable vodkas. There's something about these two vodkas that just doesn't agree with my taste buds and stomach.

There are some obscure Russian vodkas that I really like, but can only get them at the Mandalay Bay's Red Square in Vegas.

I prefer my vodka at around 5 degrees F, straight up. No veggies to ruin the flavor of the vodka.
 
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