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As several media sources have noted, there has recently been a surge in vodka sales. While these increases have occurred across the board, there has been a particularly large spike in so-called "value" and "popular" brands, which cost less than $9 per bottle.
In addition to the obvious price benefit, there is also the matter of flavor. As The New York Times noted, the premium vodka fad was largely an artificially created phenomenon, and the cheap stuff often tastes just as good as brands that cost five or six times as much.
Of course, as the comments in last November's Top Shelf Vodka post demonstrate, Slashfood's readers have known this for quite some time.
While you may not want to resort to Popov, as the Times seems to suggest, it's worth noting that Smirnoff, Luksusowa and Svedka are all outstanding, low-priced tipples. And, just in case the Times decides to copy us yet again, remember that you heard it here first!
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3-27-2009 @2:08PM gill said... Tito's vodka is also very good an inexpensive.
http://www.titos-vodka.com/
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3-27-2009 @2:30PM Daemon_of_Waffle said... Vodka is a regulated creation, so all brands have to meet regulated, minimum requirements. As long as they do, all vodkas will be similar. Sure, there is triple charcoal, spring sourced, first press potato-based vodka, but that's just marketing. You can't really call popov, et al, bottom swill because it has to be made to spec to be called vodka.
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3-27-2009 @2:33PM Astin said... Same New York Times that ranked Smirnoff as the best in a blind test? That right there tells me all I need to know about their credibility when it comes to vodka.
There are undoubtedly fine cheap vodkas, but the premiums aren't artificial. Some are miles ahead in terms of texture and taste (or lack thereof).
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3-27-2009 @3:01PM Alex said... I agree with Astin. Some vodkas are like swallowing shards of flaming glass, others are very smooth, clean, and don't burn. Sometimes bartenders who don't know me think I can't tell the difference and they pour me absolut or smirnoff when I order something better. Boy, do they always look sheepish when I send it back after one sip.
I think whether or not you perceive a difference has a lot to do with how often you consume vodka. Like with anything else, your pallette has to become accustomed to the differences before you can discern them. I think the NYT tasters are not big vodka drinkers.
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3-27-2009 @3:05PM agent54 said... i do so love how they use pricing as the guideline for the various levels without mentioning bottle size. anyway, it's been my experience that it's not so much about the taste but the end result and morning-after-effects. white tavern vs banker's club (straight, chilled or not) experiments have proven this more times than i care to admit to. oh, and, as a friendly bit of advice, avoid white tavern and nikolai at all costs.
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3-28-2009 @9:37PM Kate Clark said... I have heard recently, although haven't tried it, that if you put less expensive vodka through a brita filter four times taste tests indicate you can't tell the difference between the brita filtered and Gray Goose.
I just stumbled on to this blog site. Impressed with your posts. Thank you. Now it is time for a martini...
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3-29-2009 @1:00AM Bear said... All vodkas have to meet minimum standards, it's true, but some go beyond those standards. What's interesting is that the extent to which they do often isn't related to price.
Distilling vodka removes impurities and makes it smoother and easier to drink (a Brita filter has the same effect, apparently). Smirnoff, like Ketel One and Grey Goose, is triple distilled; Tito's is distilled six times. Some bottom-shelf vodkas, like Platinum (distilled seven times), which sells for under $10 a bottle, are remarkably smooth and compare well to the ultra-premiums that sell for three or four times the price.
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3-30-2009 @7:36PM cb said... "that it's not so much about the taste but the end result and morning-after-effects. "
I was thinking the same thing. The morning after is definitely rougher on most of the cheap vodkas.
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3-30-2009 @7:46PM Isaac said... A great inexpensive vodka is Sobieski, a Polish distillery. Has a great clean taste, and is about half the price of Absolut, Grey Goose, et al. They also won some major taste test a while back, if I recall:
http://www.vodkasobieski.com/index.php
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3-30-2009 @7:53PM no name said... i guess the author of that article never had a hangover after drunking cheap vodka to compare it with a hangover from a good vodka.
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3-30-2009 @8:47PM Spanky said... Pour the cheap stuff through a pre-rinsed Brita water filter 5 or 6 times and you won't even get a hangover.
Charcoal filtration FTW!
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3-30-2009 @10:34PM John said... To the users who claim that the morning after on cheap vodka is worse, I'm just wondering if, perhaps cheap vodka is generally purchased in greater quantities and consumed in greater quantities and also mixed with more "impure" beverages. I doubt anyone is going to take a premium (expensive) vodka and mix it with apple pucker (or whatever you choose to mix it with). Also, no offense, but the responses here sound about the least scientific, most subjective responses one could imagine. Not saying the NYTimes is the definitive source on good Vodka, but I doubt most of the "drinkers" here are either.
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3-30-2009 @10:51PM elenion said... A great cheap vodka is Costco's brand, Kirkland. I can't tell the difference between it and Grey Goose. The price makes the choice simple.
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3-30-2009 @10:56PM David said... As someone who has consumed a substantial amount of both cheap and expensive vodka, I can say with some certainty that those of you complaining about vodka giving worse hangovers are looking for an objective way to justify your position that expensive vodka is "better", and thus, you are somehow "better" for drinking it. And those who drink cheap vodka are just uneducated slobs.
Funny what people will say to feel good about themselves.
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3-31-2009 @4:37AM Steve said... Well Dave, at least they aren't smug jerks.
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3-31-2009 @8:08AM Red Icculus said... I used to do tastings professionally for work. People couldn't pick their favorite expensive vodka that they swore by compared to a middle shelf brand. We didn't use bottom shelf brands because they tend to be distilled or filtered less. Svedka and Moskovskaya are my favorites for the price.
http://red-icculus.com
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3-31-2009 @9:00AM lodog said... My wife and I have been debating whether premium vodka is worth the price. I kept telling her that there is no way that she could tell the difference between her beloved goose and sky. On new year's eve I gave my wife and my sister a blind taste test between goose and sky and both picked out the goose w/o any hesitation. Maybe next time I'll try this with svedka and see if she can still pick out goose?
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3-31-2009 @10:26AM liqrlikr.com said... There are typically plenty of choices of good quality vodkas which are on sale to choose from; you don't have to necessarily buy from the dusty bottom shelf to save a few bucks. We had great results with some Froggy B vodka not too long ago priced 50% off at $9.99/750mL.
Our vodka listings: http://liqrlikr.com/browse/tags/vodka
All current sales: http://liqrlikr.com/browse/sale/
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3-31-2009 @12:19PM collegeppl said... If alcohol every burns (because its the cheap stuff) just put it through a Brita water filter.
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3-31-2009 @12:54PM Kat Kinsman said... For a fabulous Brita vodka excursion: http://ohmygoditburns.com/
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