"Colorless, tasteless, odorless" -- According to Alton Brown on "Good Eats" (Food Network), the difference between expensive vodka and cheap is the bottle, and the price -- not the contents.

yeah... I dont think there is any difference between good and great vodka (flavored brands not considered here), but the bargain barrel stuff is a bit harsh.

What about expensive cheap vodka, Absolut is much better than the "cheap, cheap" stuff. I would disagree with the idea of them tasting no different, at least the first 2 drinks! After that, you may have a point.

quote:

Originally posted by 0X0:
"Colorless, tasteless, odorless" -- According to Alton Brown on "Good Eats" (Food Network), the difference between expensive vodka and cheap is the bottle, and the price -- not the contents.

I really like Alton Brown, but I believe he is wrong.

Those bumblers on Mythbusters did a comparison between different priced vodkas. IIRC the expert they brought in did a blind taste test and was able to put them in the correct order from least to most expensive. They then used different methods to filter the cheap stuff to see if it would better the quality of the vodka.

It did improve them, but the expert was still able to put them in order.

quote:

Originally posted by 0X0:
"Colorless, tasteless, odorless" -- According to Alton Brown on "Good Eats" (Food Network), the difference between expensive vodka and cheap is the bottle, and the price -- not the contents.

Ever hear the phrase "he's so full of shit his eyes are brown." Must be why his last name is Brown.

Oxo old bean i'm afraid you've been mislead!

The difference between Happy Shopper lucky dip Vodka and a bottle of Stoli ain't temporary blindness thank god, but there is a world of difference in smoothness and the hangover.

Especially the hangover......

About the only thing to do with cheap vodka is to marinade venison fillets in it for half an hour or so, flash fry them so rare that they sigh gently when you fork a portion, and deglaze the pan with the vodka and spot of water. Serve over the now blood-stained white rice.

Mmmm....

quote:

Especially the hangover......

Soooooooooooo correct here. Grey Goose, Ketel One, Stoli (maybe others too)...drink all day NO hangover.

As soon as you get down in grade to Sky...pass the Advil!!!

i am trying to get the wife to upgrade from skyy .. i like tito's, though that may be just a regional brand ... i got a might tipsy on skyy one night, and haven't like it since

we tried Titos last weekend and I was impressed. Didnt break open the sky?

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
i am trying to get the wife to upgrade from skyy .. i like tito's, though that may be just a regional brand ... i got a might tipsy on skyy one night, and haven't like it since

Tito's is widely distributed. Generally, best price is at Trader Joe's at sub-$18. Costco's knockoff of Grey Goose is hard to differentiate and is well priced. (I've put some of the Costco in a Grey Goose botttle and my snobbier friends who insisted on GG never noted the difference.)

That's what he said, and he was mixing a "SideCar" which -- precursor to a Margarita.

So it's lime juice and a salted rim Martini glass. I didn't pay attention because I don't drink them.

Margarita is nice, but the GOOD TEQUILA is the "mescal" stuff with the worm in the bottle.

Brown sometimes goes over the top in his stuff. It's lemon/lime juice, shot of Triple Sec or Contreau, and Tequila . . . salted rim Martini glass, and garnish with lime or lemon.

Lemon, salt shaker, and shot glass is MUCH easier.

Brown was using a digital scale to measure out a smoothie for breakfast. Jeez! Just toss the stuff in a blender and crank up the power.

(I have a Kitchen Aid which will crush rock, never mind frozen fruit.)

I tasted all the Canadian in the commissary, and I liked the cheap generic best at $14.99 for 1.75 Litre. Yeah, I did try the six year old rye.

blind taste testes yesterday
gray goose
ciroc
skyy
everclear cut to 80 proof with tap water

4 people tasting.. 2 for gg and 2 for ciroc being tops, then inverted for second .. ciroc has a citris taste, and is REALLY a brandy as its distilled grape fermentations ..

skyy was third, by 3/1, though the cut down everclear did make a showing from the gin fan.

anyway, the cost co knockoff sounds like a good idea

jeffe

If you want to dilute anything, you should used distilled water.

No sir, I will not use distilled water anywhere near ANYTHING I want to drink .. Distilled has a minimal ammount of anythign but H2o and tastes WEIRD ... sure it's "pure" but its NOT what the palette is used to.

no minerals, no electrolytes, no salts, no nothing ... I'll pass, thanks ..

Not a vodka drinker, but I spotted a brand in the liqor store, the other day, that made me do a double take. EFFEN VODKA.

Best vodka is up to eight times distilled (for example Russian Standard Imperial). You can't compare it to the cheap one. It is like comparing Holland & Holland to some turkish gunmaker brand . . .

Homemade is cheapest and best...you just need to get used to it.

There is a cooking program on PBS on Saturdays that tests cookware, developes recipes, etc. On one on the programs in the past few months they discussed the difference bewteen vodka quality and price. The test they performed was to filter the cheaper vodkas using a Brita filter, the jug kind you put on the shelf in your fridge. The result was that after three filterings you could not tell any difference in any of the vodkas. The few friends that I have that insist on designer vodkas never complain about the drinks I fix with Smirnoff Black. I have also served gallons of Popov during the past 40 years without complaint.

I think Silver Wolf is pretty terrible, or any lower brand for that matter, unless you're making screwdrivers...

Straight vodka: Well Stoli is good, but I got absolutely blazed on it one time, so whenever I get that out my family looks at me like I just tracked a pound of mud through the living room.

My personal favorite is Zubrovka. It's a Polish vodka. It's my choice when drinking straight vodka. I think it's about $25/bottle, so not too expensive...