Tuesday, September 16, 2008

A Well Stocked Bar IV

Money, like vodka, turns a person into an eccentric. ~ Anton Chekhov



It's now time to start discussing spirits. While it's not my favorite distilled spirit it is still the most versatile of all spirits and one which every bar should include - Vodka.
I could simply tell you to buy Grey Goose and leave it at that, as it is, at least to my palette, the most enjoyable of all vodkas. But instead I will tell you that when it comes to selecting spirits it's a rather personal decision. It can come down to taste, or price, or even how the bottle will look on your bar.


Before you select your "house" vodka I would suggest the next time you're out having a few beverages with friends that you order, over the course of the evening, several vodka tonics sans lime (this is a scientific experiment afterall) and determine which is your favorite. I would then suggest with this knowledge in hand that you go to your favorite liquor store and look at the oversized assortment of vodkas and compare the prices to your ratings. Where your palette and wallet overlap is probably the right selection. I have friends with very good palettes that argue that Vox and Absolut are far superior to my beloved Goose, they're wrong of course, but it shows how individual the selection of your preferred spirits can be.

If you and your guests primarily use vodka in very elaborate concoctions I might suggest the ever versatile, drinkable, and affordable Stolichnya. If you and your guests rarely drink vodka I would again go for the Stoli. If instead you favor something without four kinds of fruit juice and Pucker I would again steer you back to Grey Goose.

What's your house vodka?

1 comment:

Easy and Elegant Life said...

Luksusowa. It's a potato vodka and so has a very different mouthfeel from others. And I like to think that it has a distinct taste. Vodka sold in America is distilled and then cut to bring the percentage of alcohol within certain mandated limits. That is not the case if you have vodka sold overseas and that is why, I have it on good authority, that it tastes like a different beverage over there.

Interestingly, the number one imported vodka in Russia is Bowman's, produced here in Virginia. It's swill, but mixes fine with all the usual suspects.

If you are tasting, I suggest tasting small amounts neat and not too chilled to get the most out of them. But that's just me.

Na Zdorovie! Or words to that effect.