Is cheap vodka just as good?

Rage9

Rage9

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At a local bar last week, and the bartender suggested I try a certain vodka, as I was drinking vodka that night, like I normally do. He said it was relatively cheap compared to what I was drinking (3 olives). He also mentioned they did a blind taste test with other bar patrons and it won vs all the other vodkas they carry. So I bit on and said OK I'll give it a go.

Now I drink a lot of vodka (drink of choice) and have had a wide range of them, and tend to prefer Sky (if I'm on the cheap or making mixers like screwdrivers), 3 Olives or Kettle One (normally), and if I'm feeling like it maybe Grey Goose on rare occasion.

The drink started out good and smooth but the farther I got in to it (and I drink it with seltzer and a little lemon) the worse it got. It fit the bill as far as vodkas go IMHO, the cheaper they are, the worse they are.

Anyways, I stumbled on to this news article from the New York Times where after they did blind taste tests some cheap vodka won out: The Feed - If Ever There Was a Time for Cheap Vodka - NYTimes.com

I'm just wonder what other people think about cheap vs more expensive vodka. I think the real cheap shit is like battery acid, and you have to pay for the smoothness. However I drink a lot of vodka so I guess I'm more apt to notice the subtle differences between them than someone who never drinks it, which is most likely the case.

Thoughts?
 


you listed my two favorite brands of vodka: Three Olives/ Skyy. I drink a lot of vodka as well and I would recommend just sticking to the brands you enjoy. Cheaper vodka tends to give me hangovers in the morning and if I don't feel like I've been hit by a train, my stomach feels like shit. I stick to decent vodka and it has been worth it.
 
There are a lot of cheap (imported) vodka's which are great, but just don't have the distribution. As long as we make that distinction, we can talk about cheap vs non-cheap.

Skyy is San Francisco based, and was touted as a triple filtered blind taste test yada yada when it was first released. I don't particularly like it for anything but a mixer.

Grey Goose is garbage, tastes like lighter fluid. Even when I'm drunk, I have a hard time doing shots of it. It annoys me that people use it as a status symbol in clubs, when Ketel is cheaper and tastes better.

Recently I've been enjoying Hangar 1 (another San Francisco vodka) which is quite smooth, and for the moment, the price isn't too bad. I'd give it a few years and it'll likely start popping up all over the country.

My favorite is Ketel One, the "peppery" taste is great chilled, or in a vodka slushy (vodka + ice blended) and gives the taste I like in just about any cocktail.

I haven't tried Popov, sounds kinda shit, much like Absolut.
 
They make $$$ of promoting certain vodkas during launch/promo periods, if I'm not mistaken (or have a contractual obligation to do so). That being said, I kind of like cheap shitty vodka. At the end of the day both kinds will get you drunk but it's more about the "clean" feeling of the alcohol IMO.
 
I can definitely tell the difference between bad Wodka and well made Wodka. I like to drink Wodka straight and I just can't do it with the cheap stuff. Effen is my standard but when I want really good stuff, go with the Polish (they invented it after all)

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JarredLv said:
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Oh shit, I was just drinking this the other day!

I found the slightly bitter taste of it compliments cocktails well. Doing it straight had a shit aftertaste, even when chilled. Definitely one of the better cocktail vodka's, as it almost entirely gets drowned out by just about any mixer.
 
Pravda is pretty much my everyday Vodka now. Used to drink Three Olive when it was on sale, which I think for the price is hard to beat, and Kettle One or Stoli if I wasn't bargain shopping
 
tequila or whisley id better for straight drinking, vidka straight tastes terrible
 
Cheap shit is not as good for a reason, if someone can't taste the difference between grey goose and aristocrat they're probably inbred. Armadale is my favorite out of what I've had, real smooth and barely any aftertaste. Jay Z made a good move buying the rights to that brand.
 
Yea man cheap vodka is no good. If you get some real quality vodka you can tell from the smirnoff/sky/etc shit that people drink.
 
Try Nemiroff if you have it in US. Or Pshenichnaya. However not think so, I assume all that one tastes like shit mostly...
 
Grey goose is the only fucking vodka I will drink. Not joking. I cannot even fathom someone enjoying the taste of vodka, it is horrible. I am a whiskey man for life.
 
Discounting the truly cheap crap, I bet that vodka is similar to red wine in terms of price vs quality.

Most people can't tell the difference between a cheap wine and an expensive wine and use price as an indicator of quality. There have been studies done where people compare identical wines at different price points and always (on average) 'prefer' the expensive wine, even though they are the same wine.

Of course when confronted with the evidence, people's hamsters start spinning and they come up with a reason why they made that decision (and the explanation is never because of price). It's the same reason why people will claim that OF COURSE they can tell the difference between cheap and expensive vodka.

(assuming it's made from the same source - potato and fruit vodka will always taste different, even at the same price point)
 
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I am not asking about your favorite fucking Vodkas. I don't give a shit honestly. I am more worried about what you drink and why. I'm looking for people that drink vodka like a mo fo. The rest of you can eat shit.
 
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Belvedere...

I drink a lot of vodka. I find there are two primary different types as far as taste goes. As far as I understand it, different mash recipes (percent grain vs potatoes, etc) impart different flavors into the resulting vodka, and I have to assume (wild guess here) that the two primary flavors come from potato-based vodkas vs grain-based vodkas.

I enjoy both, but I'm a huge fan of whatever Belvedere is made of.

Also, averages are irrelevant when it comes to my preferences...
 
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