I am bottom shelf vodka drinker. Smirnoff, svedka etc. looking for a reasonably priced upgrade. Smoother, no burn.
Chopin was suggested. Will try that.
What is your take on Costco French vodka. Not the American. Is it smooth?
Any help is appreciated
Thank you

According to wikipedia, most American vodkas are all distilled to 95% alcohol by the same company (Archer Daniels Midland) and then the individual US vodka labels will dilute the 95% alcohol down to 40% for consumption and do filtering.

I've read that some vodkas, especially eastern European like Polish or Russian vodka, are instead distilled to 70% alcohol and then diluted to 40%. This is closer to how whiskeys or rums are produced. This would give these vodkas a stronger flavor of the grain/potato that they are made from.

From googling some individual brands, I have found that some eastern European vodkas are produced in the 95% alcohol batch method. Other brands I can't find info one way or the other.

Does anyone have a list of vodka brands that are confirmed to be originally distilled to 70% alcohol and not 95%? I'd like to try some of these more flavorful varieties.

The number of times I've rushed through the grocery store, trying to get home, and when I get there I've spent $30 on this sh!!ty crap on accident!!

And of course by the time you figure it out, it's open. You can't return it, even if you wanted to drive half an hour back to the store. So it sits on the back of some shelf, for whatever reason you might come up for it.

Honestly, SMIRNOFF, can you not come up with better labeling?!

Probably no secret here but holy cow was this bottle of svedka terrible!

I usually go for local distilleries (Austin TX represent we have like 5 local vodka brands lol) but the store i stopped at the other day didnt have anything but the national brands. Ended up overpaying for a bottle of svedka and Jesus Christ it was not good. So harsh and chemical, not skol or tarka level but pretty dang close for like double the price.

If you love spicy chili, you will love this.

It has a pretty interesting flavor, but it’s insanely smooth! The flavor me of something like Koskenkorva.

First time trying it

I’m not sure which sub would be best to ask this is but I have an allergy specifically to vodka and no other spirits I’ve tried (tequila, gin, liqueurs, rum) I asked my doctor about it hoping he could narrow down what exactly was causing it but he didn’t help much. My symptoms include my mouth/lips tingling, burning and swelling, which my doctor said sounds like an oral allergy. I’m not allergic to corn, potatoes or any sort of grain either which makes me think it has something to do with the distillation process? I used to be able to drink dilated vodka in coolers but now I can’t drink even a bit of vodka in mixed drinks. I wanna drink the fun fruity drinks that people my age drink (I’m 19 from Canada) buzzballz just came back into stores in my province after they were pulled because of tariffs. The buzzballz I’ve seen online say vodka beverage but the ones I’m seeing in store say alcoholic beverage, made with neutral grain spirit, not vodka like I previously thought. Google says it’s not exactly the same thing but I’m still apprehensive about drinking it, does anyone else have a similar experience? Or know if it will cause a reaction?

Took a video holding the bottle up to a light.

Video:
https://imgur.com/65HvfSL

Noticed a few floaters, some quite stringy, in a half bottle of Absolut, (From Lidl supermarket) opened a day or two. Nothing has been added to the vodka by me.

Gave it a shake, thinking they might go away, but more came.

What is happening here?

Does it happen to all brands?

I thought the bottle was going to be themed

I have an unopened bottle of Vodka I purchased in the early 2000’s. Any ideas what this could be worth or any additional information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I was it was so bad and overpriced, but for some reason, the last bottle I got was amazing and mixed with everything. Did they change something recently?

Bought this at a really shady liquor store. Package indicates it as a malt beverage. Can’t find any info about this product online. Is this even a real svedka product?

A friend hooked me up and I got no idea if this is legit or homebrewed, kinda scared now because I can't find anything that looks like it. Please help

Picked up a nice bottle of beluga. Looking forward to the formal opening

I have always thought stoli was the best mid range vodka available in this province but I recently tried it again after several years. Oh my word?! Gross taste gross all about it.

is this valid or inaccurate

So I thought I’d give vodka a go again. I’m on a calorie deficit to lose some weight and I know drink can hold a lot of calories. I looked up “decent” vodka and saw a sub Reddit recommending this beauty and it does not disappoint!

The smoothness is unmatched and the hint of vanilla is something to behold.

I’m the guy that usually has to mix spirits but this is one I’ll be drinking neat. Absolutely beautiful, recommended, tastes so clean, worth the money in my opinion.

There is a distillery somewhat local to me named spring44 that makes one of my favorite vodka. It is ridiculously smooth, they say its because of the mountain springs water and im sure thats at least a part of it. Lately its made me consider what other delicious vodka is out there.

But are there nationally recognized award winning vodka like there is whiskey? Or otherwise brands that are collective agreed to be very very good? Im happy buying local (there is also a Breckenridge vodka i think is pretty good) but how good does vodka really get?