Is three olives vodka any good?

[Zargon]

or you were the first one to order it in months

 

[RearAdmiral]

or you were the first one to order it in months

heh who knows.

 

[waterjug]

I remember a blind-survey done about 8 years ago, I wish I could dig it up again. Liquor "experts" were asked to blind-taste different vodkas. No one could tell which was which, or even "bottom shelf" from "top shelf" vodkas. There's very little to do with vodka other than filtering it; you're paying for marketing and labeling. 90% of the difference you taste is psycosomatic.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

or you were the first one to order it in months

Or you were the first to rate it honestly without blindly following what an ad in Maxim told you what to like.

"Premium" vodka is one of the most successful scams on earth. All you need is a good bottle and a good ad, then the fanboys will line up to tell you how much they love it because they don't want to look like they're not cool. In legit blind tests Grey Goose, Ketel One, Cirroc and the others don't do any better than Smirnoff.

And for the love of god, you guys need to read up on the Grey Goose story before claiming how wonderful it is. The whole product began as a focus group, a bottle design and an invented backstory. Then when they had a fake product that people approved of they started making cheap vodka to stick in the bottles. Then the rest of the "premium" vodkas used the same playbook to fleece the stupid.

 

[nageov3t]

And for the love of god, you guys need to read up on the Grey Goose story before claiming how wonderful it is. The whole product began as a focus group, a bottle design and an invented backstory. Then when they had a fake product that people approved of they started making cheap vodka to stick in the bottles. Then the rest of the "premium" vodkas used the same playbook to fleece the stupid.

I treat Grey Goose like bottled water... something to keep on-hand to serve to company, but otherwise I'm drinking Smirnoff.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

like i said, it could be in my head when i taste a difference but i swear everyone that posts about that study never drinks or goes out to a bar with real people.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I treat Grey Goose like bottled water... something to keep on-hand to serve to company, but otherwise I'm drinking Smirnoff.

You don't even need the Grey Goose, just the bottle. Buy a $9.99 1.75L handle of some no-name and pour it into a Grey Goose bottle to serve company. They won't know the difference because there isn't a difference, it's all the bottle and the marketing.

 

[QueBert]

I remember a blind-survey done about 8 years ago, I wish I could dig it up again. Liquor "experts" were asked to blind-taste different vodkas. No one could tell which was which, or even "bottom shelf" from "top shelf" vodkas. There's very little to do with vodka other than filtering it; you're paying for marketing and labeling. 90% of the difference you taste is psycosomatic.

On Ellen's show she and Diddy did a blind taste test of 4 different Vodkas and they were able to tell the difference. He ended up correctly picking his own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gVgGwgcpxE

 

[waterjug]

On Ellen's show she and Diddy did a blind taste test of 4 different Vodkas and they were able to tell the difference. He ended up correctly picking his own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gVgGwgcpxE

eeeeehhhhh I generally believe the controlled study more than Ellen

 

[waterjug]

You don't even need the Grey Goose, just the bottle. Buy a $9.99 1.75L handle of some no-name and pour it into a Grey Goose bottle to serve company. They won't know the difference because there isn't a difference, it's all the bottle and the marketing.

yeah that's what I was thinking

 

[nageov3t]

You don't even need the Grey Goose, just the bottle. Buy a $9.99 1.75L handle of some no-name and pour it into a Grey Goose bottle to serve company. They won't know the difference because there isn't a difference, it's all the bottle and the marketing.

that's actually a really good idea.

surprised I never thought of it... growing up, I used to replace my parents' brown liquors with iced tea.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

that's actually a really good idea.

surprised I never thought of it... growing up, I used to replace my parents' brown liquors with iced tea.

Now that is something people might notice.


You can use the same $9.99 bottle to have a bunch of vodka on hand. Flavored vodkas are just cheap normal vodka with chemical flavoring added. Why would you need peach vodka and amaretto vodka and cherry vodka and pickle/paprika/pastrami vodka? Use the same generic vodka and a couple of drops of cheap extracts and you can have a whole bar of dozens of flavored vodkas. If your guests are drinking Ciroc peach with Sprite they'll fall for anything.

 

[nageov3t]

Now that is something people might notice.

hah. my parents just don't drink hard liquor... once in awhile they'll receive a bottle as a gift and throw it on a shelf in the basement. the bottles of Southern Comfort that I replaced with iced tea as a teenager are probably still down there, totally full.

 

[JulesMaximus]

You don't even need the Grey Goose, just the bottle. Buy a $9.99 1.75L handle of some no-name and pour it into a Grey Goose bottle to serve company. They won't know the difference because there isn't a difference, it's all the bottle and the marketing.

I'd bet I can tell the difference between Grey Goose and Kettle One or Skyy vodka. I know I could tell the difference between Grey Goose and Absolut vodka.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Ever try to go to a club and order something fancy?

 

[RagingBITCH]

That is pretty darn cheap for a 1.75. You are right in that it is not twice as good, but what usually works out that 2x price is 2x as good? All in all vodka is very cheap for the upper tier if you enjoy just drinking vodka or making a vodka martini. Other booze just gets a little too out of hand for me. Hundreds of dollars for scotch and such is crazy.

Guess Titos skyrockets once it leaves Texas. We normally get a handle of it for $27. If it's on sale, $25. It's all the wife ever drinks now. (She used to be all about 3O, and at one point, K1)

 

[HomerJS]

Russian Standard is a great cheap vodka. Tito's used to be good too but somehow word caught on and it got expensive. My personal favorites would be Amaretto Ciroc with cola, Peach ciroc with sprite, and Belvedere with anything.

Absolut is nasty and I do not know why it is so expensive here. It used to be my pregame vodka in Italy because it was 9 euros a bottle. On the other hand Smirnoff in Europe is expensive as hell.

Coconut Ciroc w/pineapple and splash of grenadine

As for vodkas Grey Goose is the way to go if you can find a cheap source.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Ever try to go to a club and order something fancy?

If your definition of "something fancy" is Ciroc peach and Sprite, then no, I most definitely have not.

I went on a Hurricane tour of Houston once. I was there on vacation and Houston was in the target zone of a major gulf hurricane bearing down on the area. So, we did what any normal, red-blooded Americans did, we drank. We went bar to bar to bar to bar and tried to convince the bartenders to run a special on hurricanes. It's amazing how many went along with the idea and how many hurricanes they sold. But I was not stupid enough (or "fancy" enough) to mandate that a sweet drink like a hurricane get made with a specific brand of high end rum. That was about as fancy as I get. Otherwise I stick to beer or a simple cocktail made on non-sweet ingredients like a gin and tonic or bourbon and water.

Ever see the Three's Company episode where Mr Furley goes to the Regal Beagle for a drink? He demands 12 year old single malt scotch. Then mixes it with root beer, a cherry and whipped cream on top. That's you. And everyone else that thinks it's cool to order expensive liquor in a drink sweeter than kool-aid. It's not "fancy" and you're not fooling anyone into believing you have expensive tastes. Or any taste at all.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I know I could tell the difference between Grey Goose and Absolut vodka.

Being able to discern differences in a sample of two is your idea of a coup? Whoopie!!!

 

[preslove]

On Ellen's show she and Diddy did a blind taste test of 4 different Vodkas and they were able to tell the difference. He ended up correctly picking his own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gVgGwgcpxE

The New York Times picked Smirnoff ahead of Grey Goose: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/dining/26wine.html?_r=0

Expensive liquor is dumb unless the expense comes from barrel aging (rum, whiskey etc), the additives & skill at adding them (gin, liqueurs), or from the rarity of the original organic product (tequila).

 

[CurseTheSky]

I remember a blind-survey done about 8 years ago, I wish I could dig it up again. Liquor "experts" were asked to blind-taste different vodkas. No one could tell which was which, or even "bottom shelf" from "top shelf" vodkas. There's very little to do with vodka other than filtering it; you're paying for marketing and labeling. 90% of the difference you taste is psycosomatic.

There is a HUGE difference between bottom shelf and top shelf vodka. Yes, the difference isn't as drastic as whiskey or steak or something of that sort, but if they couldn't at least tell the difference between Dubra and Grey Goose, they have no business calling themselves experts.

If you're mixing the vodka into something, then yes, it can be difficult to tell the difference. But comparing alcohols mixed with other ingredients (except perhaps ice) is a flawed experiment.

 

[smackababy]

There is a HUGE difference between bottom shelf and top shelf vodka. Yes, the difference isn't as drastic as whiskey or steak or something of that sort, but if they couldn't at least tell the difference between Dubra and Grey Goose, they have no business calling themselves experts.

If you're mixing the vodka into something, then yes, it can be difficult to tell the difference. But comparing alcohols mixed with other ingredients (except perhaps ice) is a flawed experiment.

While I agree with this overall post, (there is a massive difference in smoothness and taste of cheap vodka to higher quality vodka, which is why gems like Tito's stand out) the quality of a steak is very distinguishable as well. I am not just talking about a Wagyu compared to the cheapest cut you get at Wal-Mart either.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

There is a HUGE difference between bottom shelf and top shelf vodka. Yes, the difference isn't as drastic as whiskey or steak or something of that sort, but if they couldn't at least tell the difference between Dubra and Grey Goose, they have no business calling themselves experts.

You can keep telling yourself that, but legit blind tests repeatedly and definitely prove it's complete bullshit. Experts can't tell vodka brands apart although they *might* be able to discern differences between *some* high end brands and *some* low end brands. Casual drinkers, blindfolded, will prefer cheap no name brands over expensive super-premium brands about 50% of the time, proving they're just guessing and in large scale tests among a lot of different brands Smirnoff usually wins while Grey Goose finishes WAY back in the pack. And nobody, not experts, not casual drinkers, not even the self-proclaimed vodka afficianados of ATOT can tell jack shit when it's in a mixed drink.

 

[preslove]

There is a HUGE difference between bottom shelf and top shelf vodka. Yes, the difference isn't as drastic as whiskey or steak or something of that sort, but if they couldn't at least tell the difference between Dubra and Grey Goose, they have no business calling themselves experts.

If you're mixing the vodka into something, then yes, it can be difficult to tell the difference. But comparing alcohols mixed with other ingredients (except perhaps ice) is a flawed experiment.

I trust the wine critics at the NY times more than you. They think smirnoff tastes better than Belvedere & grey goose (which didn't even make their final cut): http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/dining/26wine.html?_r=0

 

[sourceninja]

Now that is something people might notice.


You can use the same $9.99 bottle to have a bunch of vodka on hand. Flavored vodkas are just cheap normal vodka with chemical flavoring added. Why would you need peach vodka and amaretto vodka and cherry vodka and pickle/paprika/pastrami vodka? Use the same generic vodka and a couple of drops of cheap extracts and you can have a whole bar of dozens of flavored vodkas. If your guests are drinking Ciroc peach with Sprite they'll fall for anything.

I use titos to make natural fruit infusions. Much better then the preflavored crap.

My favorite is cucumber infusions. That with some high end tonic like like Q or fever tree and you have one refreshing delicious drink.