Svedka Vodka

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: NightDarker
Best for the money IMO.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: Mikey

Originally posted by: MrMatt
All vodka is the same except for the base of what it's made from. (grain or potatoes). In a recent study of vodka drinkers not one person could tell the difference between things like popov, mr. boston, goose, skyyyy, etc. There's really not anything you can do differently when making it other than the number of times it's distilled.

That study is total bullshit. Anyone who enjoys a drink of vodka now and then should be able to tell the difference between good and bad vodka. I rarely drink vodka anymore, but you would have to have no taste buds to not be able to tell. I can tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi easily, unlike many.

that's just to make you feel better about being poor.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
u've been had
http://www.businessweek.com/li...?campaign_id=rss_daily

No, you're stupid for thinking that article means anything. It's not even written by anyone who works or write in the food and beverage industry! The guy writes about the automotive industry. LOL - It's a guy and his friends writing a blog type article and drinking in his basement. It is so flawed I don't even know where to begin.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nyti...dka-different/?apage=2



Reader Greg O?Neill sent along the following email:

For a long time, beginning with my first real summer job in an expensive restaurant in Toronto, I have noticed that bars (anywhere) generally feature the same bottles of alcohol ? the iconic brands, Bacardi, Seagrams, etc.

And these major brands, especially for whiskey, rum, and gin, seem to have changed little over time.

Meanwhile, vodka is open game! There?s always someone gunning to be the next Absolut, Stoli, Grey Goose, etc?

So, basically, why is there such a low barrier to entry with the vodkas (in particular) and, on the other hand, almost no threats to monopoly of the other alcohol types?

For example, tequila had no new brands for ages ? and the recent arrival of Patron caused quite a buzz! (with stories in the news about the ?upstart newcomer?!!!)

I think vodka is the most popular alcohol of this group, but is there more to it than that?

One possible explanation that comes to mind is that all vodkas basically taste the same, whereas brands of other alcohols are more distinctive. If the early rum entrants either found the best formulas or warped consumer tastes to want their formulas, then it would be hard for new brands to break into the rum market.

In support of this theory, a quick scanning of online vodka taste tests that were done blind seems to suggest that there is no consensus on what the best tasting vodkas are (see here, here, and here for a few examples). I couldn?t find any blind taste tests of rum online (although there probably are some) and only one blind test on tequila to test the conjecture that the popular rums and tequilas taste better. Perhaps some curious/degenerate blog readers can undertake such tests and report the results to me.

I suspect, however, that there will be as much heterogeneity in preferences for other alcohols as there is for vodka, which would invalidate this theory.

My best guess as to the real explanation is that everyone is just a copycat ? as evidenced by the fact that there are so many online blind taste tests for vodka once the first one happens. One original-thinking person comes up with the idea to market fancy vodka, it works, and then everyone else tries to sell his own brand of fancy vodka. Because nobody ever tried (or maybe succeeded) launching a new rum or gin, the copycats never thought to do it either.

Brad Trayser thinks this hypothesis is right. He just launched a new rum called ?Kilo Kai? with the expectation that drinkers around the world will soon be asking for a ?Kilo and Coke.? (Let?s hope for his sake it fares better than Cocaine, the drink.) If Kilo Kai succeeds, then my theory predicts a dozen copycats within a few years.

Maybe there are better explanations? Any ideas?

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=3201973&page=3
"...The Surprising Results

Finally, the moment of truth. Klemm revealed that vodka No. 1 -- the group's least favorite -- was Grey Goose. Everyone was flabbergasted.

"No way!!!" said Freeland.

"I can't believe that!" exclaimed Kay. "I mean I'm really very loyal to it. And I just totally dismissed it."

"I'm shocked," said Gliksman. "I really am shocked, because it was bad."

"I guess that says something about the marketing then, doesn't it?" said DeGroff. "They're not relying heavily on their taste buds. They're relying more heavily on the perceived value, or the status."

There wasn't a hands-down favorite vodka for the testers, but two did stand out: Hangar One at $35 a bottle and Belvedere at $32 a bottle.

Mixing It Up

What would happen if we added a mixer to the vodka test? What percentage of people prefer vodka as a mixed drink, rather than straight?

According to DeGroff, everybody drinks it mixed. "How many people do you know that drinks straight vodka? Very, very few," he said.

So we did a second test mixing the same six vodkas into cosmopolitans: 3 parts vodka; 1 part triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice.

Klemm told the testers, "I want you all to see whether you can pick out nuances."

It turns out that the testers had a tough time distinguishing between cosmos made with the $62 Stoli Elit and cosmos made with the $13 Smirnoff. ..."

 

[clamum]

Yeah Svedka is pretty good. If I don't drink Five O'Clock, it's usually Svedka (sometimes Stoli). I drank a pint of 5 O'Clock last night now I want MOARRRRRRRRRRRR

 

[destrekor]

Grey Goose is the classic example of how to make a product sell for more than its worth.

Nothing special about the Goose. It's rather boring vodka, far from worth what they charge.

I'd rather have Stoli, Vox, or even just Absolut, then pay for Goose. But I wouldn't go and say I won't pay that price, just needs to be a worthy product. Not a huge fan of Kettle One. Belvedere, however... mmmmm. But my most use for vodka is in mixed drinks of some sort, even if just pure alcohol mixers, such as Black Russians.
With that... I don't want super premium, but definitely not buying cheap shit, not in an all alcohol drink, but paying super premium will be masked by the mix... cheap won't be masked.

I won't go anything below Svedka. Svedka gets included because it's worth more than they charge imho, at least compared to other brands. Good vodka, though lately I think I'm holding to Stoli, though I like to venture into uncharted territory. Next bottle might need to be Effen, heard good things and looking to try it.