I'm not really into alcohol so I have no idea.

What's the best brand and what's better flavored or non-flavored?

It depends on your preferences. Vodka isn't really known for being a "tasty" drink as standard. Go for a premium brand to get a cleaner taste (neutral flavour) and mix it in with juices or sodas that you like. Alternatively buy a flavoured one that you can match with other mixers.

Vodka is so popular because it is so versatile. You can make a whole bunch of tasty, alcoholic drinks with it.

My vodka recommendation to end all vodka discussion is typically Russian Standard, though Finlandia is also pretty good. Eschew Grey Goose. :mad:

http://www.competitiveeaters.com/images/pickle_001.jpg

Whatever will get you off your face cheapest! You're looking for total standard drink volume for your dollar; alcohol percentages are for amateurs and kewls.

If you're old and tired, and partial to the hangover, run it through your Brita activated carbon tap water filter a few times for primo screamo good time without so much of the sledgehammering on the temples.

ciroc. made from french grapes and it tastes better than any other vodka i've had.

Grape vodka...isn't that...wine?

*ObZ

it's 80 proof and colorless like vodka. so no it's not wine lol

That depends what you want to use it for. There's a lot of differing opinions since, in North America at least, vodka is the best-selling spirit, primarily due to its versatility as has already been observed. If you like flavoured vodka, go for flavoured vodka -- heck, you can make your own by soaking flavourants and adding a bit of sugar to the vodka: put the flavourant (lemon or berries are common) into a higher-proof vodka (the alcohol extracts the alcohol soluble flavours, so you want 40%ABV/80proof at minimum, 45 or 50%ABV is better), shake every day gently, after a few weeks or months strain and add sugar to taste.

As to vodka for sipping, there's two schools of thought on that:
Some value a vodka that "goes down like water" -- smooth and without a particularly fiery burn. This is what alot of the premium vodkas are marketed for, like Grey Goose and Belvedere. They're usually advertised as being filtered (often through charcoal) a huge number of times and made with organic this or pure that and often spring or filtered water. Of these, Belvedere is a good Polish vodka; extremely smooth, probably wont give you any hangover whatsoever. That's another point; the Poles and Russians both claim to have invented vodka and each side believes their's is better. Polish vodka is quite popular these days, though now the French (Grey Goose), Finns (Finlandia), Canadians (Alberta) and even the Americans (Skyy) are producing it. PLEASE, stay away from Absoluut/Smirnoff. Absoluut for that awful "Bling" bottle they once marketed and Smirnoff because it's awful (in my opinion, of course -- and some will be aghast at my opinion on Stolichnaya).

Others, meanwhile, believe that vodka should stick to its peasant roots and have a bit of a burn, a bit of an impurity to it. Mostly grizzled old peasants, but then I agree with them alot of the time. Stolichniya is a good buy (Russian), as is Moskovskaya if you can find it (hint: Moskovskaya is identical to Stolichnaya. Same bottle, same slogans, same origin, but around here a "fifth"/750ml of Stolichnaya is $23 while double that of Mosk. is $30). If you want to go Polish, Wyborova is in the same price point. Both Stoli and Wyborova will also do great if you intend to use your vodka mostly in mixed drinks.

I personally wouldn't call Ciroc vodka, because Vodka is, often by definition, made from grain or potato. A lot of people hate potato vodka, though it has a small but loyal following, and some people believe that due to the cheapness of potatoes that it's probably what a lot of people drank.

As has been said, ABV (unless making your own flavoured liqueurs) is for amateurs. If you're going to drink it straight, put it in the freezer for a few hours (it will thicken) and enjoy -- this also tempers the burn a bit from non-ultra-filtered vodkas. If you live near a big city, there's probably at least one vodka bar you can go to and sample a few different brands to get a feeling for the spirit without laying out $20+ a bottle ($50+ for the premium brands around here).

Good luck.

it's 80 proof and colorless like vodka. so no it's not wine lol

That's Grappa, not Vodka. The wogs here make that shit and it.will.fuck.you.up. It's usually pretty volatile and almost completely undrinkable, upwards of 140 proof.

Don't buy expensive brands and waste them by mixing. Drink it straight in shots, chilled, or on the rocks. Use the cheaper stuff for mixed drinks.

The best premium brand I've had is Grey Goose. The best non-expensive vodka I've had is probably Finlandia or Stolichnaya. Absolut is good, and if you can find Polish vodkas, I'd recommend those as well (Wyborowa is the easiest to find, IMO, but not the best tasting. Belvedere is not as smooth as Grey Goose, and thus not worth the money.)

Also note: Contrary to what kafka wrote, Stolichnaya is not identical to Moskovskaya. They've got very distinct tastes, with Moskovskaya being a bit cheaper and rather unpleasant.

Smirnoff (the American brand; there's also a Russian version that's better) gets the job done and is obviously much better than the rancid crap you can get cheaply in 1.75L plastic jugs, but for the same price you can do much better.

Just try different things and see what you like. My only suggestion is to stay away from Polar Ice. That's definitely the worst of its class.

Southern Lights and Strait are supposedly top notch.

For the love of god, stay away from Mccormick's. I took a shot of Taaka vodka once and threw up in my mouth. Not cool

Let me tell you, do not, NOT, drink 15 shots of mccormics or barton vodka. Not mixed. With no chasers. You will not want to be alive in the morning and your friends will hate you for ruining their carpet/bed/couch with your vomit.

Otherwise, Skyy is pretty good.

Also note: Contrary to what kafka wrote, Stolichnaya is not identical to Moskovskaya. They've got very distinct tastes, with Moskovskaya being a bit cheaper and rather unpleasant.


Really? I'll have to do a side-by-side. It is of course quite likely that I've been misled -- I had the two some time apart and have only used the latter in mixed drinks while the Stoli I drank straight. Thanks for the information.

Sobeieski is pretty good for the price. For the premium brands I would go with either Chopin or V1. Both are both super smooth and almost oily, best way to drink these 2 is ice cold and straight, No need for a mixer.

I'm partial to Stolichnaya on the rocks.

Tried Smirnoff Norsk for the first time last night (not that I've ever seen it before then) and found it to be quite nice. The fruity taste definitely takes the edge off the shot. I would imagine it to be quite nice mixed.

run it through your Brita activated carbon tap water filter a few times for primo screamo good time without so much of the sledgehammering on the temples.

Mythbusters showed this to not work- carbon filtering in your Brita does nothing to change the chemical makeup of the vodka.

Ciroc.

Some good shit.

Grey Goose is alright, nothing too great. It tastes faintly of perfume.

When I fancy a drink, it only requires a quick trip to the family cupboard. When Vodka is on my mind, I'll just grab a bottle of flavored Stolichnaya and some tonic water and, naturally, fix myself a vodka tonic. I once caught a friend of mine mixing some decent vodka with red bull, the fucker. :mad:

drink it alcohol