Best vodka to stock for my new sweetheart -- Gimmee some help!

[DeMaci]

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A pretty good idea is to not really listen to the alcohol advice of anyone who touts Grey Goose. In case you didn't know, this is an over-priced and over-marketed vodka for which the reputation far exceeds its actual quality. Definitely look elsewhere.


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Thank you for being one of the first people I've heard who also knows this.

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I guess people cant just like it more? For whatever reasons?

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The only reason people think grey goose is good vodka is because it's marketed that way, and it's expensive. You can walk in the store and pick out tons of vodkas that both taste better, and are cheaper. Most people who actualy think grey goose is their favorite vodka are very easily convinced by adds, or they just assume that more money means better.

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I have never ever seen a SINGLE ad for grey goose in my life, and I think it tastes the best. Less burn, smoother, tastes best mixed, are just a few reasons I like it. I dont go touting my tastes to everyone else like you obviously more wise and sophisticated people do, but thats what I think tastes good.

[MrWookie]

Marketing is not just buying billboard and magazine ads. It's also setting the price and product presentation. Vodka in a fancy bottle will sell better than one in a plain one. And, curiously enough, vodka that's more expensive will be perceived as being better than cheap vodka. The whole idea behind Grey Goose was to make a mid level vodka, and then present it and price it like premium one. It worked, and people love to suck it down.

[z28dreams]

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Marketing is not just buying billboard and magazine ads. It's also setting the price and product presentation. Vodka in a fancy bottle will sell better than one in a plain one. And, curiously enough, vodka that's more expensive will be perceived as being better than cheap vodka. The whole idea behind Grey Goose was to make a mid level vodka, and then present it and price it like premium one. It worked, and people love to suck it down.

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I think this approach would work well on many products, because of the law of diminishing returns.

Above a certain level be it's hard to tell things apart - be it flavor (wine, beer, vodka), bitrates (mp3's), etc.

[wslee00]

anyone every try imperia?
http://www.russianstandard.com/imperiavodka/

[ltb]

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If by U of I he means Illinois - I went there and Smirnoff was probably the standard vodka everyone drank.

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seconded.

[TiK]

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That's a shame. You need to spend a morning of Popov enduced puking to truly appreciate decent vodka.

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Or vomitous, vomitous Taaka.

[DMBFan23]

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My go-to vodka is Fris, and I've long touted it on these boards. It's not too expensive, and it's quality is solid. It's one of the best buys in vodka. Using a vodka more expensive than this one for any drink in which vodka is not the primary ingredient is pretty much a waste of money. The quality of the vodka just doesn't show through, say, cranberry juice to warrant plunking down half a C note. Compared to vodkas in the same price range, I prefer it to Skyy, Absolut, and Smirnoff.

A good step up from that is Rain. It'll run you a few more bucks, but I could notice a slight step up in quality from the Fris. That says something. Many of my friends prefer Fris to Grey Goose (even w/o cost considerations), although I haven't run Rain by them yet. This is a good one for cocktails or drinking straight.

The other vodkas that get mentioned by people whose alcohol advice I respect in this forum are most notably Hangar One, and also Ketel One, Chopin, and Belvedere. A pretty good idea is to not really listen to the alcohol advice of anyone who touts Grey Goose. In case you didn't know, this is an over-priced and over-marketed vodka for which the reputation far exceeds its actual quality. Definitely look elsewhere.

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Wookie,

sup, long time. Let's say I were in an argument with a kind of snobbish materialistic dude who insisted that grey goose was the bomb. other than disregarding his opinion, what could I do to try and convince him that he was wrong?

I'm thinking some review where grey goose gets exposed or something

[Taylor Caby]

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Stoli and Skyy are probably the two worst i have ever had.

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you need to drink some worse vodka!

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ive only drank Ketel One, Grey Goose, Absolut, Finlandia (very good try it if you have the chance), Belvedere, Chopin, and Smirnoff

out of all those Stoli and Skyy have been the worst by far.

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How old are you? Did you go to college?

Mr. Boston and Purple Powerade were consumed in mass quantities my sophomore year.

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20, U of I ending my sophomore year soon.

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How is this possible?

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U of I kids are apparently rich. I rarely saw anything as nice as the stuff he mentioned in college and I went to a big school (UCLA).

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i drank exclusively gordons/whatever the cheapest handle of vodka was when i was at u of i. it always made zero sense to me to drink good stuff when i/my friends were planning on drinking at least 10 drinks that night.

if you mix it with redbull you cant taste the difference no matter what you drink.

[Triumph36]

i've had probably 15-20 different vodkas - zyr is a good pick, i like belvedere as well, but a reasonably priced one that I haven't seen too often that I like a lot is Reyka.

I think I've yet to try either Fris or Rain, but considering how much MrWookie advertises for these whenever vodka is brought up, I should. Svedka's a good cheap choice also IMO.

[MrWookie]

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My go-to vodka is Fris, and I've long touted it on these boards. It's not too expensive, and it's quality is solid. It's one of the best buys in vodka. Using a vodka more expensive than this one for any drink in which vodka is not the primary ingredient is pretty much a waste of money. The quality of the vodka just doesn't show through, say, cranberry juice to warrant plunking down half a C note. Compared to vodkas in the same price range, I prefer it to Skyy, Absolut, and Smirnoff.

A good step up from that is Rain. It'll run you a few more bucks, but I could notice a slight step up in quality from the Fris. That says something. Many of my friends prefer Fris to Grey Goose (even w/o cost considerations), although I haven't run Rain by them yet. This is a good one for cocktails or drinking straight.

The other vodkas that get mentioned by people whose alcohol advice I respect in this forum are most notably Hangar One, and also Ketel One, Chopin, and Belvedere. A pretty good idea is to not really listen to the alcohol advice of anyone who touts Grey Goose. In case you didn't know, this is an over-priced and over-marketed vodka for which the reputation far exceeds its actual quality. Definitely look elsewhere.

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Wookie,

sup, long time. Let's say I were in an argument with a kind of snobbish materialistic dude who insisted that grey goose was the bomb. other than disregarding his opinion, what could I do to try and convince him that he was wrong?

I'm thinking some review where grey goose gets exposed or something

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I don't think any written review will convince him. I think you need to go for the ol' blind taste test. Line up 3-4 different vodkas. Pick, like 1 cheap nasty one like Popov, a mid-priced vodka like Fris or Rain, the Goose, and then another premium vodka such as Chopin, Hangar 1, Rain (if you didn't use it before), or Ketel One. You could add one of the mass market mid grade vodkas, like Smirnoff, Absolut, or Skyy, too, if you wanted. If you want to be super official, have him take a sip of each but spit it out. Maybe give him a cracker and a swig of water between each. His job is to one, find the Goose (duck, duck, duck, duck, Goose!), and two, to pick out which one he likes best, if it's different from the Goose. Then you reveal which vodka was in each glass.

This is a little formal, but you might not really convince him without all the trouble. Alternatively, you could, if he's never had Rain before, buy a bottle, tell him you plunked down $50 for a fifth based on some advice you read on the internet, and then see what he thinks. Be sure to make him interested and excited for it. That's a little less of a PITA, but he's more likely to be stubborn.