These were: Penderyn Distillery, Five Vodka, 43% ABV, 750 ml; 58 Distillery, 58 Distillery Vodka; William Grant & Sons, Reyka Vodka, 40% ABV, 750 ml; and Kamo, Original, Premium Vodka, 40% ABV, 750 ml.
Stoli is probably the most famous and favorable vodka brand in Russia. Consumers and bar staff prefer Stoli products since they use traditional methods with modern distillation technologies.
Grey Goose vs Belvedere: The Verdict
While both are top-shelf vodkas, gluten-free, lower-calorie vodkas, Grey Goose follows a stricter processing method. It uses locally-sourced French wheat and water that came 500 feet below its main facility, while Belvedere follows the strict rules of Polish vodka.
Belvedere Vodka, the world's first premium luxury vodka made in Poland, and produced and distributed by LVMH. Belvedere is crafted from superior Polish Dankowskie rye from the Mazovian plains of Poland and artesian water from its own wells and is distilled four times – all without additives.
Belvedere Vodka is the maker and they are an Austrian Vodka maker that is now accredited as being the makers of one of the most expensive bottles of Vodka ever sold.
Premium vodkas are different from the outset. They use a higher quality mix of ingredients as well as bespoke botanical infusions. More emphasis is put on producing a pleasing taste, removing the sharpness that can be found in cheaper brands.
GREY GOOSE vodka is distilled in the gastronomy capital of the world, France, using the traditions of the Maître de Chai with only two ingredients – single-origin Picardie winter wheat and natural spring water.
Is Absolut Vodka Russian? Absolut Vodka is a Swedish vodka, produced in the village of Åhus in southern Sweden, from Swedish winter wheat.
Although both vodkas are triple distilled and have the same 40% alcohol by volume (ABV), drinkers prefer Absolut during a blind tasting. Smirnoff vodka reigned supreme as the world's best-selling brand in 2014. According to the brand, it is the world's most popular vodka and the most awarded brand in its category.
Dedication You Can Taste
The result is a great-tasting vodka that elevates any cocktail you make – or its flavor can be enjoyed on its own. The universally appealing taste of Grey Goose is based on the quality and natural brilliance of our ingredients, process and people.
A fan favourite, this vodka is carefully crafted in the heart of France and distilled five times for purity.
The taste is as biting and distinct as ever. Our panel split over its merits; some found Stoli to be “less blunt” than Absolut, praised its “interesting attack” and “potency,” and noticed “hints of charcoal” in its flavor. (I found out later that Stoli is filtered through quartz, cloth, and Siberian birch charcoal.)
It is one of the best-known luxury vodkas on the market, and a 750mL bottle will likely cost you between $30 and $40. Granted, while there are far more expensive spirits on the shelf, a bottle of Grey Goose does seem a bit pricier than other household vodka brands.
Since the early 2000s, Stoli Group, which manufactures Stolichnaya Vodka along with a variety of flavored spirits, has been based in Latvia. After its founding in the Soviet Union in 1938, the company's former CEO, Yuri Shefler, moved the firm out of Russia in 2000 as Putin was coming into power.
While Absolut brings in higher sales on a global scale, Grey Goose consistently makes VinePair's list of the best vodkas and is viewed as a symbol of luxury. While both are distinguished vodkas brands with massive market shares, they offer drinkers a clear choice in both style and production method.
Expensive vodka gives less of a hangover. The more times distilled, the better the taste. The high-quality products are distilled more times. Expensive or 'Premium' vodka doesn't burn your throat.
It all boils down to what you prefer. If you have a preference for a crisp and citrus-infused taste, then you can go for Ciroc, but if you like hints of herbs, then Absolut is the one for you. Even though Ciroc is a bit more expensive, its texture makes it a favourite for cocktails and drinking straight.