Contents
Recently, my colleague Alexei and I went to the store to buy alcohol for a corporate party. We were allocated a normal budget, so I looked at more expensive bottles of vodka. But Lesha did not approve of my choice.
“Why are you taking such expensive vodka? You don’t know what, it’s impossible to drink it, the quality is below average!”
I’m certainly not an expert. But after the words of a colleague, I wanted to taste the most popular and expensive brands of vodka. The result surprised me!
A story from a reader of our blog – Oleg, who conducted an unusual experiment.
“Belenkaya” and “Cranes”
He began his experiment with Belenkaya, the most promoted brand. A liter bottle cost me 743 rubles. The taste is sharp and hard, there is a rather unpleasant aftertaste. The smell of alcohol is clearly felt, it strongly hits the nose. The color is transparent, clean.
After the first 50 grams, “Belenkaya” does not cause a desire to try it again. The only thing you want is more snacks to bring down a very unpleasant aftertaste. A few pickled cucumbers with difficulty removed the bitterness in my mouth.
The biggest disappointment of the year is Belenkaya vodka. For an immodest price, its quality leaves much to be desired. Vodka is not a liquor, but it should also be “edible”.
Since he was badly burned on a liter “Belenkaya”, “Cranes” took 0,25 liters (180 rubles). I didn’t find a liter bottle in the nearest supermarket, but a 0,7 liter bottle is also not cheap – 565 rubles. The color is transparent.
In composition – medium quality, with impurities. It tastes like vodka from the times of the USSR. A little softer than Belenkaya, but I didn’t like it. The cost is not low, I would like a better product for the money. At least the taste.
“Capital” and “Green Mark”
Another “elite” vodka is “Stolichnaya” (670 rubles per liter). By color – with standard transparency. The taste is harsh, an unpleasant bitterness remains in the mouth.
For such a price, it has an average quality (both in composition and in the sensations of drinking it). After drinking a small bottle in the morning, nausea and headache were felt.
According to numerous reviews of friends, the quality of Stolichnaya is declining every year. At the same time, the price rises steadily. It is successful due to the promoted brand. And the manufacturer completely stopped caring about the image of his product.
“Green Mark” is sold for an average of 580-600 rubles per liter. Tasted cedar. The color is clear, without turbidity. The smell is sharp alcohol, but pleasantly complemented by a cedar aroma. Softer in taste than all previous brands.
Pine nuts are felt not only by smell, but also in the aftertaste. And this taste becomes more and more repulsive with each glass. Everything is clear, because the composition contains a thickener, a lot of harmful impurities and flavorings. In general, no pleasure for this good price tag!
“Five Lakes”, “Beluga” and “Chistye Dew”
The next lot is Five Lakes. Since a meeting with comrades was being prepared, I decided to spend money on a liter bottle (758 rubles). I had confidence in this brand. The design is beautiful and looks great on the table.
The light bluish tint of the bottle gives the drink a shine. The vodka itself is transparent, like a tear. From an aesthetic point of view, Five Lakes is at a high level. But! The smell is unpleasant, too strong. The taste is similar to the usual cheap sivuha. The next morning I was tormented by a migraine.
“Five Lakes” is suitable only if you need to put a beautiful table for your guests. The bottle looks status, expensive. I won’t take any more for myself. It is no different from cheap vodka for 200 rubles.
The Pure Dew brand is completely unknown to me. I bought it out of curiosity, which cost me 1230 rubles for a 0,5 liter bottle. Attracted by the inscription – organic.
Natural composition, high-quality, transparent, without sediment and turbidity. But you can’t drink it! Very pungent, strongly carries alcohol. The feeling of hastily cooked singed vodka.
And my most expensive alcohol experiment is Beluga vodka. It has more than an immodest cost of 2193 rubles per liter. And I hoped that it was she who would dispel the myth that popular expensive brands are of poor quality.
But it didn’t work out! There are no complaints about the design of the bottle and the color of the drink. The internal content is cheap alcohol diluted with water. With a pungent odor that causes pain in the eyes.
What brands of vodka are better to buy instead of them
A promoted brand, a beautiful wrapper and a high price tag, as it turned out, are not a guarantee of quality. After spending a lot of money on experiments, I still managed to find good vodka at an affordable price. The following brands left good impressions:
- “Winter road” (280 rubles). The addition of malt to the composition of vodka makes its taste unusual, pleasant and soft. The aftertaste is almost not felt, there is no bitterness. When taken normally, it does not cause a headache.
- “Gosudarev order” (260 rubles). Vodka of average price category, but the quality is better than many expensive ones. The peculiarity of the brand is that alcohol is filtered with silver. Mild in taste, with a moderately pungent odor. The aftertaste is sweetish, which surprised me greatly and pleasantly.
- “Pervak” (310 rubles). Vodka is made according to the classic recipe. The only lot that has a cloudy color. The taste is harsh but pleasant. Suitable for connoisseurs of real tart Russian vodka.
Vodka is simply obliged to be of high quality, but it is not at all necessary to overpay for it. I managed to find good value for money. But I’m still looking and ready to expand the TOP of good drinks. It will be interesting to read your feedback and opinions about what we drink and what is better to choose.