Again we delve a bit into some grandstanding American bottom shelf vodkas. It’s a bit annoying that this tries to look Russian too hard. I actually bought this for infusing under the guise of – the flavor I am putting in will remove any of the flaws here (well usually most of them), but aside from it’s lying and aftertaste this as far as budget vodkas go is not bad really.
In short the reason it does well here is that while no part of it is great or high quality it manages to not actually kill you or recoil in fear (okay the smell did make me cough), but overall taking a sip of this straight was much more pleasant than I had feared, and mixing it went even better.
What they Say: “Distilled from Grain. We Love to hear from our customers! 1-866-729-3722 E-MAIL: taaka@sazerac.com”
Taste: 6.0 – That’s actually pretty good at first
Aftertaste: 3.0 – It does go a bit down from there so it’s not perfect.
Burn/Smooth: 4.5 – It burns and oddly warms; however it is actually smooth enough.
Aroma: 2.5 – Again any time a smell makes you cough – well let’s just say it’s not done well. It doesn’t burn your nose hairs though.
Honesty: 2.5 – These looks cheap, but here’s the main problem. As I’ve said lying is very uncool and for something made by Sazerac in Kentucky the Russian naming and imagery is bold faced lying when you have an American phone number and a hope someone calls. This is actually quite okay for an American vodka, but because they didn’t own it – they lose here as well.
Mixability: 6.75
Vodka Tonic: 7.0 – The aftertaste and smell are gone, and we get nothing but tonic (or lime which I did add afterwards). All around good job.
White Russian: 6.5 – Pretty good Russian but it could be better.
Value: 7.5 – I bought this as a candy-infusing vodka, but since it was there – figured it’d be worth a try. While I would never drink it straight or replace my Three Olives in my bar – it is a good mixer, and dirt ass cheap. So if you are looking for something to put in a decanter for guests to hide your mixing vodka – you could benefit from this.
Google Shop Average: $8
Website: http://www.sazerac.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.0
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Metric Score: 32.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 4.68 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.0
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Final Thoughts: This is without a doubt a party vodka. It’s something you buy in a handle knowing it will be gone before the night is over, and if someones walks off with it – you’re not mad. However that is still some good consumer advice because while we’ve reviewed many vodkas from the lower shelves this is at least one that does better in a normal cocktail instead of a Molotov.
Tastes like rubbing alcohol, Just nasty and smells horrible!!!!!! Don’t even waste your money or time
Tastes like rubbing alcohol, Just nasty and smells horrible!!!!!! Don’t even waste your money or time, honestly I think anything is better than this crap, btw I just tried it, NEVER NEVER AGAIN
Hilarious review. Chock full of clever little lines without being unduly harsh or unfair. Great job!
I buy this vodka often and have actually found if you run it through a brita filter even just once (I like to do about 3 cycles of filtering) this goes down even smoother than some top shelf vodkas. Mix with some flavored sparkling water and enjoy.
lol , intresting
drinking it now with electrolytes, just trying not to get it everyday almost ,ha
Regarding the comment about lying, “Taaka” does NOT look Russian, as double-A isn’t exactly a normal feature of Russian.