zxcvbob > wrote:

> I've been wondering what the difference is between good vodka and cheap
> vodka -- besides $20.

In principle, none.

> Both are supposedly just "neutral grain spirits".
> I've bought some moderately priced Russian vodka, and it tasted good
> straight. I stored it in the freezer and drank it in shots. Recently I
> bought a bottle of cheap vodka, and it's kind of rough. It gets syrupy
> in the freezer just like the more expensive stuff, but the taste still
> has an unpleasant edge to it. It's probably just fine for mixing with
> tonic; I haven't tried it yet.

Good vodka is supposed to have no taste at all, it is really 'neutral'.
Of course, whatever you do with it, there is still *some* taste left,
which is liked by some, disliked by the others. I usually find the
cheapest vodka available to be just fine for my rather spicy Bloody
Marys. I very rarely drink vodka neat and then it is usually
pepper-flavoured vodka.

Moskovskaya Osobaya Vodka is the model of what classic Russian vodka is
supposed to be. I understand it is not widely marketed in the USA for
some reason. I have always detected a lot of unpleasant taste in it.
Stolichnaya (made by the same people as Moskovskaya), which is
ubiquitous in the USA, is very similar but has some sugar added to it,
which makes 'softer' but also renders it not a classic vodka (and the
unpleasant taste is still there). The most 'neutral' vodka I have ever
tasted was Kremlyovskaya.

Drinking pure, unflavoured vodka, i.e. consuming alcohol for its own
sake only, is as barbarous as could be, as far as I'm concerned. Still,
some occasions, particularly the available food of the Russian of Polish
variety - could justify it... maybe...

> I understand the "get what you pay for" principle, but what is the
> actual difference? Does the cheap vodka have more higher alcohols in it
> where the expensive vodka is more purely ethanol (and water)?

Good vodka, expensive or not, is supposed to be as free of congeners as
possible, particularly of erucic oil. Grain vodka is supposedly much
easier to get rid of congeners than potato vodka. The 'cleaner' the
vodka, the less hangover it is supposed to cause.

Victor