Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life. I
used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
Thanks.

wrote on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400:

> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank
> all my life. I used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an
> apparent allergy to the berry they use to make it. In my
> younger days, I drank Popover or Majorca because it was cheap.
> Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better
> are brands like Absolute or Grey Goose or the many others which
> cost more? What do I gain by spending more on a bottle? I
> don't drink it neat or in martini's just in a few mixed driks.
> Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
> Thanks.

I've said it before but here goes again. I keep a bottle of home-made
pepper vodka in the freezer and have a slug when i feel like it. The
basic vodka is the cheapest I could find, and once it has been steeped
with the peppers, who cares? Absolut does not know how to make Pepper
Vodka and by the taste I think they use green peppers.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Aug 9, 3:31*pm, wrote:
> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life.. I
> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
> they use to make it. *In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff *(Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
> a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
> Thanks.

There all the same...buy the cheapest.
==

> wrote:

> Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.

There is a new and truly sensational - but anything but sensationalistic
(it is matter-of-fact, dry and scientific) - treatise by Boris Rodionov,
in Russian. I very much hope it will be translated some day. According
to this treatise - much praised by people in the know - *modern* vodka
is nothing like the old kind and is of very recent origin. It is just a
mixture of pure rectified ethanol and water. It was first produced in
1895 (apparently there was no technology of rectifying columns before
that time). This *modern* product was first called "vodka" in 1936.
Before that, what used to be called "vodka" was basically a simply
distilled product and, as such, always had a certain taste. Correctly
produced ethanol and pure water basically have no taste, so most any
vodka produced by modern industrial methods should in theory be
comparable. Any differences in taste would have to be explained by the
very frequently present additions. Everything else is marketing.

The author mourns the demise of the old, now unobtainable, vodka.

Victor

On 2010-08-09, > wrote:

> a few mixed driks.

Don't waste $$$ on high end vodka. Start and mid level and work down.
When it gets so bad you can taste the cheap vodka, move back up one
step.

nb

On Aug 9, 3:01*pm, notbob > wrote:
> On 2010-08-09, > wrote:
>
> > a few mixed driks.
>
> Don't waste $$$ on high end vodka. *Start and mid level and work down.
> When it gets so bad you can taste the cheap vodka, move back up one
> step.
>
> nb

Pretty much the same with beer.

On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400, wrote:

>Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life. I
>used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
>they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
>was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
>brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
>gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
>a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
>Thanks.

Um, OK, let's start at the top. Vodka (from wodka, "little water",
Polish), is merely distilled lmash (of something) into a sort of wine
and then distilled.

That said, the better (cleaner) vodkas are made from a variety of
materials and carry certain congeners that remind you of the material
of origin, which might be wheat, rye, potato, or some other. Some,
like the rye-based and potato-based seem to have a sort of
virtual-sweetness, missing from the wheat vodkas. Some, like that
Texas Tito gold-topped stuff, boast that they were 3-, 4- or
128-times distilled. Or charcoal filtered with charcoal from gnus'
horns.

The cheap stuff is just that. Cheap. Essentially, plain alcohol for
blending with something else. Whatever floats your boat. Taaka, Popov,
others. The upper scale stuff tries to sell you on the nuances, and
here I mean Chopin, Grey Goose, Belvedere, among others.

I personally, being a tightfisted old fart, stay with Polish potato
vodkas. Great value. Good for sipping and cheap enough for mixing.
Popular brands include Luksusova and Monopolova (sp?). I do not find
the Russian vodkas to be anything special. If you try Absolut against
Finlandia and other brands from that part of the world, you find them
amazingly similar to each other.

Best kept secret>>>> there is a line of Polish vodkas that are quite
inexpensive, and all part of the same conglomerate. Sorry, no brands,
as I can't buy them here anymore.

Hungarian vodka is not good. Seems to be doctored with sodium bicarb
or something, vaguely sweet and having little to no character.

Bottom line: If it works for you and you're not into sipping frozen
vodka with zakuski, buy it. I would suggest you check out the potato
vodkas, though. Sippable frozen, and stealthy in Bloody Mary's.

HTH. Nazdrovie!

Alex

On 2010-08-09, Sqwertz > wrote:
> better vodkas distilled and filtered several times didn't do this.

quality = $$$

nb

On Aug 9, 5:49*pm, "James Silverton" >
wrote:
> *wrote *on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400:
>
> > Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank
> > all my life. I used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an
> > apparent allergy to the berry they use to make it. *In my
> > younger days, I drank Popover or Majorca because it was cheap.
> > Now I buy Schmirnoff *(Sp?) My question is this: How much better
> > are brands like Absolute or Grey Goose or the many others which
> > cost more? What do I gain by spending more on a bottle? I
> > don't drink it neat or in martini's just in a few mixed driks.
> > Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
> > Thanks.
>
> I've said it before but here goes again. I keep a bottle of home-made
> pepper vodka in the freezer and have a slug when i feel like it. The
> basic vodka is the cheapest I could find, and once it has been steeped
> with the peppers, who cares? Absolut does not know how to make Pepper
> Vodka and by the taste I think they use green peppers.
>
> --
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

I drink pepper vodka, but it's imported from Karlsruhe Germany. When
I take a shot, I sweat like a bitch, but it's worth it.

On 2010-08-09, Alex Corvinus > wrote:

> vodkas. Great value. Good for sipping and cheap enough for mixing.
> Popular brands include Luksusova and Monopolova (sp?).

Yeah, those are in every quickie-mart I stop at and all the larger
supermarkets here in Eyebrow CO. I'll run right out and buy two!

nb

On 2010-08-09, Victor Sack > wrote:

> The author mourns the demise of the old, now unobtainable, vodka.

What's he drink? Molding rain-soaked wheat from the field, harvested
just in time to crush and add to a bowl full of human spit to induce
fermentation? Gee, hard to find on yer grocer's shelf.

nb

Sqwertz wrote:
> On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400, wrote:
>
>> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life. I
>> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
>> they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
>> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
>> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
>> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
>> a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
>> Thanks.
>
> More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
> participants than all other vodkas combined.
>
> -sw


How did you come up with that "statistic"?

gloria p

Luksusowa (I still think the spelling is wrong) sounds nuts; but check a bigger liquor store. It's usually relativeley cheap compared to those wanna-beees. $11.50 ltr. by me. I go to a small guy and he has it.

I don't drink much vodka; but i remember that being agreeable.

Steve replied to Gloria:

>>> More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
>>> participants than all other vodkas combined.
>>
>> How did you come up with that "statistic"?
>
> Oh, c'mon Gloria. Who here drinks Crystal Palace Vodka and often
> makes outrageous posts that could be considered "under the
> influence"?

Oh, there's no question that clueless AOL newbie Sheldon "Pussy" Katz
guzzles the Crystal Palace like he was on his way to the hangman. It's just
specious to say that the combined consumption by the rest of RFC falls short
of Pussy's consumption.

Bob

> wrote in message
...
> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life.
> I
> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the
> berry
> they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska
> because it
> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much
> better are
> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What
> do I
> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's
> just in
> a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than
> another.
> Thanks.

I believe it has to do with the smoothness which affects the taste. The more
expensive vodka's are filtered through different
materials to make them smoother. Generally the more times the stuff is
filtered the better the taste. That said, if you're going
to use the vodka for mixing drinks, then it shouldn't matter too much.

sharkman

sharkman wrote on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:27:04 -0400:


> > wrote in message
> ...
>> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank
>> all my life. I used to drink gin until I suddenly developed
>> an apparent allergy to the berry they use to make it. In my younger
>> days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it was cheap.
>> Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
>> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others
>> which cost more? What do I gain by spending more on a bottle?
>> I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in a few mixed
>> driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than
>> another. Thanks.

> I believe it has to do with the smoothness which affects the
> taste. The more expensive vodka's are filtered through
> different materials to make them smoother. Generally the more times
> the stuff is filtered the better the taste. That said,
> if you're going to use the vodka for mixing drinks, then it
> shouldn't matter too much.

In other words, the closer vodka is "purified" towards a water/ethanol
solution the "better" it is. Consumer Reports found this out many years
ago when they include a ringer (50:50 USP ethanol:distilled water) for
testing by their vodka panel and it was rated highest by most.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

atec77 wrote on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:46:50 +1000:

>>
> Good vodka is double distilled and multi filtered through
> activated charcol , the charcol in effect polishes the
> molecule and it is smoother in the mouth , potatoe vodka is
> lab grade thats drinkable but not nicemaking your own is cheap
> and easy needing only a little grain , yeast and raw sugar

As a chemist, I'd like to know what is a "polished molecule". And are
you talking about the ethyl alcohol or the water?

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:34:07 -0400, "James Silverton"
> wrote:

> sharkman wrote on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:27:04 -0400:
>
>

>In other words, the closer vodka is "purified" towards a water/ethanol
>solution the "better" it is. Consumer Reports found this out many years
>ago when they include a ringer (50:50 USP ethanol:distilled water) for
>testing by their vodka panel and it was rated highest by most.

I have known people who would buy one bottle of Stoli, and a gallon of
EverClear (190 proof). After the Stoli bottle was empty, they diluted
the EverClear with non-carbonated mineral water and refilled it. No
one ever caught on.

Alex, who's done it himself.

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:46:50 +1000, atec77 > wrote:

>On 10/08/2010 10:34 PM, James Silverton wrote:
>> sharkman wrote on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:27:04 -0400:
>>

>Good vodka is double distilled and multi filtered through activated
>charcol , the charcol in effect polishes the molecule and it is smoother
>in the mouth , potatoe vodka is lab grade thats drinkable but not nice
> making your own is cheap and easy needing only a little grain , yeast
>and raw sugar

Um, "lab grade". I was a chemist and did a lot of ordering of
reagents, including undenatured ethanol. "Purified", technical grade,
reagent grade, ultrapure/instrument grade for assays, U.S.P. ethanol
per the United States Pharmacopaeia, but I never found *anything* sold
as "lab grade". Also, never found "vodka" offered by any reagent
supplier.

Also, much industrial ethanol is not made from grains or potatoes, but
from ethylene. It is not for drinking.

Charcoal filtering, by its nature, removes certain polarized molecules
that are not desirable in the final product. Acetic acid and
Acetaldehyde come to mind. Unfortunately, it also removes some
desirable esters, tending to make the final product without character.
Try a rye based vodka. You should be able to detect a faint "nose" of
the original grain. Potato vodkas also have a faint "nose", and, as I
posted, a vague sweetness that some people don't like. I find it goes
perfectly well with vermouth in martinis, and, frozen, sips well with
smorgasbords and zakuski.

Technically, you could make vodka from plums or apples or pears or
apricots, but the amount of characteristic esters of these fruits is
not easy to eliminate, so you wind up with stuff closer to
BarakPalinka (Hungarian Apricot "Brandy"), Kirsch, and Slivovitz.

Grains like wheat and roots like potatoes or sugar beets lack most of
these esters and are more economical to use with "vodka" is the object
as opposed to a fruit brandy. You could argue the corn based "white
lightnin" is a vodka also, but I don't know anyone who would mistake
that old popskull drink with other vodkas. <G>

HTH

Alex, who polishes *his* molecules with TurtleWax.

On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:39:50 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400, wrote:
>
>> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life. I
>> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
>> they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
>> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
>> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
>> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
>> a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
>> Thanks.
>
> More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
> participants than all other vodkas combined.
>
> -sw

i think you mean 'by *one* rec.food.cooking' participant.'

your pal,
blake

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:36:56 -0700, Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> Steve replied to Gloria:
>
>>>> More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
>>>> participants than all other vodkas combined.
>>>
>>> How did you come up with that "statistic"?
>>
>> Oh, c'mon Gloria. Who here drinks Crystal Palace Vodka and often
>> makes outrageous posts that could be considered "under the
>> influence"?
>
> Oh, there's no question that clueless AOL newbie Sheldon "Pussy" Katz
> guzzles the Crystal Palace like he was on his way to the hangman. It's just
> specious to say that the combined consumption by the rest of RFC falls short
> of Pussy's consumption.
>
> Bob

oh, i don't know. when sheldon *applies* himself...

your pal,
blake

On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400, wrote:

> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life. I
> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
> they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
> a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
> Thanks.

i don't think it's worth the money for grey goose or absolut for a mixed
drink. in fact, you could probably go for something a little less
expensive than smirnoff's. some liquor stores have a house brand you might
look at.

but not something dirt cheap. i'd pour a little in a glass straight and
smell it. if it doesn't knock you down (as i think popov might), then it's
probably o.k. with smirnoff, you're probably paying a dollar or two
towards their advertising budget.

your pal,
blake

On 08/09/10 5:39 PM, sometime in the recent past Sqwertz posted this:
> On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400, wrote:
>
>> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life. I
>> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
>> they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
>> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
>> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
>> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
>> a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than another.
>> Thanks.
>
> More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
> participants than all other vodkas combined.
>
> -sw
Don't think I've ever seen the stuff myself, my guess is Crystal Palace
Vodka is rotgut (at least that's about what 80% of the reviews I've read
about it says) and what we have here is a tongue-in-cheek comment on the
taste of the crowd that reads r.f.c. ;-)

--
Wilson 44.69, -67.3

I believe he may have forgotten the importance of case in his post. I'm sure he meant "Polished molecule." Everyone knows that the best Vodka is made of Polish molecules; thus my support of Luksusowa.

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:24:19 -0400, blake murphy
> wrote:

> i don't think it's worth the money for grey goose or absolut for a mixed
> drink. in fact, you could probably go for something a little less
> expensive than smirnoff's. some liquor stores have a house brand you might
> look at.

Try saying that to Ketel One drinkers.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

blake murphy wrote:
>
> On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:39:50 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:
> >
> > More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
> > participants than all other vodkas combined.
>
> i think you mean 'by *one* rec.food.cooking' participant.'

I think he meant to imply that this one participant's
consumption outweighed the sum of all other possible
competitive vodkas.

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:24:25 -0500, Sqwertz >
wrote:


>What kind of water do they use to water down alcohol and keep the
>"waves" from showing up in the bottle (indicating it's been
>watered down). Distilled water?

Steve, read my earlier post. They used mineral water. And yes, they
will assimilate, as ethanol and water are miscible. This is why they
form azeotropic mixtures. However, it does Not happen immediately.

Think about it.... much liquor is distilled, bulk packaged and
shipped at proofs well over 100. (Think federal tax). It is then
diluted with water prior to bottling. When you buy it, there are no
waves. They assimilate and all is cool.

A-

On 2010-08-10, Alex Corvinus > wrote:

> diluted with water prior to bottling. When you buy it, there are no
> waves. They assimilate and all is cool.

Yeah, "waves". LOL. No doubt an effective scare tactic by lil'
Stevie's parents to let him know they were on to him.

nb

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:12:36 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>On 2010-08-10, Alex Corvinus > wrote:
>
>> diluted with water prior to bottling. When you buy it, there are no
>> waves. They assimilate and all is cool.
>
>Yeah, "waves". LOL. No doubt an effective scare tactic by lil'
>Stevie's parents to let him know they were on to him.
>
Maybe not..... I've had to dilute medicinal alcohol (190 proof) down
to vodka levels ( changing polarity levels, for extractions in
soxhlet extractors), and have seen, I believe, what he describes. It
looks a little like swirling glycerine in water. Eventually, they misc
totally, but for a while, they resist and you can see it when you hold
it up to the light.

Not that his folks *didn't* let him know they were on to him....

BTW: If you do this with 80-100 proof stuff, the effect of adding
water disappears almost immediately, but the stuff does taste watered
down, & in the case of brown liquors, the mix pales, of course. I
think you could duplicate the effect with blue curacao by adding
water, because of the high sugar content of the blue stuff. They would
not misc immediately.

So, did Steve's parents keep a jug of everclear in the house?

Alex, ruminating on the misdeeds of his youth and wishing more of them
had involved girls.... Alas, youth is wasted on the young.

wrote:
>
> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my life. I
> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the berry
> they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska because it
> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much better are
> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more? What do I
> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in martini's just in
> a few mixed driks.

When I lived in the college dorms we tried a blind vodka tasting. How
do you think your tastes rank compared to college students who did drink
more variety than just vodka? I think the results will work just fine
for you as well.

We got 3 top shelf brands. Absolute, Finlandia and real Stoli from the
Soviet Union. This was the late 1970s and the Wall was still up.

We got 3 discount brands. Kamchatka, Popov and one with a red band on
its label. Maybe it was a discount option from Smirnoff? I don't
remember the brand for sure. I don't even know if Smirnoff still has a
discount option.

We put the bottles in the freezer over night and served them in shot
glasses marked only by number or letter. No visible brands and no hints.

None of us could match any of the top shelf brands. None of us could
match any of the discount brands. Only about half of us could tell the
top shelf brands from the discount brands.

Based on this I concluded that extremely few people can tell the brand
once it has been mixed with anything flavored, but people who drink
shots may be able to tell quality for the first few shots. Since we go
through extremely little vodka and almost all of that to guests when I
buy any I get a bottle of whatever top shelf brand happens to be on
special and I keep it in the freezer. When I stocked a bottle for
myself I kept a discount brand.

On 2010-08-10, Alex Corvinus > wrote:
> Maybe not..... I've had to dilute medicinal alcohol (190 proof) down
> to vodka levels......

Back in the good ol' days, before drinking was workplace taboo, I
worked at a certain govt lab. We used 190 proof ethanol for cleaning
huge laser lenses. We also used it for national holidays and other
such celebrations by mixing up "ol' rad lab", a classic punch of the
era. Damn, that stuff would sneak up on you. Never could detect it
in the punch until it was too late and you were running to catch the
porcelain bus.

nb

notbob > wrote:

> On 2010-08-09, Victor Sack > wrote:
>
> > The author mourns the demise of the old, now unobtainable, vodka.
>
> What's he drink? Molding rain-soaked wheat from the field, harvested
> just in time to crush and add to a bowl full of human spit to induce
> fermentation? Gee, hard to find on yer grocer's shelf.

Hard to find? Sounds exactly like what you must have drunk before
posting.

Victor

On 2010-08-10, Victor Sack > wrote:

> Hard to find? Sounds exactly like what you must have drunk before
> posting.

Hardly. This chile drinks only the finest Kentucky Bourbons made with
select strains of the purest Kentucky blue blood spit. None of that
proletariat swill.

nb

notbob wrote:
> On 2010-08-10, Victor Sack > wrote:
>
>> Hard to find? Sounds exactly like what you must have drunk before
>> posting.
>
> Hardly. This chile drinks only the finest Kentucky Bourbons made with
> select strains of the purest Kentucky blue blood spit. None of that
> proletariat swill.

I am going to have to give that stuff another try. I have had it a few
times in the past and was not impressed.

Sqwertz wrote:
> On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:58:57 -0600, gloria.p wrote:
>
>> Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>>> More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
>>> participants than all other vodkas combined.
>> How did you come up with that "statistic"?
>
> Oh, c'mon Gloria. Who here drinks Crystal Palace Vodka and often
> makes outrageous posts that could be considered "under the
> influence"?
>
> -sw


Oh, I got that reference(Mr. Vodka and 7-Up)I just didn't see how it
added up to "More Crystal Palace Vodka is drank by rec.food.cooking
participants than all other vodkas combined."

Now if you had said "Crystal Palace is drunk by more discriminating
rfc posters..." (He does discriminate a lot, doesn't he?)

;-)
gloria p

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:57:59 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>On 2010-08-10, Alex Corvinus > wrote:
>> Maybe not..... I've had to dilute medicinal alcohol (190 proof) down
>> to vodka levels......
>
>Back in the good ol' days, before drinking was workplace taboo, I
>worked at a certain govt lab. We used 190 proof ethanol for cleaning
>huge laser lenses. We also used it for national holidays and other
>such celebrations by mixing up "ol' rad lab", a classic punch of the
>era. Damn, that stuff would sneak up on you. Never could detect it
>in the punch until it was too late and you were running to catch the
>porcelain bus.
>
Ah, man, done that and been there. I made a fish house punch for the
staff one day, and even the most staid staff got absolutely snockered.

I Used dried ice to chill the punch, and I should have used plain
ice. As a result, the punch was deadly strong and the faculty simply
sat in their chairs and exclaimed how good the punch was.

They could not walk.

Alex

"barbie gee" > wrote in message
rg.pbz...
>
>
> On Tue, 10 Aug 2010, Ala wrote:
>
>>
>> "Alex Corvinus" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:31:05 -0400, wrote:
>>>
>>>> Any vodka drinkers here? Vodka is the only alcohol I've drank all my
>>>> life. I
>>>> used to drink gin until I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to the
>>>> berry
>>>> they use to make it. In my younger days, I drank Popov or Majorska
>>>> because it
>>>> was cheap. Now I buy Schmirnoff (Sp?) My question is this: How much
>>>> better are
>>>> brands like Absolut or Grey Goose or the many others which cost more?
>>>> What do I
>>>> gain by spending more on a bottle? I don't drink it neat or in
>>>> martini's just in
>>>> a few mixed driks. Just curious as to what makes one vodka better than
>>>> another.
>>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> Um, OK, let's start at the top. Vodka (from wodka, "little water",
>>> Polish), is merely distilled lmash (of something) into a sort of wine
>>> and then distilled.
>>>
>>> That said, the better (cleaner) vodkas are made from a variety of
>>> materials and carry certain congeners that remind you of the material
>>> of origin, which might be wheat, rye, potato, or some other. Some,
>>> like the rye-based and potato-based seem to have a sort of
>>> virtual-sweetness, missing from the wheat vodkas. Some, like that
>>> Texas Tito gold-topped stuff, boast that they were 3-, 4- or
>>> 128-times distilled. Or charcoal filtered with charcoal from gnus'
>>> horns.
>>>
>>> The cheap stuff is just that. Cheap. Essentially, plain alcohol for
>>> blending with something else. Whatever floats your boat. Taaka, Popov,
>>> others. The upper scale stuff tries to sell you on the nuances, and
>>> here I mean Chopin, Grey Goose, Belvedere, among others.
>>>
>>> I personally, being a tightfisted old fart, stay with Polish potato
>>> vodkas. Great value. Good for sipping and cheap enough for mixing.
>>> Popular brands include Luksusova and Monopolova (sp?). I do not find
>>> the Russian vodkas to be anything special. If you try Absolut against
>>> Finlandia and other brands from that part of the world, you find them
>>> amazingly similar to each other.
>>>
>>> Best kept secret>>>> there is a line of Polish vodkas that are quite
>>> inexpensive, and all part of the same conglomerate. Sorry, no brands,
>>> as I can't buy them here anymore.
>
> Sobieski

She is talented
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005447/

I don't know about you comnoiseurs (sp) but, in the case of bourbon, I can't tell the difference between the best and the low boys. With Tenn. whiskey, I can taste the difference between Jack and George Dickel, and Dickel wins. Jack+$27 liter, George about $13. I've been to JD (all dry, come on!!) and Jim Beam (his great grandson is quite a large fellow). I'm cooler with sour mach, becasue I can tell the difference; with bourbon, it's almost all eqaul. Scotch and Irish are easy to tell malts apart, IMO. Scotch, you also have the peat factor. I like peaty Scotch; my buddy, not so much... all single malt. That sucks.

What are some bourbons I should try instead of the ole Cabin Still, Ten High?

Not making fun. I'm a beer man and can easily taste differences many of my friends can't.

Opinion:

The cleanest vodka (fewest congeners) is Ketel One.

The best tasting, in my opinion is Effen, and it too is very clean.

There are other interesting ones but I think even the other premium
ones can be pretty dirty.

Steve

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:18:07 -0600, "gloria.p" >
wrote:

> Now if you had said "Crystal Palace is drunk by more discriminating
> rfc posters..." (He does discriminate a lot, doesn't he?)

"More discriminating posters of rec.food.cooking drink Crystal Palace
than any other brand" is a better catch phrase (IMO).

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.