![]() ![]() When you're feeling swanky, it's time to reach for the top shelf. Middle-shelf vodkas cost anywhere from $18 to $30. Lemon-flavored vodkas often inspire the perfect Lemon Drop shot! Price It's also fun to experiment with flavors and let your inner bartender emerge. Middle-shelf vodka is great for shots or with vodka mixers. If you're looking for something that provides a decent drinking experience without breaking the bank, explore the middle shelf to find a vodka that appeals to your unique palette. At this point, you're going to find top vodka brands that have a passion for creating a great product, but maybe don't have the expertise or instant brand recognition that the big dogs do. The odds of finding a vodka with less burn goes up considerably as you climb up to the middle-shelf. While these can be alluring to the curious sipper, it's important to remember that a high-quality vodka doesn't need to hide behind a mask of strawberry, peppermint, or (heaven help us.) vanilla. ![]() The middle shelf is where you'll likely find all of the flavored vodkas. Here's what to look out for with middle-shelf vodkas. Middle-Shelf VodkaĪs with most things in life, thankfully there's a middle ground between the extremes. A bottom-shelf vodka costs anywhere from $8 to $17, which is easier on your wallet, but your taste buds will pay the price. The bottom shelf is attractive because it's considerably more budget-friendly than the higher shelves. Cocktails that contain dominant flavors – like those you'd find in a Bloody Mary or a sweet daiquiri – may overpower any burn or bitterness the vodka might have. Usesīottom-shelf vodkas are best as a mixer. However, if you're looking for a smooth, non-burning vodka, you probably won't find it on the bottom shelf. Some of them have a very strong odor of acetone with a burn to match others aren't as harsh. Not all bottom-shelf vodkas are the same. Due to the lower price and quality, you're paying for the fact that it can get you tipsy and not any specific flavor qualities that come naturally to higher quality vodkas. Bottom-shelf vodka can be on the more intense side and often comes with a strong alcohol burn going down. Tasteīottom shelf vodkas tend to have more of a bitter taste than the higher-shelf bottles. While I do consider myself a bit of a vodka snob, if you have to use bottom-shelf vodka, here's what to look out for in a budget brand. Here's what to look for from the bottom shelf to the top. Vodka should be smooth, without a bitter taste, strong odor, or harsh burn – because nobody likes feeling like they're drinking paint thinner when they sip a vodka cocktail. In fact, too much distillation will leave you with a strong alcohol taste that many drinkers find abrasive. While some top vodka brands brag that they distill their vodka more times than other brands, too much distillation can actually weaken the character of the vodka. The distillation process is the biggest factor affecting the flavor and quality of the vodka that ends up in your shopping cart. There are fewer congeners found in top-shelf vodkas than in the bottom-shelf vodkas, which is often due to the fact that top vodka brands tend to have a more sophisticated distillation process. Congeners can also be responsible for giving you dreadful hangovers, so finding a vodka that has just the right balance of character without making you hate yourself the next morning is a delicate process. Vodka is made through a series of processes, including fermentation, distillation, and dilution.ĭuring the fermentation process, impurities – known as congeners – develop and help create the flavors unique to each brand of vodka. ![]() Top Vodka Brands Are Obsessed With Distillation To help you make the best choice for your sipping pleasure, here are the differences between top-shelf and bottom-shelf vodkas. In fact, they each have their own processes that create a unique experience with each sip (for better or for worse). Other people want a vodka that doesn't burn and has a smooth, crisp finish so they can enjoy a minimalist cocktail without a ton of mixers and fillers.Īnd still others want a vodka that melds well with their favorite flavors so they can create memorable, knock-your-socks-off cocktails. Some people are drawn to the outside of the bottle, which is why brands spend thousands of dollars creating a stunning bottle. How will you be using the vodka you select and what's the motivation behind your choice? When it comes to deciding which bottle is right for you, the answer comes down to figuring out what you're looking for. If you're a vodka person (like me), it's easy to spend hours researching and critiquing the top vodka brands and what the differences between all of them are – especially if you stumble upon the YouTube rabbit hole of taste test videos. ![]()
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