Vision Vodka hails from Oregon, where it’s crafted with American wheat and mountain spring water before being distilled five times. During its short time on the market, Vision Vodka has won numerous awards, including a gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a score of 93 from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Sounds promising. However, it comes from a company best known for producing entertainment awards like the Golden Globe statuettes; it’s a fixture in NYC nightclubs, comes in a chic bottle and relies heavily on lifestyle-oriented marketing. With few exceptions, such a pedigree often suggests a product...

Karlsson’s Gold Vodka is distilled from virgin new potatoes grown in Sweden’s Cape Bjar. This ‘07 entrant to the U.S. market is made by Bjore Karlsson, who helped create Absolut, one of the world’s most popular and better-produced vodkas. Karlsson’s Gold is an industry rarity, in that it’s the product of a single distillation and is unfiltered. To give this more weight, Smirnoff is distilled three times, Svedka and I Spirit Vodka are distilled five times, Tito’s goes through six distillations and Russian Standard Imperia is distilled a whopping eight times. Karlsson’s Gold is a testament to the fact that...

Bak’s Bison Grass Vodka is a brand of Zubrówka (Zoo-Bruhv-Ka), which is Polish vodka made from a particular type of grass that’s popular with bison. For years it was banned in America, as the grass contains trace amounts of toxic chemicals. Since neutralized, it’s now been incorporated into American-ready vodkas like Bak’s and ZU. On the nose, Bak’s Bison Grass Vodka is full of grains, grass and creamy vanilla rather than vodka’s notorious rubbing alcohol top notes. Take a sip and taste more of that vanilla, plus notes of pistachios, cardamom and honey. It’s warm and oily on the palate...

Russian Standard Vodka, Russia’s number one premium vodka brand, just announced the launch of Russian Standard Gold in the U.S. market, with select availability nationwide. From the company -- Russian Standard Gold uses the finest Russian ingredients including carefully selected Siberian Golden Roots for a uniquely rich and exceptionally smooth taste.  Russian Standard Gold is soft on the palate and has hints of spice, vanilla and cinnamon notes. This exceptional vodka is best consumed neat, as a chilled shot or on the rocks. The exquisite packing – with its luxurious gift box and embossed gold-foiled label – expresses the tradition of...

While some drinkers make every day vodka day, there’s an actual holiday to commemorate the stuff. At least, that’s according to the press releases filling up my inbox. National Vodka Day occurs each October 4th, so in celebration, let’s take a look at the world’s most-consumed spirit. Can you make vodka out of anything? Almost. Anything that you can ferment can be turned into ethanol. Add some water and filter it enough times, and you’ll get a colorless, odorless and tasteless alcohol, which adheres to the actual definition of vodka. Thankfully, some vodkas do have flavors and aromas, making them more than...

Summer has turned to fall (though here in Texas, you wouldn’t know it), which means that it’s time to usher in some seasonal drinks. We typically prefer a nice whiskey, Cognac or rum to welcome falling leaves and cooler temps, but the below Grey Goose Vodka cocktails include some ingredients, flavors and colors indicative of the season. Grab a bottle and start mixing. Autumn Sage 1 1/4 parts GREY GOOSE Le Citron Vodka 1/2 part Green Chartreuse 2 one-inch pieces of fennel, diced 3 sage leaves 3/4 part agave nectar 1 part lemon juice 2 parts seltzer water In a cocktail shaker, muddle the fennel, sage and agave...

Death’s Door Vodka comes courtesy of Death’s Door Spirits, a craft distiller based in Wisconsin. Bucking the industry standard of producing vodka in a column still, Death’s Door Vodka is distilled in a 90 gallon copper pot still. This is a more labor-intensive process, but it usually results in a flavor-forward spirit with more character. We already like their compelling name – as well as their Death’s Door Gin – so let’s dive in. Death’s Door Vodka is clean and simple on the nose and lacks the rough, alcoholic top notes present in so many vodkas. The 60:40 mix of...

Summer’s nearing an end, which means it’s time to put away your CSI Miami pants and break out some fall cocktails. These Labor Day-inspired sips come courtesy of Belvedere Vodka and feature fall flavors like black cherries and licorice. Recipes below: Black Cherry Mule 1.5 oz Belvedere Vodka 6-7 fresh black cherries Dash of simple syrup 1/2 oz lime juice Dash Peychaud’s bitters Ginger beer Muddle cherries, then shake all ingredients except ginger beer with ice. Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Top with ginger beer, and garnish with a cherry. Intense Liquorice Sour 1.5 oz Belvedere Intense 1/2 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz licorice syrup Dash licorice bitters Dash...

It’s difficult to find a drink that bitters don’t make better. Their enhancing, tie-the-room-together qualities can take a cocktail from ordinary to extraordinary. But sprinkling them on top of vodka? Never occurred to us. Then again, vodka on the rocks isn’t a common beverage at Cocktail Enthusiast HQ. Reyka Vodka is an Icelandic vodka that’s garnered much appreciation since its fairly recent introduction to the U.S. market. And Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters is a small shop producing some very interesting bitters, including rhubarb, sriracha, black mission fig and meyer lemon. These two companies joined forces to create the very small batch...

Cinco Vodka hails from San Antonio and is billed as “the five star vodka.” It’s actually crafted from amber wheat shipped in from Idaho, but it reclaims its Tex-centricity by using water that’s filtered through the Cordova Creme limestone found beneath San Antonio. In keeping with the cinco theme, the vodka is distilled five times and then blended and filtered in small batches. The Cinco website claims that it’s a “martini lovers vodka”, but we all know martinis are made with gin, so we’ll just dive in, sans mixer. Cinco has the slightest top note of alcohol, but beneath that is...