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Serious Eats points us to two recent articles that skewer the ever-swelling high-end vodka market. First, Bob Garfield, in an Advertising Age column titled “Obnoxious Ads for Overpriced Vodka,” seethes over the new Bacardi Grey Goose ad campaign, which associates the brand with “such sophisticated activities as sailing, jazz evenings and the U.S. Open finals.”
It’s the hoariest gambit in the world: to flatter customers into imagining they are not conspicuous consumers but discriminating ones. That when they belly up to the bar calling for Grey Goose, they can tell the difference between it and Stoli and Absolut and the rail vodka, because they have rarefied tastes that the mere hoi polloi could never understand. That they are, sniff, a cut above.
The problem with that approach is that most people can’t discern a flavor difference between high-end vodka and, say, Smirnoff. That may be because there is no difference, according to the second article Serious Eats points to. In the Wall Street Journal story “Make Mine a 020001,” Eric Felten describes how just three major companies—MGP Ingredients, Archer-Daniels-Midland, and Grain Processing Corporation—supply the high-proof ethyl alcohol that’s the base for the vodka made by almost all U.S. manufacturers, expensive and cheap alike.
ADM sells its 190-proof beverage alcohol (product code 020001) packaged one of three ways: ‘Bulk Truck, Bulk Rail, Tank.’ Cut it with water—preferably from a source that will lend itself to a pretty picture on the label—bottle it, and you’re in the vodka business.
Clearly, vodka has jumped the shark. Shark … hmm, come to think of it, that’s a pretty good name for a vodka. Anybody have a pretty water source?
I don't consider myself a "connysewer", and there was a time when Bowman's Virginia Vodka was the house spirit. But, for very very dry vodkatinis, no vermouth at all I can only handle Grey Goose, or Ketel One or maybe some of the other premiums with no mixer. If I use something cheap, it tastes like it so I adulterate it with a mixer.
20/20 seems to be more tabloid these days, what with John...+READ
I don't consider myself a "connysewer", and there was a time when Bowman's Virginia Vodka was the house spirit. But, for very very dry vodkatinis, no vermouth at all I can only handle Grey Goose, or Ketel One or maybe some of the other premiums with no mixer. If I use something cheap, it tastes like it so I adulterate it with a mixer.
20/20 seems to be more tabloid these days, what with John Stoessel and all. Not exactly Consumer Reports.-COLLAPSE
"Premium" vodka is the biggest hustle going in the spirits business. Wait until we move on to Scotch: more "sacred cows" are going to be shown to be dogs wearing horns!
There was a recent 20/20 show on this...and it opened my eyes. It showed a test group of young hipsters who believed Grey Goose was "it". They did a blind taste test, and, lo and behold, most did NOT select the high end brands, such as GG as superior. In fact, Most people admitted that they like vodka because it's flavorless! I happened to have some medium end vodka, GG, and Absolut, and tried a...+READ
There was a recent 20/20 show on this...and it opened my eyes. It showed a test group of young hipsters who believed Grey Goose was "it". They did a blind taste test, and, lo and behold, most did NOT select the high end brands, such as GG as superior. In fact, Most people admitted that they like vodka because it's flavorless! I happened to have some medium end vodka, GG, and Absolut, and tried a blind test on myself and my hubby. We were not able to discern a difference. Go figure.-COLLAPSE