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Is it too early for vodka?

#30
Eric Perry said:
...And even noon is open for the occasional tweaking (weekends, special events, etc.) ;)
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One birthday I started drinking at 11am. I stopped around 11pm when I headed to the bathroom, midst party at my house, to vomit. I woke up 2.5 hours later on the bathroom floor, headed to the kitchen and grabbed some more beer. Only a handful of people had gone home.
 
#35
macaroni tony said:
What chu mean, YOU people?
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I mean, peeps who need to consider things such as 5 p.m. do not know their vodka* ;)
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Relic said:
Ktory jest najlepsze (sp?) Chopin, moze? Belvedere?
You cant really talk vodka in English, that much I know :)
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First, Finlandia is one of the best vodkas I know. Absolut is chemically cleaner and totally safe; I'd drink Absolut in long drinks. Finlandia has that "little something" innit that makes it taste like vodka should.

Chopin and Belvedere are both good. I'd say these are in fine bottles to sell better; majority of Polish vodkas made for export are very good. You've been to Poland, Relic, so you know how it is. Vodka here is inexpensive, and even these costing $7 a half-liter bottle here can be fantastic. We avoid fancy bottles here, since these only affect the price.

The market hit of the last year was Krupnik (the straight variety). Wyborowa, Luksusowa, Sobieski, these are only three names of many good vodkas.

Good marketing was done by Bruce Willis for Sobieski.

Indeed, Sobieski is one of the best Polish vodkas.
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Now, general remarks:

Good vodka is very clean, with only traces of impurities contributing to its taste. All marketing blah-blah about "triple, quadruple, sextuple distillation" is just a fake. Indeed, making vodka is a series of very complex distillation, with the main column consisting of 40 trays, so it is distilled at least forty times ;) Processes such as selective distillation are applied, too. Filtering through activated carbon is common finishing technique.

It is mostly grain vodka nowadays, since it contains almost no methanol (traces of methanol are in my opinion one of major hangover promoters). Good potato vodka is as good as grain vodka, though. Interestingly, (white) rum made of sugar cane has zero methanol content but it has fine light-ends making people feel so good. Any other alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, whisky, cognac etc. are very heavy in impurities - so drinking volume equivalent to the same alcohol contents as in vodka - leads to far heavier drinking post-effects.

Drinking styles. I prefer "Polish countryside" style. Very cold vodka is poured to tiny glasses by the host and drunk in regular intervals, perhaps 10 minutes or a quarter each. Combined with dining, it keeps the company alive for very long time. I used to be to parties where eating, drinking with some sleep and occasional outdoor walking lasted full 3 days and nights, without getting actually very drunk ;-)

The "Russian imperial style" as cultivated in big cities here is devastating. Vodka drunk by large glasses straight, and the company gets terribly drunk very fast. Surviving the Russian imperial style is only possible by eating a lot of fatty stuff, swallowing the butter being the simplest technique ;-)
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*) So, what can we say on vodka drinking if someone wonders if it is not too early? Drinking vodka is not sports or competition. Drinking vodka is a social thing. You drink vodka for a good company, not for drinking itself! Drinking vodka alone (not in a company) is wrong. This is like playing bridge; the game of bridge is never played alone. OK, long drink would pass for a lone drinker. Like the game of solitaire ;)
 
#39
Skitch it! said:
My suggestion, put the bottle in the freezer for an hour, it doesn't freeze but it thickens a little, nice to pour, it's v.nice, I like Stolichnaya, but it don't like me ; )
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A perfect advice! Still, some care is needed. Let's say we allow vodka cool down to -18 C (0 F). Vodka has no chance to freeze. But if you pour a glass of such cold stuff... throat problem could occur. It is then good to pour such cold vodka into a small glass, watch the frost on the glass, and when the frost is almost gone - drink.

Russian vodkas are good, too. The only reason these are not popular here is the low cost of domestic vodkas. People wanting spend more go mostly for the Scandinavian stuff.

Ziltoid, it is not quite like that ;) A commodity easily and cheaply available does not mean you need to use or overuse that ;) Most of Polish are very fond of beer, and vodka is rather drunk at private social meetings. In a pub, one would drink beer or small quantity of short drinks. Drinking alone is perceived as a sign of coming alcohol addiction ;-)

Of coloured vodkas, cherry vodka by Soplica is the best; Orzechowka, the walnut vodka is perfect on ice. Krupnik, the classic variety is special. But there are so many of them...

As far as I know, the Bison Vodka imported to the US and Zubrowka are not the same. FDA bans the buffalo grass liquors due to coumarin content. (Political correctness sucks).
Anyway, a long drink of Bison vodka and apple juice with a cube of ice is very good. Only I do not like the smell of buffalo grass ;)
 
#40
At my house, it is still too early for vodka becasue we still have rum.

Walked ten miles today through waist deep snow to the liquor store to buy two half gallons of rum.

What time is it?

Time for more rum!
 

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