See-throughs - long question

"Igotta go with wayno on this one. I prefer Stoli over any of the
others
I've tried, more or less expensive. A good vodka is one that requires
no
fillers; tonic, lime, olives, etc. and Stoli is the most refreshing one
to
me."

When I was in Latvia, I discovered that, among its countrymen,
Stolichnoya was considered absolute bottom shelf vodka. It sold for
pennies in the supermarket...literally; a 1-liter bottle, fresh from
Russia, was about $1.50 US. The top shelf stuff sold for over $100 a
bottle.

Although from my college days it had taken on an aura of being an
ultradeluxe brand, I now view it in the same way as I see some European
spending lavishly for an american import beer like Miller Lite.

--riverman

On 12 Dec 2005 08:43:38 -0800, "rb608" wrote:

"No fillers" is how I've been enjoying it thus far. I don't know where
the cutoff is proportion-wise; but at some point, the inital flavor of
the vodka (gin, whatever) becomes unimportant and overshadowed by the
mixers. If I'm drinking it straight, I want and am willing to pay for
the good stuff (within reason); otherwise I can just buy a jug o'
Popov, 1.75L for $9.99.

Joe F.

If you can find a Costa Rican liquor called guaro/Cacique (cas-see-kay),
you might try it. It is a cane-based liquor, but it isn't as "rum-my"
as rum. I like it over ice or with tonic or soda with a slice of lime,
but have had it shaken and strained, again with lime, ala a "martini."

TC,
R

rb608 wrote:
It's going to take a few paragraphs to get to the real question, but
as is my habit, I like to include a few hundred words of context.



What should I be looking for in the taste of a "good" vodka? What
type/brand do you like?

If I'm mixing, I use Skyy. I read a piece in a science magazine about
it a while back. The engineer who makes it always had a vodka headache
in the morning and he wanted a fomula with fewer impurities. Being an
engineer, he designed his own triple-column distillation system
specifically for vodka and marketed it. If I'm having straight vodka, I
pull a Grey Goose out of the freezer.

My recipe is this:

Per serving:
(5) drops lime juice into a martini glass
Fill a martini shaker with ice
(2) shots Skyy vodka into the shaker
(5) drops dry vermouth into the shaker
Shake it until frost forms on the outside of the shaker
Decant the martini into the glass
Spoon in an odd number of manzanilla olives, draining only slightly
If the olives are small, use (5)
If the olives are large, use (3)

Steve

On a similar note, I am generally amused to see Red Stripe beer sold
here as a premium brand. When I was in Jamaica, it was just the local
cheap stuff.

Joe F.

riverman typed:
Tim J. typed:
I gotta go with wayno on this one. I prefer Stoli over any of the
others I've tried, more or less expensive. A good vodka is one
at requires no fillers; tonic, lime, olives, etc. and Stoli is the
most refreshing one to me.

When I was in Latvia, I discovered that, among its countrymen,
Stolichnoya was considered absolute bottom shelf vodka. It sold for
pennies in the supermarket...literally; a 1-liter bottle, fresh from
Russia, was about $1.50 US. The top shelf stuff sold for over $100 a
bottle.

I didn't say *I* had good taste, only that Stoli tastes good to me. ;-)
--
TL,
Tim
(I mean, really, look at the people with whom I associate.)
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 11:09:12 -0500, "Wayne Harrison"
wrote:

-i just stick with stoli and tonic,
no lime, and just a splash of tonic.
the no lime factor is the deal maker, for me. oh, and the vodka should
be kept in the freezer, of course.

Well, bite my ass..... You drink stoli, but when you're with me you
drink the rot gut Smirnoff (made in Connecticut of all places!). I
still have about a liter of your cheap **** contaminating my liquor
cabinet. Either you come up here and drink it (I'll have some Russian
**** I picked up in Petropavlovsk - Putinka- unavailable in the
states), or I'll use the Smirnoff to build a fire in my camp stove.

Smirnoff! Oh, the humanity.........

d;o)

On 12 Dec 2005 08:43:38 -0800, "rb608"
wrote:

If I'm drinking it straight, I want and am willing to pay for
the good stuff (within reason); otherwise I can just buy a jug o'
Popov, 1.75L for $9.99.

Hell, now wayno will trade in his Smirnoff for Popov. No way to save
him, I guess.

"Dave LaCourse" wrote

Smirnoff! Oh, the humanity.........

actually, that was smirnoff "silver"--90proof stuff. peppery, indeed!


yfitons
wayno

On 12 Dec 2005 09:02:57 -0800, "Steve" wrote:

Per serving:
(5) drops lime juice into a martini glass
Fill a martini shaker with ice
(2) shots Skyy vodka into the shaker
(5) drops dry vermouth into the shaker
Shake it until frost forms on the outside of the shaker
Decant the martini into the glass
Spoon in an odd number of manzanilla olives, draining only slightly

Sounds familiar, only I don't use the lime, and prefer 4 or 5 onions
(Gibson instead of Martini)

Dave





If the olives are small, use (5)
If the olives are large, use (3)

On 12 Dec 2005 08:49:18 -0800, "riverman" wrote:

When I was in Latvia, I discovered that, among its countrymen,
Stolichnoya was considered absolute bottom shelf vodka. It sold for
pennies in the supermarket...literally; a 1-liter bottle, fresh from
Russia, was about $1.50 US. The top shelf stuff sold for over $100 a
bottle.

The Russian guides in Kamchatka said Stoli was over-rated and wasn't
that good. They recommended Putinka (named after Putin). It was $17
US per .75 liter. Not bad.

Dave