Finns Take Title in 2nd Int'l Vodka Taste Off

On a sweltering summer day in late July, Russophiles from around New England gathered to take part in Russian Life magazine’s 2nd Annual International Vodka Taste Off and Russian dinner. The event was held in Northfield, Vermont, on the campus of Norwich University, which has a 10-week-long Russian School each summer.

Russian Life subscribers from Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey traveled hours to attend the special event. There was fine Russian food, music, dance and, of course, the headline event: a blind tasting of premium international vodkas. 

The 2nd Annual International Vodka Taste-Off featured 16 vodkas from nine countries—from lesser-known Russian vodkas to top name brands like Stolichnaya and Absolut. Each vodka was taste-tested and evaluated on a 1-5 rating scale. Russian Life Publisher Paul Richardson spelled out the rating scale. “A ‘1’ is for vodkas that taste like jet fuel,” he said, “a ‘5’ is for vodkas that are the crème de la Kremlin, the best of the best.”

Tasting vodka is a subtle, and very subjective, art. “Everyone has very different tastes when it comes to vodka,” Richardson said. “Some like it smooth and silky, some like a spicy after-taste. We therefore have sought to bring together in one place at one time as many vodka-lovers as possible, to get a good ‘average’ of all tastes.”

There were 125 attendees at the Taste-Off, making it possibly the largest event of its type ever held (the First Annual Vodka Taste-Off had just 32 tasters). And the stakes were high: vodka is the best selling spirit in the United States, representing 25% of a $13 billion market. The vodka that claimed the title in such a large tasting would truly have some boasting rights in a market that has been growing by 5% a year. 

“Vodka has become the drink of the moment in the US,” Richardson said. “This is because it is such a good base for mixed drinks. But Russians have had vodka for 600 years ... so we are tasting and evaluating vodka in the Russian fashion: undiluted, straight-up. There’s no hiding behind orange juice or vermouth—these vodkas have to prove themselves on their own merits.”

The final results showed real differences in the many premium vodkas on the market, contradicting the US Bureau of Tobacco and Firearm’s definition of vodka as “neutral spirits without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.” Guests remarked on the wide range of flavors in the different vodkas, the identities of which were all hidden until the results were tallied. Frozen overnight, the shots of vodka were served lightly cooled, to let their maximum bouquet and flavor come out. 

In the end, Finnish produced Finlandia vodka garnered the highest average rating and the most perfect ‘5’ scores (10, vs. 7 for its nearest competitor). Russia’s Cristall and England’s Tanqueray Sterling tied for second, and France’s Grey Goose came in third (see rankings). Last year’s winner, Holland’s Ketel One, placed 5th this year. Many tasters were surprised to see heavily-marketed brands like Absolut and Smirnoff so far down the pack, in 8th and 12th place, respectively.

The Taste-Off was followed by a meal of shashlik and assorted Russian dishes. Russian Life Editor Mikhail Ivanov, who had flown in from Moscow for the event, spoke after dinner on vodka and Russian culture. This was followed by a festival of Russian music, dancing and skits, put on by students at the Russian School. After the show was over and the evening drew to a close, the collected Russophiles began to drift their separate ways. And as they did, one guest was overheard to ask a friend the question that was on every other participant’s mind: “So, whattya think they did with all the leftover vodka?”

— Stephanie Ratmeyer

THE FINAL RANKING

rank COUNTRY BRAND AVG PERFECT

SCORE* ‘5’s  

1 Finland Finlandia 3.52 10  

2 Russia Cristall 3.45 6  

2 England Tanqueray Sterling 3.45 7  

3 France Grey Goose 3.40 6  

4 Russia Stolichnaya 3.30 6  

5 Holland Ketel One 3.28 6  

6 US Skyy 3.16 5  

7 Denmark Fris 3.11 5  

8 Sweden Absolut 3.10 4  

9 Poland Belvedere 3.02 3  

10 US Rain 3.00 2  

11 Russia Stolichnaya Gold 2.95 4  

12 US Smirnoff 2.92 6  

13 Poland Chopin 2.81 3  

14 Russia Kremlyovskaya 2.79 3  

15 Russia Tarkhuna 2.69 5  

*Each vodka was tasted and rated by 35-40 randomly-selected tasters (each of which tasted 6 different vodkas). Each vodka was rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. The scores were then averaged to provide the final rankings.