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How to Taste Vodka

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1.

Why taste Vodka and what to look for

You can’t help but taste a vodka once you drink it. The beauty of looking out for tastes is to find out what you like, appreciating the subtle differences and truly enjoying that drink!

That’s why you taste vodka, now it’s important to know what to look for. This guide applies to drinking vodka ‘neat’, the best way to truly get the most out of a vodka.

2.

Sight

Much like with food, what you’re about to drink can suggest what you’re about to taste. For example if you’re vodka is slightly colored, could your product be faulty? Is it aged?

Having debris floating in your bottle is almost always bad, however sometimes it is exactly what the producer wants. Gold flakes are an excellent example of this!

Looking at the spirit first gives you a great starting point of what you’re going to be drinking.

3.

Smell

No matter what, you’ll be smelling a ‘spirit’ over 37.5% abv. so if you dip your nose in like a wine it’s going to burn!

The trick is to hold your nose 5 cms away from the rim of the glass and move it from the top of the rim to the bottom and smell gently.

At this point you’ll get an idea if the vodka is earthy, clean, fresh, flavored or more.

4.

Mouth Feel

Mouth feel is one of the most crucial parts of vodka tasting and it’s literally how that vodka feels in your mouth.

You can think of vodka mouth feel by its viscosity. It corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness"; for example, honey has a much higher viscosity than water.

When the liquid hits your mouth and after you feel ‘textures’ which give an indicator on the style of vodka these can be; delicate, rough, milky/creamy, watery, drying, smooth and pretty much anything you can think of.

5.

Length

How long does the taste and mouth feel last after you’ve finished the drink.

The average is five seconds, anything over is usually considered to be great quality. Is yours more or less?

6.

Conclusion

Now it’s time to decide what you think of it.

If you like what you’re tasting don’t let a so called expert or even a friend tell you you’re wrong! Everyone should drink what they like and everyone has a different opinion on what is good. Saying that we can certainly recommend some of our favourites to help guide you…

It’s always important to remember the context of what you’re tasting and what it’s made for. If you want a vodka with plenty too it or if you want one that will mix well in drinks consider this when you’re making your conclusions.

How to Taste Vodka

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