By
George Brozowski
Holy
cow, lately it seems that I am getting new Vodkas
almost every day. I am really beginning to wonder how the
marketplace can sustain this much product? After all, there
are over 2,500 brands of Scotch, 1,100 Tequilas and I'm willing
to bet you that global production of vodka probably hovers
around 7,000 brands of Vodka. That figure is easily achieved
if you realize that almost every country in the world produces
some sort of Vodka and there are multiple producers in most
countries and those producers distill a number of flavored
vodkas. Do the math, and you'll come up with a number close
to mine.
For
crying out loud, there are producers that have 20, or even
30 or more flavored Vodkas in their line-ups. And of course
don't forget the categories of Vodka: Ultra-premium, super
premium, premium, and cheap gut wrenching swill. I get the
feeling that every man, woman, and child in the world must
consume Vodka every day with every meal and all night long
to keep this many Vodka distillers in business. The happy
outcome for the consumer of all this competition is that prices
are coming down while quality is going up.
What
really boggles the mind is that Vodka is defined as a neutral
spirit that is odorless, tasteless and colorless. HELLO, that
sounds like water with ethanol thrown in for good measure
to me. Well, I guess I could really draw a parallel here with
bottled water and the dozens of brands of water that are available.
Either the consumers of these products are complete fools
or the producers of these products are geniuses or possibly
a little of both.
Super
Premium Vodkas used to start at $30.00 per bottle but that
has changed recently. Today, there are Super Premium Vodkas
for sale under $20.00 per 750 Ml bottle. That's some damn
good drinking for just one Jackson. Which brings us to the
topic at hand, a new Vodka from Oregon called Vision Vodka
that sells for around $30.00 per 1 liter bottle which makes
it $22.50 per 750 ml bottle, which places it squarely in that
hot and up and coming affordable super premium category.
The bottle is tall and lean sporting frosted glass with clear
glass designs in relief. It is simple and elegant and understated.
The cap deceives you into thinking it's a chrome plated screw
cap but it actually turns out to be a cork, go figure. The
nose has a trace of alcohol that dissipates quickly leaving
a vague hint of minerals but truly nothing else. It has a
medium body with very slight vanilla notes. It is neutral
in the mouth with again that vague notion of vanilla and if
I really set my mind and imagination to the task I could probably
come up with some other references like orange peel but that
would be a stretch indeed. Again it is very neutral in the
mouth and quite smooth with just a hint of pepper. The finish
is medium in length just spicy enough to be interesting but
not intrusive. This vodka is a winner and another contender
in what is rapidly becoming my favorite Vodka category - the
affordable super premiums. Why pay more when you can get a
Grey Goose comparable experience for just two thirds the investment?
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