The Poles have it:
Potato vodkas have never been as well-received as their grain-based competitors, but Chopin—which appeared on the American market in 1997—should go a long way toward changing their lowbrow reputation. It's the smoothest vodka we tried, with a slight oiliness (specific to potato vodkas) that cut beautifully against the briny funk of black caviar and held its own against the thickest black bread I'd been able to find. We found Chopin itself to be "slightly sweet" and "well-rounded" with "perhaps a hint of apple." Chopin also had a "medium-length, pleasing burn," but "very little aftertaste—it's remarkably clean." To top it off, Chopin's tall frosted bottle was the prettiest we'd seen.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
6 comments:
I don't know this Chopin vodka, but I remember from way back when the Wyborowa vodka -- not bad at all. Also, the poles had some kind of vodka with a twig or something inside, but I can't recall its name (something about a bear??)
The strongest vodka by far I ever tasted is a Russian vodka: Krepskaya or Krepkaya. At 110 proof (in a black bottle, I recall), it's absolute murder! You need a really cold weather outside to try it, I think (well, in ND this should not be much of a problem). Not sure it still exists, I only drank a few shots many years ago, but I still remember the burning sensation.
Polska Wyborowa we tried to get off our Stolichnaya trend in college days. Buddy bought the 100 proof and I couldn't drink the stuff even cooled to liquid nitrogen.
My tastes these days for booze are strictly whiskey. Got a beautiful glass of Kentucky Bourbon near Symphony Hall the other night, incidentally.
I've never tried any of the exotics you gents discussed (although I'd certainly like to).
The most distant stuff I've tasted comes about once a year, when a friend of mine who lives in Ulaan Bataar returns to the North American steppe. He often gets a couple of bottles of Chinggis vodka (the amount of bottles that he returns with is heavily influenced by how long his layovers are in Seoul). The last time he carried a bottle of Bolor Arkhi back. Pretty good stuff.
In another, a friend of mine filtered shitty karkov (about $7/litre) through a brita filtration system four times — he called it my birthday present. We tested the original karkov against the stuff we filtered, and we were pretty certain the filtered tasted better than the unfiltered. Then again, gasoline might be just as equally tasting as karkov.
Here is a pic of a bottle of Krepkaya vodka. As you can see, it is suitable for vegans, so I guess that makes it OK. But note the caveat from the NYT.
Yes, good advice JJ: beware of alcohol counterfeiting. Good advice indeed. I've been told to also beware of Mongol home-distilled vodka. It's okay for the locals, but the ger shine can seriously screw up our Yankee innards.
Here's that nice bourbon from Symphony Hall environs, fellas:
L&G
Labrot and Graham from
Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select Kentucky
Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 45.2%
Alc. by Vol.,
The Woodford Reserve Distillery
Post a Comment