Home > Blogs > The Lounge Lizards > Archives > 2008 > March > 14 > Entry
Vodka taste test: Research project finds inexpensive option
Background: Catching wind of a new, low-priced vodka being introduced to the Ohio market, the Lounge Lizards decided a taste test was in order. With a suggested retail price of less than $17 for a 1.5 liter bottle, Sobieski vodka bills itself to be every bit as good as the expensive stuff. Our inner mad scientists were left wondering if it could be true. We set off on a mission to find out.
Vodka growth: Chester Brandes, president and CEO of Imperial Brands, the importer of Sobieski says, “It’s time vodka drinkers knew the truth about vodka. Consumers are spending between $30 to $60 a bottle for so-called super-premium vodkas. In essence, they are paying for fancy packaging and bloated marketing costs.”
The Lizards think he’s right … the growth of vodka sales in the past few years has been staggering, with new flavors and brands bring introduced in record numbers. In 2006, 60 brands were launched in the U.S.
The question: The Lounge Lizards shudder at the words “well drink,” but hearing that Sobieski — which claims to be the world’s No. 7 best selling vodka and No. 1 Polish vodka — earned a gold medal and “Best Buy” award from the Beverage Testing Institute, our fears were relieved. So the question becomes, can a cheap vodka rate as highly with experienced drinkers as an expensive one?
The test: Not all vodkas are created equal, so to test the flavor and experience Sobieski provides we gathered 16 people from all walks of life to weigh in on this affordable option distilled from Dankowski rye.
Each tester was given two unmarked vodkas to sample — one Sobieski and another a sample from a mid-priced bottle of Skyy — and rated them using a scale from one (lowest) to five.
The results: Sobieski received a score of 3.2 out of 5 on average while our mid-priced comparison Skyy averaged a score of 3.4 out of 5, barely eking out a win. Both vodkas had comments that ran the gamut from “harsh” to “smooth” to “clean and crisp.”
The verdict: The results of our testing seems to suggest little discernible difference exists between the two vodkas in terms of taste. Additionally, we asked the testers to rate their drinking experience, which appeared to have little influence on the raters’ choice.
While Skyy vodka was the overall winner, the margin of difference was small enough for us to suggest that using a less-expensive vodka may be a good way to stretch your bar budget. But remember … not all inexpensive vodkas are created equal either. Sobieski might be a good place to start.
