Ketel One Vodka

european wheat-based. crisp with a soft finish.

Dropping this even lower, feels like it's overrated due to branding.

Overrated. Perfectly decent flavour, none of that terrible acridity found in the worst vodkas. But it still drinks rougher than it should.

Great on the rocks, good straight.

Best vodka I’ve ever had.

Nose - clean soft grain, subtle vanilla, mineral water, mild ethanol burn. Taste - salted vanilla, sweet soft grain, grapefruit zest, black pepper, mineral water, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short and oily with vanilla, citrus, and clean grain flavors. Well, we have a new front runner in this vodka tasting series. The nose is very clean and neutral, with just a hint of vanilla and some minerality. What I notice most is the softness of the grain character, most definitely due to the distillate quality imparted by the wheat. It’s certainly inoffensive, even bordering on pleasant. The palate is where I feel this shines more brightly than the other vodkas I’m sampled thus far. There’s an arrival! It hits with discernible vanilla and citric flavors, followed by that same soft graininess and a bit of what I perceive as a black pepper kick. It’s clean and neutral, but there’s actually some noticeable qualities on the palate worth mentioning. Overall this is quite good, inasmuch as vodka can be good. It’s easily better than the Tito’s, Skyy, and Smirnoff, and you’ll pay a few dollars more a bottle for it as well. Now for the all important question. Would I rather sip this than Jim Beam Original? No, but we’re getting close, really close actually. Close enough to notch this above the others on my rating scale.