Tower Vodka

A crisp, corn vodka from Texas; distilled 6 times in copper stills for a complex finish. April 2016 / July 2017 / March 2018 / November 2019

Tower vodka has a neutral distilled water aroma.The entry is neutral with distilled water and hint of semi-bitter citrus.The finish is hot ginger spice.It tastes water down so much you wonder if it is 80 proof.Bottom line is it is not good straight or as a mixer.

Grain nose with hints of vanilla and floral soap. Quite sweet and peppery with some lingering spice at the back.

Total Wines' answer to Tito's, Tower Vodka is proof that while imitation is the best form of flattery, flattery is cheap for good reason. What little aroma Tower Vodka has is extremely hard to describe. It smells like dusty crops, a potent sweetness that is completely non-descript and a whiff of ethanol. At first smell it immediately reminded me of Tito's with it's muted, dusty aromas but it doesn't have that nice yeasty quality of Tito's. There's not a lot going on when you drink it either. There's a noticeable, pleasant sweetness in the front and mid palate that comes from the corn but it's nothing exciting. Starting in the middle of the mid palate there's a bitterness that comes into play which I find in most corn-based vodkas. It reminds me strikingly of a citrusy zest that's impossible to pin down. The kind of zest you get from a generic big chain restaurant's salad topping. Not bad but completely forgettable. There is also the faintest trace of a corn flavor here. Ghost corn, if you will. You have to search for it hard and deep to notice it but it's there. Barely. The finish showcases a medium-light burn that I would say is just slightly more potent than Tito's but doesn't register as much ironically because the preceding bitterness prepares you for the burn. I would not recommend Tower Vodka for sipping. Much like Tito's it's meant to be a fine mixer playing it's potent sweetness as it's calling card. It also makes for a decent shots vodka albeit with a more potent burn than the brand it's trying to imitate. I'll be honest too, I'm not sure I would be able to differentiate this from Tito's with one exception: texture. This feels much more watery than Tito's which is oilier. In many ways this feels like if Tito's and Smirnoff had a baby. The aroma and sweetness are from Tito's while the watery texture, strong neutrality and bitter finish remind me of Smirnoff. Too bad it's just a more boring version of both. Still, if you want to save a few bucks for your next party, Tower Vodka is a decent if unexciting option.

Nose - dry grain, bitter herbal notes, black pepper, dusty bland sweetness, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - sweet grain, black pepper, unidentifiable citrus zest, bitter herbal notes, bland corn sweetness, paper, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with citrus, sweet grain, and bitter herbal notes. This is essentially a Tito’s knockoff sold by Total Wine. It shares many of the same qualities, and I would likely be hard pressed to tell them apart. The nose is extremely similar, albeit maybe a bit more herbal and alcoholic. The palate follows suit, but the strong paper note I find on Tito’s is thankfully softened. Without comparing them head-to-head, I’d say the Tower is a bit better, but it’s too close to call. I think they’ve succeeded in making a reasonable substitute for Tito’s, and at $3 less a bottle, I’d choose it if they were my only options. It probably goes without saying, but I’d much rather drink Jim Beam Original.

Chilled in the fridge to 34 degrees, straight from there. Medium sweet on he entire toung, easy going down. Little warm as it hits bottom. Very reasonable price, will buy again.