Wheatley Vodka

Tasted neat at room temperature side-by-side with Kirkland French Vodka. I'm not a vodka fan, certainly not a vodka snob. This started because my wife and I really like a Cajun Martini (https://www.liquor.com/cajun-martini-cocktail-recipe-5218591) pool-side and I needed to buy vodka. Naturally I wanted to know which is the best to get and that's how I started tasting mid-shelf vodkas. ,On ithe nose there is a very slight sugary cake-frosting note to the Wheatley that I don't get from the Kirkland. They are very, very close and that's why I do these sbs - no way to parse out differences so slight over time based on memory alone. Both smell "like vodka" with the Kirkland giving a slightly more ethanol-centric note. On the palate the Wheatley is definitely sweeter, but also a bit thinner in mouthfeel. The Kirkland is richer, a bit more peppery and has a slight bitterness in a fast finish. The Wheatley is altogether a more approachable, sweeter take while still retaining a significantly neutral personality. This is like comparing "Snowbound" white paint with "Atrium" white paint. Yes they are different but at the end of the day they are white paint. Both are clean and neutral and perhaps sweeter and less hot than Sobieski, thinner and not quite as earthy as Luksusowa, and no where near as transparent in flavor as Smirnoff 100 proof. This bottle set me back about $28 for a handle. The Kirkland is $20. The Sobieski is $17. I have to be honest, I did like the Wheatley best in the Cajun Martini, though. Something about that sweetness. Or was that just the particular pepper I used? Recommended if the additional costs doesn't matter to you. If it does, opt for the Sobieski or Kirkland.

It’s maybe the great American vodka.

10/23/22